ERP integration with ecommerce

How To Integrate ERP With Ecommerce Website

Are you thinking of imparting strength to your e-commerce business via automation? Think smart and consider ERP integration with ecommerce operations. It takes off many of your worries and leaves no scope for errors. Enhanced business performance is guaranteed with increased productivity at a minimal cost. It not only saves time but also spares a bunch of employees to invest in other essential and complex tasks. Merchants can connect all their business applications and systems through ERP integration and can converge data over a single platform for easy analysis. So it calls for ERP integration with an e-commerce website to achieve a seamless workflow.

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In a recent report by Statista 2023, we can see the worldwide market size of ERP software from 2019 to 2025. It reveals how its demand in the industry increased to optimize business operations.

market size of ERP software worldwide

Graph 1.1: It shows the market size of ERP software worldwide from 2019 to 2025

What are ERP system integrators?

A software company comprising a highly professional team to integrate your business operations with an ERP system is referred to as an ERP integrator. It offers an omnichannel solution to gather all of your data over a single platform generating reports for easy evaluation by merchants. System integrators know the technical points of handling the software in the best way and sort out complex issues wisely.

popular ERP system integrators

Graph 1.2: Most popular ERP system integrators

he Graph shows some of the famous names globally, working at their best for ERP integration with e-commerce websites. According to the stats shown, Sage is in much demand followed by SAP, Netsuite, Oracle, and many others.

Benefits of ERP integration

ERP integration is a beneficial step to eradicate data errors, get reliable reports, and enhance business efficiency. Let’s take an example from the Statista report a survey was conducted in Poland in 2021 to see how ERP integration is benefitting various e-commerce companies. The biggest benefit is accelerated order fulfilment procedure and supply chain optimization.

Benefits of ERP integration to e-commerce
Graph 1.3: Benefits of ERP integration to e-commerce businesses in Poland

Let’s have an inclusive look into the benefits.

Reduce cost

ERP integration automates business operations, cutting down the number of employees dedicated to manual data entry tasks thus reducing business costs.

Exclude human error

There is always a scope of error in manual input which ERP software overcome through automation. Data is updated without any delays so real-time information is available for analysis whenever needed by merchants.

Quicken order fulfilment process

As the ERP system updates information automatically, the order fulfillment process is accelerated. This saves time and increases business efficiency.

Improve supply chain management

It ensures updated inventory information which makes inventory management an easy task and enables merchants to make wise business decisions by overviewing reliable data.

Consistent real-time data updates

Real-time data is available to every department. So, every team member remains updated with the order status at each stage which boosts work efficiency and helps eliminate issues instantly as they arise.

Easy management of online and offline stores

ERP system syncs data from various business channels. Handling online and offline store operations becomes easy. Merchants can have a look at useful data such as inventory status in a single report anytime and anywhere.

Ensure future growth

Sudden showers of customers and large orders may slow down the order fulfilment process if data management is made manually. Whereas ERP integration with e-commerce simplifies complex tasks through automation assuring business growth.

Enhance sales

ERP integration into business systems enhances customer satisfaction as information is updated automatically which eases the purchasing procedure for customers. Sales are enhanced generating good revenue. Merchants can provide better experiences to customers via updated inventory status and providing shipment tracking facilities through notifications.

Gain customer loyalty

Companies can take care of customers’ needs, reach out to more customers, and can track their contact information for sending updates. This keeps the customers happy with services and ensures their come back for the next purchase. 

Automates financial reporting system

ERP software also integrates finance data producing real-time reports which make it easy for merchants to evaluate their company’s financial status such as cash flow, profit, and loss.

Different Types of ERP Integration

An e-commerce business functions through various software, any of which can be integrated with an ERP system. However, there are a few types of ERP integration that cannot be overlooked.

E-commerce ERP integration

ERP integration with e-commerce helps to manage data over your e-commerce stores such as customer data, orders, shipping statuses, and online transactions made by customers. It makes data available to the team members involved in the order fulfilment procedure. The enmeshed employees fulfil the online store requirements after data analysis.

CRM ERP integration

Customer satisfaction is the major aim of any business. Merchants strive to provide better than the best service to gain their customer’s confidence. For this data connected to the customer such as order status, transactions, etc. must be monitored carefully. Active communication with the customer is substantial to keep them informed of their order through notifications. To optimize the performance of order management, inventory management, and logistics management system ERP integration into the CRM (customer relationship management) is substantial. It quickens customer service to develop good customer relationships.

