What Are the Benefits of Integrating Your eCommerce and ERP in a Tech Stack?

If you are reading this as the sequel to the highly anticipated blog post regarding the importance of having a fully integrated tech stack, then you’re in luck! This post grabs the two components of ERP and eCommerce and places them under the microscope to find out the answer to the question, “What are the benefits of integrating your eCommerce and ERP in a tech stack?”

The need for a dedicated integration between a company’s eCommerce and ERP is usually overlooked because it’s anticipated to be a costly implementation that disrupts the day-to-day running of the business. However, this misconception is generally expensive itself as without that integrating link between eCommerce and ERP; companies find themselves losing out on valuable benefits. These benefits range from reducing operational expenditures to a better overall customer experience and a much higher level of control and greater insight through deep reporting capabilities.

The primary purpose of this integration is to ensure that valuable data curated from retail activity is passed through both the eCommerce platform and ERP solution automatically and seamlessly, allowing for the business to operate more efficiently. Even though eCommerce business’ that are built as a standalone online store can function without an ERP solution, there are issues later down the line when they look to scale their operations.

Integrating an ERP into the mix removes the retailer’s risk of outgrowing their systems and empowers them to grow without limitations. Additionally, this integration reduces the level of monotonous tasks that occur internally, allowing the business to dedicate more time to important areas such as customer experience, business strategy, and decision making.

In competitive verticals and markets, it can be challenging for a business to stick out. A simple yet effective method that is often overlooked is making the customers’ experience positive and enjoyable! Through an ERP – eCommerce integration, customers can be notified of every stage in their shopping cycle. This creates a personalised touch that keeps them informed every step of the way, making them feel important. Also, because customers are receiving updates supported by real-time data, it reduces buyer frustration, resulting in a precious asset – a recurring customer!

ERP integration also allows retailers to offer their buyers the chance to conduct their own shipping strategies when purchasing items or services from their eCommerce platform. These shipping strategies can be based on cost, delivery time and even specific handling fees. However, they primarily serve as a means for customers to receive a more personalised experienced, which, as mentioned in the last paragraph – isn’t a bad thing! This integration also allows for complex split shipping requests to multiple global addresses that use different shipping and transportation methods.

Humans can be fickle, and even though they make great customers, they can also be prone to making mistakes; here enters another perk of ERP – eCommerce integration…automation! Automation can be introduced to save time and resources on manual processes, therefore, reducing human error. Any sales orders made via the eCommerce platform are transferred directly to the ERP system, which can generate financial reports, allowing for a greater level of control and insight into purchasing trends.

Companies can also reduce unnecessary costs by using this real-time data in regard to inventory management. These generated financial reports can give an insight into trends and see what needs to be improved, strengthening the retailer’s decision-making capabilities with detailed and accurate data.

As you can see, the benefits of having an ERP – eCommerce integration significantly outweigh the negatives, and adds some clarity to any initial doubts. Despite this, it can be tricky to pursue as the correct implementation and integration can be a complex affair. Therefore, it’s usually best work with an experienced agency that understands all the possible problems within the implementation phase.