Inventory Intelligence Platform and Custom Shopify Store for Sakura Distributors
Sakura Distributors - Electrical Supply Distributor, BC
The Problem
Sakura Distributors, a BC electrical-supply distributor operating six branches, was held back on two fronts at once. On the purchasing side, the team ran reorder decisions off a single daily spreadsheet export of roughly 30,000 rows — eyeballing it by hand every morning to figure out what to reorder, what was about to stock out, and what was sitting dead across all six locations, with no history, no ranking, and no easy way to see the picture across branches. On the sales side, Sakura carried a large catalog of electrical products but had no proper way to sell it online: customers could not browse products, check specifications, or place orders, so every inquiry ran through phone calls and manual back-and-forth. Together, gut-feel purchasing and a missing storefront meant stockouts on fast movers, cash tied up in overstock and deadstock, and buyers going to competitors that were easier to shop.
Our Solution
Automated Daily Data Ingestion
We built Sakura a custom web application that ingests their daily Excel export, around 30,000 rows, in a single upload each morning. The app parses and validates the file, maps it against the branch structure, and replaces the prior day's snapshot so the team is always working from the latest numbers, without anyone having to manually clean or reformat the sheet.
Four Automated Stock Signals
The heart of the platform is a signal engine that classifies every item into clear, actionable states: reorder, stockout, overstock, and deadstock. Instead of scrolling a 30,000-row spreadsheet, staff open a dashboard that tells them exactly what needs attention at each of the six branches. The same signal logic drives rankings so buyers can immediately see their most urgent items and biggest problem SKUs.
AI-Powered Insights and Reports
We integrated AI directly into the platform to give the team more than just numbers. It generates plain-language insight briefings that summarize what changed and what to act on, writes narratives for per-vendor and per-branch reports, and powers an ask-the-data chat so staff can ask questions about their inventory in natural language and get answers instantly. The AI runs securely server-side so sensitive business data never leaves their controlled environment.
Reports, Exports, and Role-Based Access
The platform produces per-vendor and per-branch reports with one-click CSV and PDF export for sharing and record-keeping. Access is governed by roles so the right people see the right data, with sensitive AI and admin features locked down to authorized users. The whole system is built on a secure, modern stack with row-level security on every table.
Custom Shopify Storefront
With purchasing under control, we turned to sales and built Sakura a fully custom Shopify store, structured around their electrical catalog with clear product categories such as boxes and enclosures, lighting, heating and ventilation, low voltage materials, safety devices, generators, switches and receptacles, and wire and connectors. The store is fast, mobile-friendly, and built for how trade customers actually shop, with search, a smooth cart and checkout, and a clean browsing experience that makes it easy to find the right part.
Full Product Catalog Setup
We set up and organized Sakura's entire product catalog inside Shopify, entering every product into structured collections with descriptions, pricing, and downloadable spec-sheet PDFs so customers can confirm exactly what they are buying. What used to live in binders and phone calls is now a searchable online catalog that Sakura's team can manage and expand themselves.
Professional Product Photography
We shot all of the product photography in-house. Every item in the store is presented with clean, consistent, professional imagery rather than a patchwork of manufacturer stock photos, giving the whole catalog a polished, trustworthy look that reflects the quality of the products Sakura carries.
Wholesale and Trade Features
Because Sakura serves contractors and trade accounts, we built in the tools that B2B buyers need: credit and account application forms, downloadable specification sheets, and quick ways to get in touch including WhatsApp. The store is set up to support their wholesale relationships, not just one-off retail sales.
The Result
Sakura replaced two manual, error-prone processes with purpose-built systems. On purchasing, buyers across all six branches now open a dashboard that turns the daily 30,000-row export into clear reorder, stockout, overstock, and deadstock signals in seconds, backed by AI insights that surface exactly what to act on. On sales, contractors and trade customers can browse the full catalog, check specifications, and order online without a single phone call. Sakura now runs on modern systems they control — faster, more consistent purchasing and a professional ecommerce presence that positions them as a serious, easy-to-work-with distributor.
"Astro built us a custom platform that turned our morning inventory spreadsheet into clear decisions across all six branches, then built us a proper online store from the ground up and even shot all our product photos. Two big problems solved, and everything finally lives in one professional system."
- Operations Manager, Sakura Distributors
Services Used
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