Should I Build It Should I Build It
07 Jun 2025
E-Commerce

An entity resource planning tool for shopify sellers. It will ...

...integrate with shopify to process orders and auto plan the resources required for fulfilling and notify when resources get low

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space with your entity resource planning tool for Shopify sellers. Our analysis shows that several similar products exist, indicated by the high number of matches (9). This suggests a high level of competition. The engagement for similar products is low, with an average of only 2 comments per product. This could mean that either these tools are not engaging users, or that users don't feel compelled to comment on them. Given this landscape and the "Swamp" category designation, standing out will be difficult unless you offer a genuinely innovative solution. Be aware that you are entering a space where many have tried and few have truly succeeded. Proceed with caution and a healthy dose of skepticism about the market's appetite for yet another similar tool.

Recommendations

  1. Before writing a single line of code, deeply analyze why existing Shopify ERP solutions haven't resonated with users. Focus on identifying their pain points, frustrations, and unmet needs. What are the specific gaps in functionality, user experience, or pricing that you can address with your product?
  2. Instead of targeting all Shopify sellers, narrow your focus to a specific niche with unique resource planning challenges. For example, businesses dealing with perishable goods, customized products, or subscription boxes might have requirements that generic ERP systems don't adequately address. Specializing could let you build a better product, and differentiate you from competitors.
  3. Explore the possibility of creating add-ons or integrations that enhance existing Shopify ERP solutions. This approach allows you to tap into an established user base and provide targeted functionality without building a full-fledged system from scratch. Consider offering a specialized module for inventory forecasting, order routing, or supplier management.
  4. The 'Packem' launch feedback suggests questioning the product's differentiation and value compared to current alternatives. Address this directly by conducting thorough competitive research and clearly articulating your unique value proposition. What specific problems does your product solve better than existing solutions, and how will you demonstrate that value to potential customers?
  5. Consider focusing on an adjacent problem. For example, instead of ERP, focus on just solving inventory forecasting using AI as suggested by Inventory365. Or focus on reporting features. Or automate tasks that are still done manually, like spreadsheet work as highlighted in the Centro Inventory Calendar launch. Or focus on integrations between shopify and netsuite as indicated by ERP Peers.
  6. Since comments on similar products are relatively low, focus your energy on high quality content marketing and SEO optimization, by targeting very specific keywords that showcase what your solution offers better and differently from the competition. Use case studies or tutorials to help demonstrate this.

Questions

  1. What are the top 3 reasons why Shopify sellers are not fully satisfied with their current ERP solutions?
  2. How can you measure and demonstrate the ROI of your ERP tool for Shopify sellers in a clear and compelling way?
  3. What innovative features or approaches can you incorporate into your product to avoid becoming just another 'me-too' solution in a crowded market?

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space with your entity resource planning tool for Shopify sellers. Our analysis shows that several similar products exist, indicated by the high number of matches (9). This suggests a high level of competition. The engagement for similar products is low, with an average of only 2 comments per product. This could mean that either these tools are not engaging users, or that users don't feel compelled to comment on them. Given this landscape and the "Swamp" category designation, standing out will be difficult unless you offer a genuinely innovative solution. Be aware that you are entering a space where many have tried and few have truly succeeded. Proceed with caution and a healthy dose of skepticism about the market's appetite for yet another similar tool.

Recommendations

  1. Before writing a single line of code, deeply analyze why existing Shopify ERP solutions haven't resonated with users. Focus on identifying their pain points, frustrations, and unmet needs. What are the specific gaps in functionality, user experience, or pricing that you can address with your product?
  2. Instead of targeting all Shopify sellers, narrow your focus to a specific niche with unique resource planning challenges. For example, businesses dealing with perishable goods, customized products, or subscription boxes might have requirements that generic ERP systems don't adequately address. Specializing could let you build a better product, and differentiate you from competitors.
  3. Explore the possibility of creating add-ons or integrations that enhance existing Shopify ERP solutions. This approach allows you to tap into an established user base and provide targeted functionality without building a full-fledged system from scratch. Consider offering a specialized module for inventory forecasting, order routing, or supplier management.
  4. The 'Packem' launch feedback suggests questioning the product's differentiation and value compared to current alternatives. Address this directly by conducting thorough competitive research and clearly articulating your unique value proposition. What specific problems does your product solve better than existing solutions, and how will you demonstrate that value to potential customers?
  5. Consider focusing on an adjacent problem. For example, instead of ERP, focus on just solving inventory forecasting using AI as suggested by Inventory365. Or focus on reporting features. Or automate tasks that are still done manually, like spreadsheet work as highlighted in the Centro Inventory Calendar launch. Or focus on integrations between shopify and netsuite as indicated by ERP Peers.
  6. Since comments on similar products are relatively low, focus your energy on high quality content marketing and SEO optimization, by targeting very specific keywords that showcase what your solution offers better and differently from the competition. Use case studies or tutorials to help demonstrate this.

Questions

  1. What are the top 3 reasons why Shopify sellers are not fully satisfied with their current ERP solutions?
  2. How can you measure and demonstrate the ROI of your ERP tool for Shopify sellers in a clear and compelling way?
  3. What innovative features or approaches can you incorporate into your product to avoid becoming just another 'me-too' solution in a crowded market?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 9
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 2
  • Net use signal: 3.8%
    • Positive use signal: 3.8%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 0.0%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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