By Shahrooz Kohan, CEO of AIMS360 · Updated August 2026
Foot-Works is a footwear and apparel distribution system from CCSI, Comprehensive Computer Services Incorporated, based in Connecticut. By CCSI’s own account the company has been serving importers, distributors and wholesalers for more than 40 years. If you are evaluating a replacement, the thing to test first is not the feature list. It is whether the new system handles footwear the way footwear actually works: size, colour and width as three real dimensions, not a workaround.
Most footwear brands replacing a legacy distribution system shortlist AIMS360, ApparelMagic, BlueCherry and Uphance. The deciding factor is usually dimensional depth. Footwear needs size, colour and width tracked as separate dimensions, with half sizes, split size runs, size-curve pre-packs and a distinct GTIN per size-width SKU. Systems built for apparel alone often treat width as a second colour field, and it shows up later as mispicks and chargebacks.
AIMS360 runs footwear brands natively: size-colour-width matrix, pre-packs by size curve, EDI to 350+ retailers with no per-transaction fees, a full WMS with barcode and RFID, and published pricing. If you are a smaller DTC-led shoe brand, ApparelMagic or Uphance may cost less and fit fine.
The incumbent
Foot-Works is an integrated business management system for footwear and apparel, built by CCSI, Comprehensive Computer Services Incorporated, based in Connecticut. CCSI markets it to importers, distributors and wholesalers, with modules spanning order processing, inventory control, EDI, warehouse management, purchasing and production tracking, accounts receivable and sales force automation. CCSI states it has served these industries for more than 40 years, and it is an associate member of GS1.
That longevity is real, and for a distributor with stable requirements the system did the job for a long time. The reason brands end up evaluating a replacement is usually not one missing feature. It is that footwear distribution changed underneath the software: DTC storefronts, marketplaces, more retailer EDI, 3PL fulfillment, and an expectation that inventory is accurate in real time rather than after a nightly process.
One verifiable data point, stated plainly. The published copyright on the Foot-Works website currently reads 2020. That is not evidence of anything on its own, and CCSI may well be actively supporting customers. It is simply a reasonable prompt to ask your vendor three questions in writing: what the support arrangement is, what the roadmap is over your contract term, and what the data export path looks like if you ever leave. Those are fair questions to put to any vendor, including us.
The footwear problem
This is where footwear evaluations are won and lost, and it is the single thing worth testing before you look at anything else.
A shoe is not one SKU. One style in 4 colours, 12 sizes and 3 widths is 144 distinct sellable units to buy, receive, allocate, pick, label, invoice and reorder. Apparel-first systems frequently model size and colour properly and then bolt width on as an attribute or a second colour field. It works in the demo. It breaks when you allocate a size-width run to a retailer, print a GS1 label per unit, or reconcile a return.
Ask any candidate to demonstrate these on real data, not slides:
AIMS360 was built on matrix inventory from the start and runs footwear brands on it today. The detail is on the footwear ERP page.
Buyer intent
The shortlist
Four platforms cover almost every replacement evaluation from a legacy footwear distribution system. Where a competitor is the better answer for a profile, it says so.
| AIMS360 | ApparelMagic | BlueCherry | Uphance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size-colour-width matrix | Native, three dimensions | Size and colour native, width varies | Native | Size and colour native, width varies |
| Size-curve pre-packs | Yes, allocation and ASN work on the pre-pack | Basic | Yes | Basic |
| EDI | Native, 350+ retailers, no per-document fees | Native, narrower retailer list | Native | Built in |
| Warehouse | Full WMS, barcode and RFID, 99% accuracy in production | Inventory, lighter WMS | WMS available | Warehouse execution |
| Published pricing | Yes, three plans plus add-ons | Yes | No | No |
| ChatGPT app / Claude MCP | Both | None | None | None |
| Best fit | Footwear and apparel brands scaling wholesale plus DTC | Smaller DTC-led brands | Enterprise manufacturers | Newer DTC and light wholesale |
Sources: CCSI's published product description for Foot-Works, vendor pricing pages where published, and G2 and Capterra product listings. Where a cell says width "varies", the vendor does not publish a clear statement either way, so test it on your own data.
Where the money is
For a wholesale footwear brand, retailer EDI is usually the largest recurring line after the licence itself, and it scales with success. Every new door, every additional document type, every dropship program adds volume.
