Why Integration is Important During the Holidays
Thursday, November 12, 2015Global Administrator
The holidays are, for the most part, an important time of year for online merchants. There are obviously some seasonal and B2B businesses that are exceptions to the madness of the holidays, but for everyone else, the holiday season is the busiest time for eCommerce.
Although merchants can expect to see an increase in sales and profit, they should also expect to see high volumes, more customer issues, and overall, more chaos than usual. This chaos comes with its own set of challenges, but there is one way to make this time of year a lot easier and streamlined…..Integrate!
Integrating your eCommerce platform and ERP system can provide many benefits, here are a few to look forward to!
Better Customer Experience
We all know how important the customer is, especially in today’s digital age of online reviews and social media. With integrating your platforms, gone are the days of lost customer information and orders. Customers can and will expect the best, and integration does just that!
When your ERP has up to date, live customer information, it ensures that important information is synced with your website. This can include product information, pricing, inventory and stock levels, discounts and coupons etc.
Finally, behind the scenes, your order to delivery process is much more efficient. Orders made on your store are quickly posted to your ERP which commences the fulfillment process right away. No more manual data entry!
Managing High Volumes Becomes Easier
As mentioned above, and as any online merchant knows, you should expect higher volumes of customers this time of year. With a solid integration solution between your store and ERP these high volumes become much easier to manage. In fact, there is little managing needed at all because the manual part is completely taken out of the equation. With integration, your holiday orders are streamlined and automated, so increased volume is no problem at all. With this, your time can be spent on more important things at this time of year, like marketing, customer experience, advertising, planning for next year, etc.
Improved Overall Efficiency
Integration improves overall efficiency. When manual data entry is removed, your processes are streamlined, information and data is clean and organized, and fewer errors occur. As a result, you will have a better idea of inventory levels, customer service levels and shipping and delivery. This is not only important for the holiday season, but it also provides you a good foundation for the following year, giving you the opportunity to plan accordingly.
Improved efficiency
Increased customer service levels
No more manual data entry!
The benefits of integration are endless, and well worth the investment. This time of year can make or break an online retailer in a highly competitive space like eCommerce. Take the steps you can to make your life easier, your customers happier, and your sales higher.
Integrate your eCommerce and ERP systems and have a
Holly Jolly Christmas!