How To Integrate eCommerce Sites with ERP Systems
ARTICLE SUMMARY:
- How e-Commerce integration can benefit your business/company/organization.
- eCommerce integration in developing countries.
- The drawbacks of manual processes.
- Digital 4 Africa’s e-Commerce integration solution.
- What to expect with e-Commerce integration.
Many entrepreneurs, business owners and individuals strive to run their businesses as efficiently as possible. According to (Molla and Licker, 2005) to achieve this, it’s imperative to adopt eCommerce integration in your business . But what is eCommerce integration? eCommerce integration is the coordination between a company’s eCommerce site and (ERP) system. Proper integration enables the flow of information bidirectionally between the two systems meaning, data only needs to be entered into the system once.
How can an eCommerce Integration project benefit your business?
Any business can benefit from integrating its data systems. If you’ve been working to solve business challenges through technology, integrating your eCommerce system with your back-office software is a fantastic way to accomplish your goals. Be it customers/catalogue management or meeting accounting/shipping requirements, through the placement of two-way communication between the eCommerce system and the ERP, your organisation will save time, money and effort, ultimately promoting growth.
eCommerce Integration in Developing Countries
There’s a belief that eCommerce contributes to the advancement of businesses in developing countries. This belief is driven by the perceived potential of the Internet in reducing transaction costs by bypassing some, if not all, of the intermediary and facilitating linkages to the global supply chains. In order to take advantage of these potentials, businesses must adopt eCommerce integration.
The Drawbacks of Manual Processes?
When your eCommerce and other digital ordering processes are not automated, mistakes are commonplace. Shipping addresses can be entered wrong, incorrect inventory levels can lead to overselling, product information could be incomplete, incorrect, or even missing. Ultimately, when two-way integration is not in place, your entire end-to-end customer experience is at stake. So why take the risk?
Are there any Obstacles in eCommerce Integration?
I’m sure you’re thinking that integrating your eCommerce systems must be costly. And you’re absolutely right. It is!
The need for companies to integrate their ERP systems with eCommerce is often overlooked because of cost. Either that or the disruption caused to your business by having to change existing systems.
Okay. So, it is not a minor undertaking. We get that.
But we also know that the cost can be worthwhile when you reap the benefits i.e. improve your customer’s overall experience and your immediate and long-term operations.
So, does D4A have a solution?
YOU THOUGHT RIGHT!!!
We don’t mean to brag buuut, yes.
Upesisoft is Digital 4 Africa’s ERP solution for your business woes. This software enables you to adequately standardize, streamline and integrate your business processes across finance, human resources, procurement, distribution and other departments.
What to expect with ERP integration
If you want to be successful online and keep up with increased demand for digital ordering functionality, your eCommerce strategy should include integration to your ERP, account and inventory software. Upesisoft, the D4A eCommerce suite, allows for ERP integration which in turn enables you to easily account for new orders and fulfil them.
This is regardless of when or where the sale is made. This solution also allows you to provide customers with access to their live account information, promoting more efficiency through customer self-service. The customers can access their accounts online 24/7 which also means they can view their account information without contacting you directly. Information on their order history, their invoices, real time price and the real time stock available to them can all be checked online.
In summary…
You are assured to enjoy the following benefits from integrating:
- Reduce manual entry to save time and increase output while reducing errors, when entering order, inventory, item, customer and shipping data.
- Streamline inventory synchronization, track updates, and provide accurate inventory levels to customers, without hiring staff to manage these tasks.
- Automatic notifications for customers when orders have been shipped and allow them to track the delivery of products.
- Simplify how you manage price and product changes to inventory.
- The flexibility to add multiple online (web-stores and marketplaces) and offline (brick & mortar) sales channels, without losing operational efficiency.
- Handle increased demand in online orders without the need to add extra resources to cater for it!
If you are keen to learn the ins and outs of how to integrate an e-commerce site with ERP systems, follow this link for another useful article.
