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Connecting Descartes Pixi to Magento 2
Pixi WMS is a warehouse management system for B2C and D2C commerce. The manufacturer offers integrations for Shopify, Shopware, and WooCommerce. For Magento 2, they refer users to a partner.
That's exactly what we do. We build the bridge between pixi and Magento 2 ourselves – managing articles, inventory, orders, shipping, and returns in both directions.
- pixi WMS Magento interface
- Fulfillment for Magento 2
- Returns process
- Tornesch near Hamburg
What is the status of the Magento 2 interface?
Descartes mentions a partner on its Magento integration page. The text states:
For Shopify, Shopware, and WooCommerce, there is no such note on the same pages. This is not a minor detail, but rather the most significant difference in the effort estimation when pixi is involved.
| Shopsystem | As the manufacturer describes it | What this means for your project |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify | listed as integration | Institution instead of development |
| Shopware | listed as integration | Institution instead of development |
| WooCommerce | listed as integration | Institution instead of development |
| Magento 2 | through a partner | a project – and therefore the chance to build it right |
The downside is also the advantage. A custom-built connection knows no standard limitations. Partial deliveries from two warehouses, returns with reason and credit note, B2B prices, batches and minimum shelf life – we handle all of this because we write the bridge ourselves and don't configure what someone else has provided.
What does Pixi do, and what does your shop do?
A clear division of roles is more crucial to project success than any interface technology. Pixi is a warehouse management system, not a commercial inventory management system.
Pixi takes over the warehouse
Goods receipt, order management, warehouse management, pick-pack-ship, expiration dates and batches, returns and reporting. Plus multi-carrier shipping.
Magento 2 takes over the sales process
Catalog, search and filters, prices and customer groups, checkout, customer account, and everything else visible to search engines. The shop remains the storefront.
The ERP system will stay where it is.
Accounting, purchasing, and master data. In most projects, pixi operates alongside the ERP system, not replacing it – this is the most common mistake in planning.
If you don't yet have a system for this, the question is different. In that case, it's worth taking a look at our overview of ERP and inventory management integration , which lists over 45 systems and their interfaces.
What we synchronize between pixi WMS and Magento 2
Articles and stock
Master data and variants are sent to the warehouse, stock levels per warehouse location are sent back to the shop – this is done more frequently than anything else, because overselling depends on it.
Orders
Orders with items, payment and shipping methods, discounts and customer data are sent to pixi, including special cases from your checkout.
Shipping
Shipping status and tracking numbers returned to Magento – in case of partial deliveries, multiple numbers for one order, neatly assigned to each item.
Returns
Inventory reversal, credit note, and return reason. The reason is the part that standard integrations most often omit – and which you'll later miss.
How can you tell that your fulfillment is bypassing the shop?
These are the four symptoms we hear most often before a fulfillment project begins. None of them are warehouse problems – they are interface problems between fulfillment and the shop.
- Overselling despite well-maintained stock levels. The shop knows the stock level from this morning, not the current level. This is usually a timing issue, not a data problem.
- Customers are asking about the package, which is already on its way. Tracking numbers do not arrive in the customer account, or do not arrive completely, especially in the case of partial deliveries.
- Returns are recorded manually. Inventory, credit note and reason are combined in three different tools, usually in a table.
- Nobody can say which item is located where. For multiple warehouse locations, the shop displays a total, but not the availability, which is what determines the delivery time.
If you identify with two of these points, it's worth having a conversation – regardless of whether it ends up being Pixi.
What the connection costs – and where we don't earn anything
You purchase the pixi license directly from Descartes. We are not a partner of Descartes and do not earn anything from the license – this is intentional. Therefore, we can give you an unbiased assessment of whether pixi is too large or too small for your project.
We calculate the integration costs based on the effort involved. We estimate the standard scope – articles, inventory, orders, shipping status – after reviewing your processes. What drives up costs is not the amount of data, but rather the exceptions: multiple storage locations, batches and expiration dates, B2B pricing, partial deliveries, and the returns process.
