A few articles ago, I wrote about effective communication in business and examined the value of asking the right questions. Today I would like to provide a list of some questions that should help you narrow the field of providers when procuring a software project.

I have been in the software services industry for over 10 years and have worked on hundreds of projects, from clarifying the scope of work, through implementation and project wrap-up. I have also been on the receiving end of deliverables and have just about seen it all in terms of what could go wrong during the delivery.

In a future post, I will look at some specific reasons projects go over time and budget, but today I would like to share some key questions you should be asking to help get your project off on the right foot.

Keep in mind that these assume you will have some type of ongoing business relationship with that company, including technical support, upgrades, future product purchases and additional professional services.

Two Guys in a Basement?

Depending on what exactly you are trying to achieve, a freelance consultant may be a great fit for your project, but if you are implementing a project that affects mission-critical data, be wary of a fly-by-night solutions. You may or Read more…

Technology Corner, eBRIDGE Blog

In my previous article, we started looking at how important effective communication is, specifically in business. We saw how taking the time to ask the right questions can save everyone time and make you look like the professional you are.

Asking the right questions is useless though if you don’t listen to the responses. Stop for a moment and think about the difference between hearing and listening. Is there a difference? Absolutely! Hearing is passive, something which you have you have no control over. You hear a siren or you hear name shouted from across a room. You can ‘tune-out’ ambient noise but you can’t turn your ears off to prevent you from hearing.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and they were not paying attention to what you were saying, perhaps formulating a response or comment before you finished speaking? What about that person who is constantly checking their phone (or worse, answering it), or is otherwise distracted? Read more…

eBRIDGE Blog

With a looming debt crisis in the United States and Europe, it’s no question that there are turbulent times ahead for businesses.  So what can an e-commerce store do to mitigate a decrease in demand for their products or services?  Here are a few tips:

Back-office automation

Increased automation with your back-office systems can save your company a substantial amount of money.  There are several affordable plugins and integration products that can be used with your existing e-commerce platform including accounting integration, email marketing, and payment processing.  For instance, eBridge’s cloud-based accounting integration platform is an extremely affordable way to integrate your e-commerce store, EDI trading partners, and CRM system with your accounting system.

Don’t cut back on your marketing efforts, improve them

When times get tough, many companies make the mistake of becoming overly defensive by cutting costs.  It’s important to remember that your marketing and advertising efforts produce sales.  Online retailers can spend much more on their advertising efforts than brick-and-mortar stores as their operational costs are much lower.  Instead of cutting back on marketing, it’s wise to reevaluate your current strategies.   For example, when was the last time you reviewed your online advertising campaigns?  Are there new advertising channels that are available to you?  Do you have a mobile marketing strategy in place?

Review your product line

Changes in consumer behavior are usually the first signs of recessionary cycles.  During economic downturns, consumers draw more attention to non-cyclical goods or staples.  Reviewing your product line for new additions is a great way to increase demand.  For instance, you may want to offer complementary products for your stores ‘core’ products.

Increase customer loyalty

Be sure to increase communication with your existing customer base as they are the ones that are most likely to buy from you.  Offer incentives like rewards, promotions, and contests to make sure they are returning to your store.  Also, improve your customer service efforts to ensure that your customers are completely satisfied with their purchases.

Expand your reach

The internet and free-trade has opened up the gates to world markets.  Emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC’s) are well positioned to maintain strong growth in e-commerce over the long-term.   Be sure to look into these markets if you haven’t already!

eBRIDGE Blog, eCommerce

eBridgeConnections can, has and will do some pretty creative implementations, so please ask if you cannot find your eCommerce cart in the eBridge Blueprint builder, or are otherwise unsure about what services eBridge can provide.  The information below is to help you understand some options we have available if you do not see your desired eCommerce cart/web store.

Option #1: eBridge Builds a Connector
For carts that eBridge has NOT built a connector for (using the web store’s API – Application Programming Interface), eBridge can build a connector, provided:

• A Web Store API actually exists
• The API is robust enough to facilitate the functionality required by the end-user. This could mean how frequently we are allowed to exchange data with the web store, or it could mean the contents of the data for any given touchpoint.

Be aware that not all API’s are created equally.  The data contents of each touchpoint (orders, inventory, prod/price, shipment) varies between carts and needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis.  Ultimately, eBridge is at the mercy of the web store, as would any other integration solution provider you may be examining.

Option #2: eBridge Provides API access to ePortal Integration Platform
eBridge has an API for ePortal (online integration platform) which allows people to exchange data using the ePortal-specific formats and methods.  The final integration with the web store (or any other external system for that matter) is the sole responsibility of the end user.  In other words, eBridge has nothing to do with the data once it leaves ePortal.

Option #3: File integration
Most carts have some type of file export/import functionality using either a delimited (CSV for example) or XML file format.