ERP integration with business intelligence

BI software raises business standards by collecting, analyzing, and providing worthy insights into essential data that could help make future decisions in the favor of the company. Even employees at their level can make data-driven decisions to streamline workflow. ERP integration with business intelligence software can show wonders as it doubles business efficiency by easing data communication among employees. Data transparency empowers a company’s decision-making ability.

Ways to effective ERP integration

For beginners, here we explained ERP integration techniques in steps:

  • Comprehend the type of data source you want to work with, whether you need a cloud-based source, on-premise, or both. Cloud-based is easy to integrate as it can connect with many modern software applications. 
  • Research to find the best integration software providers, list down your goals, and comprehend your business needs.
  • Sort out the type of data you want to integrate which may include product pricing, specifications, customer data, shipping data, inventory data, invoicing, taxes, order return or order information, etc. 
  • Make sure the data storage format you want to integrate must be compatible with other systems so problems didn’t arise while data synchronization. 
  • Hire an ERP integrator comprising a team of IT experts to handle the ERP integration process proficiently. They know the potential issues that may arise and can solve them on the go.
  • Before launching, check the integration system several times to fix the errors if exist. The new system brings in certain variations to the business setup which need to be monitored carefully. Keep a regular check to assess whether the ERP integration system is accomplishing the required job or not.

Challenges

Challenges in ERP integration may befall due to human error, integration software, or your existing business software. Here mentioned a few challenges that you may encounter in the way

A budget may surpass defined limits

Every business has its defined budget for a certain task but, for ERP integration it may exceed the limits. To tackle this, initial planning is required to eliminate bottlenecks in the workflow.

The old system may not be compatible with ERP software

Assess your current business software as many old ones may hinder integration procedures with modern systems. So for the smooth running of operations make sure your e-commerce system works well with ERP software.

Special settings for customized features

Many businesses tailor the features according to their needs. ERP integration in this matter becomes a tough job as unique settings are made to keep up with custom-built features.

Complex system

Integration becomes complicated when data to integrate is of various types. The best way to begin with ERP integration is the careful categorization of data types in the initial stage.

Multiple types of data to integrate

A complex system upsurges when there are multiple types of data to integrate. It’s better to categorize the data in the beginning so integration becomes easy.

The best practice is Ginkgo

best practice for erp integration with ecommerce platform

Businesses planning to implement ERP integrations to their system should pick the best ERP integrator for the task. Ginkgo could be good practice in ERP integration with an ecommerce website. It serves as an omnichannel integrating important data to a single platform so the merchants can view, evaluate and make necessary business decisions with ease. Ginkgo simplifies complex ERP integrations as it comprises a team of IT experts that can handle bottlenecks in the procedure effectively. It ensures a smooth flow of necessary data between various platforms making real-time and accurate data available to every team member involved in the operations. Communication between stakeholders and employees is warranted which enhances business productivity.

Moreover, data with Ginkgo retail is secured and it provides a cloud-based system that is easy to integrate with your existing business applications and also with modern systems. It provides ERP integration with:

  • E-commerce store: manage product information, update inventory, monitors transactions, notify when an order is placed, provide easy purchasing procedures to customers, and record customer data. 
  • CRM system: ensure that customers keep on coming back to make a purchase. It records their data, assesses their interests, and evaluates their needs through their purchasing pattern. 
  • Order management system: from order placement to successful fulfillment all processes are carefully monitored and streamlined by Ginkgo through automation. It gathers data from all your sales channels and presents it in a single statistical report that is easy to comprehend and evaluate.
  • Business intelligence: it is an active reporting system that let merchants have valuable insight into most needed data to make vital decisions. It boosts business efficiency through automation.

Ginkgo retail further manages your shipping, logistics, inventory, and warehouse systems. It is a complete solution to your unique business needs that enhance customer experience, gains loyalty, and helps generate good revenue through an effective data management system. 

Concluding lines

ERP integration with e-commerce is an essential step to gathering reliable data over a single platform. This makes the analysis easy and merchants can take data-driven decisions without switching between various systems. Moreover, it enriches communication within the working bodies and generates comprehensive data reports.