Included in every offer: error logging and restart functionality. An interface that crashes and doesn't notify anyone is worse than no interface at all – then someone manually enters orders in the morning and only notices when customers contact them.
Pixi and Magento in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Northern Germany
We're located in Tornesch in the Pinneberg district, about half an hour from Hamburg city center. Most project work is done remotely – but when it comes to warehouse processes, an on-site meeting is often the quickest way. Someone standing in the warehouse can see in ten minutes what remains unclear in two video conferences.
For retailers in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and northern Germany, this is possible without much effort. We also operate nationwide.
Frequently asked questions about Descartes Pixi and Magento 2
Is there a ready-made Magento 2 interface for Descartes Pixi?
Not directly from the manufacturer. The pixi page for Magento integration states verbatim that the Magento 2 interface is offered "by our partner." No such partner information is provided for Shopify, Shopware, or WooCommerce. Therefore, for Magento 2, the integration is a project, not an installation – we build it using the pixi interface and the Magento 2 REST API.
What distinguishes Pixi from an inventory management system?
Pixi is a warehouse management system, not a commercial inventory management system. Its focus is on what happens in the warehouse: goods receipt, order management, pick-pack-ship, expiration dates and batches, returns, and reporting. Accounting, purchasing, and master data remain in the ERP system. Therefore, in many projects, Pixi is used alongside an ERP system, not to replace it.
Do I need Pixi in addition to my ERP system?
It depends on your inventory, not your sales volume. If you ship only a few hundred items per month, your ERP system's inventory logic is usually sufficient. However, as soon as you have multiple storage locations, batches, expiration dates, partial deliveries, or a high return rate, a dedicated WMS becomes advisable. We'll tell you which of these two scenarios applies to you before we provide a quote.
Does the connection work in both directions?
Yes. Orders, including line items, payment and shipping methods, discounts, and customer data, are transferred from Magento 2 to pixi. Stock levels per warehouse location, shipping status, tracking numbers, partial deliveries, and returns are transferred from pixi back to Magento. We define the synchronization frequency and direction for each data type – stock levels are synchronized more frequently than master data.
What happens with partial deliveries and returns?
This is precisely where standard integrations most often fail. An order shipped from two warehouses in two packages must generate two tracking numbers and the correct partial status in Magento – otherwise, customers will contact support. Returns require the inventory to be reversed, the credit note to be issued, and the reason recorded. We handle both of these processes because we build the bridge ourselves.
How long does it take to connect pixi to Magento 2?
For standard tasks – items, inventory, orders, shipping status – we anticipate a few weeks. What drives up the lead time are special cases: multiple warehouses, batches and expiration dates, B2B pricing, partial deliveries, and the returns process. We estimate the effort based on an analysis of your processes, not a price list.
Do you also work with other warehouse management systems?
Yes. The work is less different than you might think: A WMS outputs its data via a REST or SOAP interface, sometimes via file export or database access. That's what we build on. You can find information about the other systems we use on our ERP and inventory management integration page.
Are you a partner of Descartes Pixi?
No. We are not a partner of Descartes and do not earn anything from the pixi license – you purchase that directly from the manufacturer. We only charge for the connection and its operation. This has a practical advantage: We can give you an unbiased assessment of whether pixi is too large or too small for your project.
Does Pixi not fit? Then we'll tell you.
Implementing a WMS is a long-term decision. There are cases where we advise against it: if the existing ERP system handles the warehouse logic and only the interface speed is a bottleneck, if the shipment volumes don't yet justify a dedicated system, or if the actual problem lies in the checkout process and not in the warehouse.
In all three cases, integrating a WMS is the expensive answer to the wrong question. We'll tell you this before we provide a quote, not in the second project phase.
Let's talk about your warehouse
Briefly describe how many shipments and storage locations are involved and where the current bottlenecks are. You will receive an assessment, not a presentation.
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