The project in 30 seconds
- Client
- Auto spare parts distributor (via Optimize My Data)
- Industry
- Automotive parts distribution
- Location
- India
- When
- June 2026
- My role
- Zoho solution architect
- Deliverables
- Architecture, proposal, proof of concept
Where Auto spare parts distributor started
The distributor sells Honda and Bajaj parts through two GST-registered entities, several warehouses and a field sales team of reps, telecallers and team leaders.
Each part of the business had its own tool: Tally for accounts, a warehouse system that fed Tally, two manufacturer portals, a mobile sales app, barcode middleware and Excel for management reports. None of them shared data.
What had to be solved
That meant:
How I tackled it, step by step
- 1
Map every system
Decided each tool's fate: replace, retire or keep standalone.
- 2
Design the architecture
Two Zoho Books organisations, Zoho Inventory, CRM, Analytics and Flow.
- 3
Prove it
Built a working Zoho Inventory demo of the warehouse-to-invoice flow.
- 4
Plan the delivery
A two-phase plan with deliverables, assumptions and fixed pricing.
Inside the system
9 real screenshots from the build. Click any image to enlarge.
01What happens to each existing tool
Replace: Tally (accounts move to Zoho Books), Excel reporting (Zoho Analytics), and the warehouse system plus barcode middleware (Zoho Inventory, scanning the existing barcodes). Retire: the Tally mobile app, which has no data once Tally is gone. Keep standalone: the Honda and Bajaj portals, which the manufacturers require.
02The target architecture
Two Zoho Books organisations keep each GST entity's books separate. Zoho Inventory runs multi-warehouse stock. Zoho CRM gives reps, telecallers and team leaders their own views on mobile. Zoho Analytics replaces the Excel reports across both entities, and Zoho Flow removes the re-keying between them.
03Proof of concept: catalogue and warehouses
The demo uses real-style part codes for Honda and Bajaj, FIFO stock valuation, and stock split across Head Office, Mumbai and Pune. Invoices are raised from a specific warehouse, so stock moves from the right place.
04Proof of concept: invoicing and scanning
Barcode labels print straight from the part code. On the Zoho Inventory mobile app, staff scan a part's barcode onto an invoice and record payment on the spot, replacing the separate scanning middleware.
What changed for Auto spare parts distributor
The calls that made it work
Good systems come from good decisions. Here's what I chose, and why.
Decouple the manufacturer portals
Two-way integrations with Honda's and Bajaj's systems would be fragile and expensive. Zoho stays the source of truth, with an optional one-way export where a portal accepts imports.
Reuse the existing barcodes
No re-labelling of stock means less disruption on the warehouse floor.
Prove it before building it
A working demo answers "will this work for us?" better than any slide.
A similar system could help if…
- You run several tools that don't talk to each other.
- You have multiple entities or warehouses.
- You're considering Zoho and want to see your process in it first.
Screens are from the proof-of-concept demo, built with sample parts and customers. This case study covers the design and proof of concept. Every screenshot on this page comes from the real project; nothing is a mock-up.