Some systems gateway through a standalone provider such as SPS Commerce or TrueCommerce, which means a second contract and a connector between two vendors. Some include EDI but charge per document or per trading partner. AIMS360 takes the third route: EDI built natively into the ERP covering 350+ retailers with no per-transaction fees, chargeback management, and 24x7 emergency EDI support.
Before comparing two quotes, get the EDI model in writing from both: which retailers are included, what a new trading partner costs, whether document volume is metered, and who maps a retailer that changes its spec.
The 2026 difference
AIMS360 publishes an app for ChatGPT and an MCP server for Claude, both read-only, so you can ask about open backlog, margin by style, or sell-through by size run in plain English and get the real number back as a table, a chart or an Excel export.
Among apparel and footwear native systems, no other vendor currently offers either. ApparelMagic, BlueCherry, Uphance, Aptean's apparel editions, WFX and Zedonk have none. The general ERPs that do, notably NetSuite, are not built for size-colour-width, retailer EDI or chargebacks.
Switching
The fear with any ERP move is a peak-season go-live that misses ship windows. The way to remove it is sequencing, not optimism. AIMS360 runs implementations with its own in-house team rather than routing through consultancies, and go-live typically lands in 3 to 16 weeks depending on channel and retailer count.
Your full size, colour and width matrix, customers, open orders, inventory by SKU, cost history and retailer list are exported and reviewed before anything is quoted.
Size runs, widths, half sizes and pre-pack curves are rebuilt in the new structure, then reconciled unit by unit against your export so nothing collapses into a single SKU.
Each retailer connection is built and tested against the live spec, including UCC 128 labels and GTINs at the size-width level, before any order flows.
A named implementation manager stays through the first close and the first full EDI cycle. You own the system afterwards without a consultant on retainer.
Full detail is on the implementation page, and the footwear specifics are on the footwear ERP page.
Questions
Foot-Works is a footwear and apparel distribution system from CCSI, Comprehensive Computer Services Incorporated, based in Connecticut and reachable on (860) 223-6476. By CCSI's own account the company has offered apparel and footwear distribution, inventory, EDI and warehouse software for more than 40 years. The published copyright on the Foot-Works website currently reads 2020.
The systems most often shortlisted are AIMS360, ApparelMagic, BlueCherry and Uphance. For footwear specifically the deciding factor is dimensional depth: whether size, colour and width are three real dimensions with half sizes, split size runs and size-curve pre-packs. AIMS360 handles that natively and adds EDI to 350+ retailers, a full WMS and published pricing.
Because a shoe is not one SKU. A single style in 4 colours, 12 sizes and 3 widths is 144 distinct sellable units to buy, receive, allocate, pick and reorder. Systems built for apparel alone often bolt width onto the colour field or an attribute, which works until you need to allocate a size-width run to a retailer, print a GS1 label per unit, or reconcile a return. Then it produces mispicks and chargebacks.
Yes. Size runs are defined per style with half sizes, extended runs and split runs supported, and pre-packs can be built on a size curve rather than a flat quantity. Allocation, picking, ASN generation and invoicing all work against the pre-pack, which is how footwear wholesale actually ships.
On AIMS360, go-live typically runs 3 to 16 weeks depending on complexity. A single-channel brand with clean data goes live at the fast end. An importer with multiple warehouses, many retailer EDI connections and overseas production goes live at the slow end. The date is agreed during scoping, before you sign.
Ask for a full export in a readable format: styles with the full size, colour and width matrix, customers, open orders, inventory positions by SKU, cost history and open receivables. Get that export early rather than at migration time. On AIMS360 the implementation team maps it into the new structure and runs a reconciliation pass on both sides before go-live.
Your trading partner relationships carry over, but the connections are rebuilt and retested against each retailer's current spec. AIMS360 has native connections to 350+ retailers with no per-transaction fees, including the footwear and sporting goods accounts, so most retailer lists are already covered. Each connection is tested before live orders flow.
AIMS360 is currently the only apparel and footwear native ERP with both a ChatGPT app and a Claude MCP server. Both are read-only: an assistant can analyse live orders, invoices, sales and margin, but cannot change anything in the ERP. ApparelMagic, BlueCherry, Uphance, Aptean's apparel editions, WFX and Zedonk have none.
Keep researching
A specialist will walk your exact workflow on AIMS360: your size, colour and width matrix, your pre-pack curves, your retailer EDI list, and what a data migration would actually involve.
Book a free demo
