Alumio partner in the Netherlands: one team for the whole chain
Anyone looking for an Alumio partner in the Netherlands soon runs into the same question: how do you tell agencies apart? With many software vendors, a partner tier helps. With Alumio it does not, because Alumio has no partner tiers. There is no gold or platinum badge, and an agency that claims one is telling you about something that does not exist. What counts is what a partner can show it has done: for how long, how often, with which systems and with what result.
For Memo the answer is short. We have been an Alumio partner since 2020 and have built more than 100 successful integrations on the platform. All our Alumio integrators are certified on the Alumio platform. Our team is based in Emmen, speaks Dutch and English, and there is no account manager between you and the person building your routes. The Alumio hub explains what an integration layer changes; this page is about the team that puts it in place.
What sets us apart from a pure integrator is that we also work on the other sides of the connection. We build webshops: Memo is a Shopware Bronze Partner and a Shopware Extension Partner, and we build on Shopify. We are an Ergonode partner, so we work on the PIM side too. When something breaks between your ERP, your PIM and your webshop, responsibility sits with one team. Nobody has to point at someone else.
You can see that in the knowledge we share. Alumio interviewed Johan Moormann of Memo about the Enablement Packages and how we work together. Catalin Coada, Alumio developer at Memo, joined Roland Lübbers of Alumio in episode 4 of Alumio Talks to discuss best practices for entity schemas, storage, transformers, debugging and task processing.
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How a project runs
Every project follows the same order, even when the systems differ per client. That order is not there for show. It stops you from building routes on agreements nobody has made yet.
Introduction. In a first conversation you hear who will build, and we hear which systems you run and where it hurts. After that conversation we both know whether an integration layer is the right answer.
Mapping the data landscape. We map every system, decide which system owns which data and list the flows running today. Manual flows count too, such as the export someone puts in a spreadsheet every Monday. This is where the decisions are made that later set the schedule.
Routes and mappings. Based on that landscape we define which routes there will be, which field becomes which field and what happens when a message does not arrive. For an ERP integration those are, for example, products, prices, stock and orders, each as its own route.
Building in iterations. We build route by route. Each route is proven to work with real data before the next one is added. You see results early, and a problem in one route stays limited to that route.
Go-live. Routes go live once they are proven, not all at once on one big day.
Management or taking over. After go-live you choose how to continue. We can manage it, with an SLA tailored to the routes in your environment: an order route into the ERP needs a different regime than a nightly product sync. Read more on Managed integrations. If your team wants to build further itself, we arrange that through the Alumio Enablement Packages, with tailored training and a Memo Alumio specialist working directly with your team. See Enablement and training. A mix works too: we build the complex routes, your team manages and extends them.
We do not quote a lead time up front. It depends on what we find in the data landscape, and you only know that once it has been mapped.
Seven questions to ask any integration partner
Where do you start?
With the data landscape or with the tool? A good partner first asks which system owns which data.
Do you know both sides?
Does the partner understand your webshop and your ERP, or only the line in between?
What can you show?
Alumio has no partner tiers. Ask about experience, certification and cases with comparable systems.
Who actually builds it?
Do you talk to the integrator, or does everything go through an account manager?
What does management look like?
Is there an SLA that fits your routes, or a standard package that is the same for everyone?
Can my team take over?
Does the partner teach your team the platform, or do you stay dependent for every change?
What do you do with existing work?
Can the partner take over a half-built project without starting from scratch?
What to look for when choosing an integration partner
Does the partner start with the data landscape or with the tool? A partner who mostly talks about connectors in the first conversation will probably build what you ask for rather than what you need. The hard questions are about data ownership, messy data and what happens when a system is briefly unavailable. A partner who only asks them during the build makes you pay for them afterwards.
Does the partner know both sides of the connection? An integration between an ERP and a webshop is only as good as the understanding of both systems. An integrator who does not know your webshop does not know how business accounts, tiered pricing or customer groups work there. A webshop builder without integration experience treats the connection as a plugin. Because Memo builds webshops on Shopware and Shopify and works with Ergonode on the PIM side, you do not have to translate between those two worlds yourself.
What does management look like? Ask not only what happens after go-live, but for which routes. One standard response time for everything sounds tidy, but a stuck order flow and a missed nightly sync are not equally urgent. A good partner tunes management to the routes that affect your revenue.
Can your team take over? Some companies want to outsource everything, others want to learn the platform themselves. Both are fine, as long as the partner leaves the choice with you. A partner that does not transfer knowledge makes you dependent, even if you do not want to be.
How does the partner handle taking over existing work? Not every project starts with a blank page. Sometimes a previous partner stopped halfway, or part of the routes is already running. Ask how the partner assesses existing work: what can stay, what needs redoing and why. Boomlab, for example, came to us halfway through a project.
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Two projects in practice
Boomlab: taken over halfway, with Business Central, Stibo and Shopware. Boomlab, a laboratory wholesaler with more than 60,000 products across the Benelux, came to us when its project was already halfway with a previous partner. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the Stibo PIM and Shopware had to work together through Alumio. The Stibo API had no endpoint for the full category tree, so we built a webhook process in Alumio that walks that tree node by node. Customers can also assign orders to their own cost centres, handled through user permissions. Read the Boomlab case.
XXL Nutrition: working with Diract IT on a new WMS. At XXL Nutrition, Magento, Pimcore and Exact Online were already connected. When a new WMS arrived, Ceyenne by Diract IT, we worked with Diract IT to bring the routes between all systems together and structure them in Alumio: sales orders, purchase orders, product and stock updates, fulfilment, returns and receipt of purchase orders. The goal was not more automation, but overview and a landscape that can handle growth. XXL Nutrition's product owner said Memo felt like an extension of their own team. Read the XXL Nutrition case.
Two projects that did not start from a blank page. At Boomlab there was a previous partner's work, at XXL Nutrition an existing landscape and a new supplier at the table. In both cases it started with the data landscape.
Want to know whether we are a good fit?
Ask us the seven questions on this page. In half an hour you will hear how we would approach your systems, who would build it and what management would look like.
Frequently asked questions
What partner tier does Memo have with Alumio?
None, because Alumio has no partner tiers. Memo has been an Alumio partner since 2020. What you can compare is experience: more than 100 integrations, certified integrators and published cases with systems such as Business Central, Exact Online, Stibo, Pimcore, Shopware and Magento.
Does my webshop have to be built by Memo?
No. Our Alumio projects run on Shopware, Shopify and Magento, including webshops built by another agency. The fact that we build webshops ourselves mainly helps because we know how the shop side of an integration works.
Can you take over an existing Alumio project?
Yes. Boomlab came to us halfway through a project, after a previous partner. We start by assessing what is there: which routes can stay, which need changes and which data decisions are still missing.
How long does an Alumio project take?
We only say once the data landscape has been mapped. The lead time depends less on the build than on the decisions about ownership and data quality. Because we build route by route, you do see the first routes working early in the project.
What does it cost to work with Memo?
The costs come in layers: the Alumio licence, implementing the routes, management after go-live and, optionally, enablement for your team. A quote shows them separately, so you know what you are paying for. More on What an integration costs.