Order Processing From Multiple Locations Using 1 Database?

[olimits7]

Hi,

Is it possible to set up in admin the ability to process orders from multiple locations but still be using 1 central database?

One way I was thinking of doing this is to use the PC's IP address to determine the warehouse location. Then when an employee logs into the system to process orders it will just filter the order processing pages to show orders only from that location. This way they don't see orders from all locations and get confused about what orders they need to process.

Would this be possible to do? Is this how it normally works with websites that have multiple locations and still use 1 central database?

Thank you,

olimits7

[haggul]

Or just link it to a users login details?

[lorax]

It can be done in different ways but there are pros and cons. Remote access to a database on another domain or server can be a security risk. If the sites are all on one server, then you should be able to access them more securely.

If this is a new site, you may want to consider using an offsite cart setup (monthly fee) where the service provider handles the cart and all of the PCI compliance issues and gives you a standardized suite of payment processors and shipping agents to choose from. Then you can have multiple stores feeding into one common back end. Secure, less headaches, and flexibility.

[olimits7]

Thanks for the replies!

The way I have it setup currently is I use 1 dedicated server through a hosting company. So the database/backend will be in one central location, and different locations users would just log in to the backend by using the website admin login page.

So what I'm struggling with now is since users will be logging in to the same website admin from different warehouse locations; how do I separate my "order processing" pages to just show the users orders from that location only?

Because I don't think it will be a good idea to show users who are processing orders; orders from both warehouses because then I can see running into issues with 1 user trying to process an order that belongs to the other warehouse.

haggul, that's a good idea; I didn't think about taking that approach.

Thank you, again!

olimits7

[haggul]

Yeah just link a user profile with a warehouse profile then use that as a filter - should be straight forward enough. A master or super user could be linked to all warehouses and see all activity.

I've done similar with running multiple front end brands from one back end database.

[votrechien]

Are all of your orders coming into one centralized database from the various channels you sell in (assuming you sell in different channels)?

Are you basically trying to make it so your different warehouses/dropshippers can log in every day and see what orders are theirs? (opposed to you having to sort through them and manually send them to each fulfillment center)

[jrockfl]

That might work if they have static IP addresses and not dynamic.

I'm a senior .net developer and do stuff like this all of the time.

You could have a users table...
Users
UserID
Username
Password
more columns...

You could have a locations table
Locations
LocationID
Loctation

Then you could have a cross reference table
UserLocations
UserID
LocationID

The cross reference table would map the user to the location.

After the user has been authenticated to your web site, you would pull their location and display appropriate content.