Femi9 Case Study: Zoho Inventory, Zoho Books and Zoho CRM

At a glance

Stock for every size and colour visible across stores and web

Returns flow back into stock and accounts in one step

VAT-correct sales, returns and payments in Zoho Books

Margin reporting by collection and channel

The challenge

What Femi9 needed to fix

Femi9 is a Saudi fashion retailer selling apparel through its own stores and online. Every collection arrives in many sizes and colours, and the same stock has to serve both the shop floor and the web store.

Size and colour variantsEach style lives as dozens of SKUs, and stock had to be tracked per size, colour and location.
Two sales channels, one stock poolStore and online orders draw on the same inventory, so overselling was a constant risk.
Returns and exchangesReturns from stores and the web had to flow back into stock and into the books correctly.
Margins by collectionManagement needed gross margin per collection and channel, with VAT handled properly.

Supermarket checkout lanes with point-of-sale terminals. Photo credit

Before and after

What changed for the team

BeforeAfter

Each style lived as dozens of SKUs tracked by size, colour and location

Item groups hold every size and colour variant of a style together

Store and online orders drew on the same stock, risking overselling

Both channels draw on and update one shared stock pool

Store and web returns had to reach stock and the books correctly

Returns flow back into stock and accounts in one step

Management needed margin per collection and channel, with VAT handled properly

Zoho Analytics reports margin by collection, channel and store

How it works

The business process, step by step

01
Collection setup
The merchandising team creates each new style as an item group in Zoho Inventory, with every size and colour set up as its own SKU, so stock can be tracked at variant level from the start.
02
Supplier PO
Buyers raise supplier purchase orders per collection in Zoho Inventory. When goods arrive, receiving is recorded against the order, so quantities land on the right SKUs in the right store or warehouse.
03
Variant stock
Zoho Inventory holds stock for every size and colour by store and warehouse. Staff move stock between locations with transfers, so each branch and the web store work from current quantities.
04
Store and web orders
Online orders from the web store and sales in the stores both draw on the same stock pool in Zoho Inventory, so a unit sold in one channel is no longer shown as available in the other.
05
POS and returns
Store staff process sales, returns and exchanges at the POS, which adjusts SKU stock in Zoho Inventory. Returned items go back into stock and the matching credit note is posted in Zoho Books.
06
VAT and margins
Zoho Books posts sales, returns and credit notes with 15% VAT and reconciles payment gateway receipts. Zoho Analytics then reports margin by collection, channel and store, with sell-through and slow-moving stock.

The solution

What we built for Femi9

Shyphan delivered the project on Zoho Inventory, Zoho Books, Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics, covering a 6-step process with 4 integration points.

Item groups for each style with size and colour variants
Stock by store and warehouse, with transfers between them
Supplier purchase orders and receiving per collection

Zoho Inventory interface — Zoho Inventory product screenshot, for illustration

Customer records for repeat and wholesale buyers
Order history linked to each customer

Zoho CRM interface — Zoho CRM product screenshot, for illustration

Margin by collection, channel and store
Sell-through and slow-moving stock reports

Zoho Analytics interface — Zoho Analytics product screenshot, for illustration

Sales, returns and credit notes posted with 15% VAT
Payment gateway receipts reconciled against orders
ZATCA-ready tax invoices where applicable

Who uses it

Merchandising and buying

Set up styles as item groups with size and colour variants, raise supplier purchase orders and receive each collection.

Store teams

Sell through the POS, process returns and exchanges, and move stock between stores and the warehouse with transfers.

E-commerce team

Manage web store orders that pull from and update the same stock pool used by the stores.

Finance

Review sales, returns and credit notes posted with 15% VAT and reconcile payment gateway receipts in Zoho Books.

Management

Track margin by collection, channel and store, and review sell-through and slow-moving stock in Zoho Analytics.

Architecture

How the systems connect

InputsWeb storePOSPayment gateway

Delivered by Shyphan

OutputsWeb store stockZATCA FatooraMargin dashboards

Integrations

Web store to Inventory
Online orders pull from and update the same stock pool.
POS to Inventory
Store sales and returns adjust SKU stock.
Payment gateway to Books
Card and online payments land against the right invoices.
ZATCA e-invoicing
Tax invoices issued in the Fatoora format where applicable.

Reports and dashboards

Margin by collection

Gross margin for each collection, split by sales channel and by store, with VAT handled in Zoho Books.

Sell-through report

How each collection is selling against the stock received, so buyers can see which styles are moving.

Slow-moving stock

Styles and variants that are not selling, so they can be reviewed or transferred to another location.

Stock by location

Current quantities for every size and colour across stores, the warehouse and the web store.

The results

What the system does now

Stock for every size and colour visible across stores and web
Returns flow back into stock and accounts in one step
VAT-correct sales, returns and payments in Zoho Books
Margin reporting by collection and channel

Delivery

Five phases, discovery to support

01
Discovery
Process mapping, documents and data reviewed with each team.
02
Design
Target flow agreed across 4 apps and 4 integration points.
03
Build
Apps configured, custom logic built and integrations connected.
04
Test and train
User acceptance testing with real scenarios and role-based training.
05
Go-live and support
Cut-over, hypercare and ongoing improvements.

Local rules built in

ZATCA e-invoicing

Fatoora-format tax invoices with XML and QR, cleared or reported as required.

15% VAT

Standard, zero-rated and exempt supplies mapped, with return-ready reports.

Saudi PDPL

Personal data kept to what the process needs, with role-based access.

Arabic and English

Bilingual documents where customers and authorities expect them.

FAQ

Questions about this project

How does Femi9 track stock for each size and colour?

Each style is set up in Zoho Inventory as an item group, with every size and colour as a separate variant SKU. Stock is held per store and warehouse, and transfers between locations are recorded, so the team can see which variants are available where.

How are store and online sales kept from overselling?

The web store and the POS both connect to Zoho Inventory, so online orders and store sales draw on and update the same stock pool. A unit sold in one channel is taken off the shared quantity that the other channel sees.

How is VAT handled on sales and returns?

Sales, returns and credit notes are posted in Zoho Books with 15% VAT. Payment gateway receipts are reconciled against the right invoices, and tax invoices are issued in the ZATCA Fatoora format where applicable.

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Femi9

What Femi9 needed to fix

What changed for the team

The business process, step by step

Collection setup

Supplier PO

Variant stock

Store and web orders

POS and returns

VAT and margins