• Inbound from Web Store to ERP: If the end user exports orders from the web store and puts them somewhere, eBridge can pick them up (FTP or a folder on your network, for example), eBridge can integrate them into the accounting/ERP system.
• Outbound from ERP to Web Store: Opposite of inbound.  eBridge can export from the accounting/ERP system and create a delimited or XML file in web store-specific format.  It would be up to the end user to import that file into the web store which is usually a manual process.

eBridge can also repackage data from any structured format to any other structured format (delimited files and XML most commonly), as well as with custom databases. What are your data transformation and integration needs?

Integration, Technology Corner, Webstore Integration, eBRIDGE Blog, eCommerce

Magento is one of the world’s leading eCommerce platforms and consequently happens to be the most popular and frequently requested integrations we come across here at eBridge Connections.

We are continually updating our Magento connection functionality and I would like to share some of the highlights and enhancements that are supported by the API connection.

• Multi-store, tier pricing is now fully supported and can be configured right from your accounting/ERP database. Tier pricing is a promotional tool that lets you price items differently for higher quantities. You can think of this as volume discounting.
• Order retrieval filter for order creation date has been added. This is in addition to order number range (start/end).
• Configurable, multiple concurrent connections for product and inventory creation and updates has been added. Instead of processing items one at a time, this feature allows multiple connections to run in parallel, resulting in performance that is 15x faster on average!
• Usually new customers will be created directly on Magento but some people have existing customers in their accounting/ERP system that they would like set up with accounts on Magento. Customer creation on Magento through the API is supported!

Of course we also continue to support the following touch-points:

• Orders out of Magento
• Product & pricing creation/updates into Magento
• Inventory quantity updates into Magneto
• Shipment with tracking information updates into Magento

Build your Magento to accounting integration today!

Webstore Integration, eCommerce

Over the next few articles, I will be looking at some principles of effective communication and how it relates in a business setting.  We will look at some typical questions that you, as a customer, should be asking when soliciting products or services as well what is expected from you during a project.  Finally, we will be looking at some common reasons a (software) services project would go over time or budget.

Let’s start by looking at some fundamental communication requirements.

There are two important qualities every successful person has, the ability to ask the right questions and to be a good listener. Of course, there are other traits of the successful but these two are near the top and nearly universal of every successful individual I have met and read about.

In the first part, I’m focusing on asking the right questions; next time we will look at being a good listener.

Read more…

eBRIDGE Blog

eBridge Software and Web Design Solutions Form Partnership to Offer Web Shop Manager eCommerce Integration to Over 40 Accounting/ERP Systems

This partnership allows Web Shop Manager merchants to integrate web sales orders, update inventory and shipping details automatically to over 40 major Accounting/ERP packages.

BURLINGTON, Ontario [June, 2011] – Web Design Solutions, Inc., a leading eCommerce software provider and eBridge Connections, a world leading provider of accounting software integration solutions, announced today their partnership aimed at providing ERP software integration to Web Shop Manager merchants. As the number of retailers deploying online stores continues to rise, many merchant platforms fail to offer an effective way to integrate sales data into accounting packages. As a result, resources are unnecessarily devoted to the manual keying of data during order processing. This partnership will provide Web Shop Manager merchants with an integrated online solution, facilitating a streamlined business processes and eliminate the need for costly custom solutions, resulting in a fast ROI for the merchant and savings in both time and labor.

With hundreds of happy customers and counting, Web Design Solutions’ highest priority continues to be customer experience with fanatical in-house design, development and support from real humans. “We aren’t a template website factor, at Web Design Solutions we produce one of a kind personalized designs for each of our clients. Our mission is to ensure your online store not only survives, but thrives in this tough economy through innovative eCommerce website design techniques and eCommerce strategies based on solid creative foundations.” Dana Nevins, Founder/CEO Web Design Solutions, Inc.

The eBridge integration platform currently supports connectors for 40+ of the world’s most popular accounting packages, including products from Microsoft, SAP, Sage and Intuit. “Providing an easy to use, SaaS-based platform merchants can plug into is our vision moving forward,” said Colin Brown, CEO of eBridge Connections “The ability to connect the accounting package or ERP to a merchant’s eCommerce store unattended, will significantly reduce errors and allow the merchant to direct their attention to other business needs.”

About eBridge

eBridge Software delivers powerful SaaS-based accounting integration that connects and automates vital business processes. The universal solution supports an ever-growing list of 40 accounting and ERP systems including Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, SAP, Intuit, and many more. With connections to more than 20 popular eCommerce carts, thousands of EDI trading partners and leading CRM platforms, eBridge Connections has become the integration platform of choice for businesses worldwide.”

40 Accounting Packages | 1000’s of Connections | Millions of Documents

About Web Design Solutions and Web Shop Manager

Located in sunny San Diego, CA, Web Design Solutions is specialized in the creation of Content Driven eCommerce Websites using their revolutionary SaaS-based eCommerce Content Management System, Web Shop Manager. Web Shop Manager is breaking new ground combining intuitive content creation tools and powerful conversion boosting marketing such as live chat, an integrated blog, enterprise level guided navigation systems, and a true 1-step fully optimized AJAX checkout to reduce bounce/abandonment rates.

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