The Seismic Shift: From Brand.com to Everywhere Commerce

For decades, eCommerce was defined by the brand.com — a central storefront controlling every transaction. That world is disappearing fast.

“We’re moving into a world where the next billion-dollar brand won’t even have a website,” says Kelly Goetsch, COO at Pipe17. “Buying is happening through marketplaces, social, and now through AI itself.”

It’s a new frontier he calls agentic commerce — where consumers don’t browse or click, they instruct intelligent agents to buy on their behalf. The implications for fulfillment are massive.

“There’s no natural bridge between AI-driven shopping and legacy order systems,” Goetsch explains. “That’s the gap order operations have to fill.”

Why Traditional Order Management Can’t Keep Up

Legacy order management systems (OMS) were built for a simpler era: one channel, one warehouse, and one predictable flow.

“They were designed for old-school retail,” says Goetsch. “Big box chains like Best Buy or JCPenney could plan for 11-day delivery. Today’s customers want same-day.”

Modern commerce now spans:

• Dozens of selling channels — from Shopify to TikTok

• Multiple back-office systems and ERPs

• Complex 3PL and fulfillment networks

Connecting them all point-to-point quickly becomes impossible. “You hit Metcalfe’s Law,” he adds. “The number of connections grows exponentially. That’s when systems start breaking down.”

The Rise of AI-Native Order Operations

Instead of patching legacy systems, Goetsch argues for a completely new architecture — AI-native order operations.

Pipe17’s model combines two layers:

• A network layer that connects selling channels, ERPs, and 3PLs.

• An AI-driven orchestration layer that routes orders intelligently — by cost, speed, or carbon impact.

“It’s not just technology; it’s a discipline,” he says. “Just like DevOps transformed software, OrderOps is transforming commerce.”

This network-centric approach scales seamlessly as new APIs, channels, and partners emerge — and updates propagate automatically, like a cellular network refreshing its signal.

Bringing Intelligence into Every Order

Pipe17’s built-in AI assistant, Pippen, helps teams manage daily workflows: connecting new channels, cleaning data, and automating fulfillment decisions.

It also taps into model context protocol (MCP) — enabling systems like ChatGPT or Claude to query live commerce data directly.

“You can ask: ‘How many orders came through Shopify today?’ or ‘Which orders are stuck?’” Goetsch says. “That level of visibility was impossible before.”

The result: real-time, conversational control over order data — without manual dashboards or developer tickets.

Replacing Monoliths with Networks

Pipe17 serves a wide range of use cases:

• OMS replacement: Modernizing legacy platforms like IBM Sterling or Manhattan.

• ERP augmentation: Unlocking data from systems like NetSuite.

• Channel expansion: Helping brands sell across fast-moving platforms such as TikTok.

• 3PL enablement: Powering logistics giants like UPS, Radial, and Ryder to connect their brand clients directly.

“We sit at the intersection of selling, fulfillment, and record systems,” Goetsch explains. “It’s about connectivity first, not control.”

This flexibility gives business users — not IT — the power to manage integrations, automate rules, and monitor every order across the network in real time.

Agentic Commerce, Real-Time Fulfillment

In the age of AI-driven shopping, speed and accuracy are non-negotiable. Inventory data must flow instantly, decisions must adapt dynamically, and the entire network must operate as one intelligent organism.

“Order operations is what makes agentic commerce possible,” Goetsch concludes. “It connects the head — AI-driven demand — to the hands that fulfill it.”