In recent years, there been a steady increase in the growth of e-commerce. Industry experts expect this trend to continue in the foreseeable future. Today’s consumers prefer online shipping for a variety of reasons. They can get what they want at reasonable prices. Many of them don’t even complain about the quality of the products they acquire. They believe it is superior to what is available in most brick and mortar stores. On top of this, they can buy whatever they need from the comforts of their home. Retailers who want to make their mark in the market are closely watching this trend. They are taking the necessary steps to exploit it for their own advantage.
Why is e-commerce integration so important for entrepreneurs?
The professionals explain many enterprising entrepreneurs want to stand out in the online retail business. This is why they choose to establish their own virtual stores. However, they tend to overlook the need to integrate them with enterprise resource platforms. Many of them state cost concerns as the reason why they don’t take such a step. Unfortunately, these businessmen don’t realize they end up paying a very heavy price. This is because streamlining their market operations become very difficult over time. This ultimately affects their customers’ experience. It’s the last thing they want. This is why the specialists suggest these proprietors should seriously consider opting for e-commerce-ERP integration.
The specialists further point out the following three important benefits of e-commerce integration for entrepreneurs:
- Minimizes data redundancy resulting from human errors
Entrepreneurs operating online stores know how difficult it is to deal with large volume of data. The e-commerce store of this businessman contains relevant information relating to sales. On the hand, they use their enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform handling other important information. This can relate to inventory, purchase, customer details warehousing and logistics. Transferring vital information from one system to another is time-consuming progress. Inadvertent human errors are bound to occur. However, such mistakes can prove very costly for such proprietors. Fortunately, e-commerce-ERP integration prevents such a situation.
- Boost internal productivity
Online retailers soon notice that e-commerce-ERP integration acts as a catalyst in improving internal productivity. It is possible for them to streamline numerous business operations at the same time. The ERP system records the sales information from the e-commerce platform in real time. This makes it easier for an operator to monitor and process customers’ requests. This significantly reduces the order fulfillment process. This is one important aspect which many entrepreneurs can’t afford to overlook.
- Minimizes inventory costs
Proper inventory management and control is always a contentious issue for many online retailers. They need instant information on the availability of stocks at all time. Only then can they send out purchase requests to their vendors for re-supplies. The last thing they want to dig deep into their pocket to pay for avoidable costs. Such expenses can relate to insurance, logistics, and warehousing. E-commerce-ERP integration helps to ensure resolves such problems.
Taking steps to ensure proper e-commerce integration can work wonders for online retailers. They have just got to look at the three important advantages of adopting this course of action. It can clear all their doubts. In the long run, they’ll realize it’s a decision worth taking.
