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

At a glance

Stock picked first-expiry-first-out

Customer price lists applied automatically

Deliveries confirmed before invoicing

Collections and margins visible per customer

The challenge

What Sitaf needed to fix

Sitaf is a Saudi B2B reseller of premium food and ingredients for foodservice, supplying restaurants and hotels. Its stock is perishable, so batches and expiry dates drive every pick.

Perishable stockProducts had to ship first-expiry-first-out with batch control.
B2B pricingRestaurants and hotels bought on negotiated price lists.
Route deliveriesOrders went out on delivery routes needing proof of delivery.
Credit customersMost customers bought on credit, so collections needed close tracking.

Warehouse worker scanning stock in a racked aisle. Photo credit

Before and after

What changed for the team

BeforeAfter

Perishable products needed batch control and first-expiry-first-out shipping

Zoho Inventory tracks batches and expiry dates and picks stock FEFO

Restaurants and hotels each bought on separately negotiated price lists

Customer price lists are applied automatically on every B2B quote

Route deliveries needed proof of delivery before billing

Proof of delivery releases the ZATCA invoice in Zoho Books

Most customers bought on credit, so collections needed close tracking

Collections and gross margin are visible per customer

How it works

The business process, step by step

01
Restaurant enquiry
A sales agent logs the hotel or restaurant request against the foodservice account in Zoho CRM. Agents can also take orders in the field through the sales-agent mobility setup.
02
B2B quote
The agent prepares a B2B quote in Zoho CRM using that customer's negotiated price list, so restaurants and hotels are quoted on their agreed terms automatically.
03
Supplier PO and import
Procurement raises supplier purchase orders and import orders in Zoho Inventory, with vendor catalogues loaded into the system so buyers can order from current supplier ranges.
04
Batch and expiry stock
Incoming stock is received in Zoho Inventory with batch numbers and expiry dates, and picking follows first-expiry-first-out so the earliest-expiring stock leaves the warehouse first.
05
Route fulfilment
Orders go out on delivery routes, and proof of delivery confirms receipt at the restaurant or hotel. That confirmation releases the invoice in Zoho Books as a ZATCA Fatoora-format e-invoice.
06
Collections and margin
Finance tracks credit terms and collections in Zoho Books, and Zoho Analytics shows gross margin by customer and product so management can see which accounts need follow-up.

The solution

What we built for Sitaf

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

Foodservice accounts and sales-agent activity
Price lists per customer

Zoho CRM interface — Zoho CRM product screenshot, for illustration

Batch and expiry tracking with FEFO picking
Supplier purchase orders and imports

Zoho Inventory interface — Zoho Inventory product screenshot, for illustration

Gross-margin dashboard by customer and product

Zoho Analytics interface — Zoho Analytics product screenshot, for illustration

ZATCA invoices, credit terms and collections

Who uses it

Sales agents

Manage foodservice accounts, take orders in the field and quote restaurants and hotels on their own price lists

Procurement team

Raise supplier purchase orders and imports in Zoho Inventory using vendor catalogues loaded into the system

Warehouse team

Receive stock with batch and expiry details and pick orders first-expiry-first-out for route deliveries

Delivery team

Deliver orders on routes and confirm proof of delivery, which releases the customer invoice

Finance and management

Issue ZATCA invoices, follow up credit collections and review gross margin by customer and product

Architecture

How the systems connect

InputsField sales ordersVendor cataloguesProof of delivery

Delivered by Shyphan

OutputsZATCA FatooraCustomer invoicesMargin dashboards

Integrations

Sales-agent mobility
Agents take orders in the field.
Proof of delivery to invoice
Delivery confirmation releases the invoice.
Finance and ZATCA
Fatoora-format e-invoicing.
Vendor catalogue import
Supplier catalogues loaded for ordering.

Reports and dashboards

Gross-margin dashboard

Gross margin by customer and product in Zoho Analytics, combining sales and cost data

Batch and expiry stock

Stock on hand by batch and expiry date, used to drive first-expiry-first-out picking

Credit collections

Outstanding balances and credit terms per customer from Zoho Books, for collection follow-up

Sales-agent activity

Account activity and orders recorded by sales agents in Zoho CRM per foodservice customer

The results

What the system does now

Stock picked first-expiry-first-out
Customer price lists applied automatically
Deliveries confirmed before invoicing
Collections and margins visible per customer

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 is expiry controlled when orders are picked?

Every receipt is recorded in Zoho Inventory with its batch and expiry date. When an order is picked, Zoho Inventory directs staff to the batches that expire first, so stock leaves on a first-expiry-first-out basis and each delivery can be traced back to its batch.

Why is the invoice released only after delivery?

Sitaf supplies on delivery routes, so the invoice should reflect what the restaurant or hotel actually received. Proof of delivery confirms receipt, and that confirmation releases the invoice in Zoho Books in ZATCA Fatoora format, keeping billing aligned with delivered goods.

How are negotiated prices applied?

Each restaurant or hotel has its own price list held in Zoho CRM. When a sales agent prepares a B2B quote, the customer's price list is applied automatically, so agreed prices carry through to the order and invoice without being re-entered.

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Sitaf

What Sitaf needed to fix

What changed for the team

The business process, step by step

Restaurant enquiry

B2B quote

Supplier PO and import

Batch and expiry stock

Route fulfilment

Collections and margin