Selecting an E-commerce ERP: Everything You Need to Know First

Your e-commerce operations will become more efficient and well-organised when you make the most of an e-commerce ERP. This solution essentially acts as a central hub for all your data and gets rid of separate pockets of information and disconnected work processes. Let's delve into how this works and what factors to consider when selecting the right solution for your business.

Understanding e-commerce ERP

1. What is ERP for e-commerce

Enterprise Resource Planning, or ERP, is a comprehensive solution that enhances a variety of corporate activities. It is a one-stop shop for businesses of various sizes, especially enterprises. It can handle various functions, including project management, risk management, financial management, sales order management, procurement, and supply chain management.

E-commerce ERP means that the ERP solution is designed with modules and functionality to help your e-commerce operation. It creates a single source of truth that allows you to monitor, manage, and optimise your daily online business activities.

2. Must-included e-commerce ERP features

To understand the transformative effect of an e-commerce ERP, let's take a closer look at its key features and the advantages they offer:

A. Inventory & Warehouse management

When you connect your ERP to your website, you can see smooth inventory synchronisation. The ERP system updates inventory levels dynamically as a customer places an online order. It provides you with an instant summary of each item's product availability in real time.

On the other hand, your e-commerce platform and the ERP system are updated concurrently when stock levels are restored. To put it briefly, ERP's Inventory Management function is a robust feature set that optimises stock levels, streamlines your entire supply chain operation, and increases customer satisfaction.

See Also: ERP & CRM Do You Need Them Both & How to Get Started?

B. Sales & Order management

When your ERP is integrated into your e-commerce platform, like Shopify, Magento, or your custom website, sales order data is synchronised with your backend. The Sales & Order management feature in an ERP is a potent toolkit that can optimise the whole sales process, from making the first contact with a customer to successfully fulfilling an order.

C. Purchasing management

This e-commerce ERP module offers powerful tools to optimise your procurement procedures and help you make more informed purchasing decisions. You can integrate with financials for real-time profit analysis, or you can manage various suppliers and vendors to optimise and regulate your spending operations.

D. Accounting & Finance management

You can manage your accounts payable and receivable, and general ledger (GL) with specific software. However, an e-commerce ERP solution lets you handle those tasks in addition to getting real-time e-commerce data. For instance, when a transaction from an e-commerce site enters your ERP system, your sales order and financial statements can be updated instantly.

E. Customer relationship management (CRM)

Using an e-commerce ERP that is integrated with CRM makes it easier to communicate and gain consumer insights. The ERP can automatically keep track of the special deals you offer and help you send them out easily. The CRM gives you a 360-degree perspective of your customers, enabling personalised interactions and making informed decisions for your business. Plus, it's been updated to include order information from every channel your customers can buy from.

F. Point of Sale management

The point of sales (POS) system of the ERP solution is a reliable and flexible option for e-commerce companies looking to expand into offline sales or brick-and-mortar retail. With the help of this integrated platform, you can better oversee in-store sales, enhance client satisfaction, and obtain insightful data for expansion.

G. E-commerce integrations

E-commerce ERPs with strong integration capabilities will in turn boost your online business. It should let you create a cohesive ecosystem by connecting various e-commerce platforms and apps that you need.

How e-commerce ERP fuels smarter business decisions

1. Increase productivity

All essential business operations, including order processing, inventory, CRM, or accounting management, are seamlessly integrated within an e-commerce ERP. This makes your online business run smoother by getting rid of separate data pockets and making processes more efficient. Think about managing your inventory, processing orders, and generating invoices, all from only one platform. By cutting out manual data entry, you can reduce mistakes and free up employees' time for other crucial tasks.

Additionally, many ERPs have automation features that allow you to create customised emails, refill items, and print shipping labels automatically using workflows. This guarantees accuracy and consistency while also cutting down on manual labour. It also results in quicker reaction times, higher client satisfaction ratings, and eventually more e-commerce sales.

2. Better user experience

First off, e-commerce ERPs enable you to optimise the order fulfilment processes. It helps to guarantee precise stock levels and prevent out-of-stock scenarios by combining inventory management with order processing. Customers are happier as a result of quicker fulfilment and on-time deliveries. Furthermore, customers can effortlessly monitor their delivery and stay informed, which further strengthens their trust in your business.

Moreover, e-commerce ERPs collect data from various customer interactions, giving valuable insights into your customers' behaviours. This information allows you to tailor the shopping experience to their preferences. For example, you can offer personalised product bundles, and special deals based on their browsing history, or suggest items they might like based on their previous purchases. Using this data to create a more personalised and enjoyable shopping journey can lead to increased customer loyalty and more repeat purchases

3. Pricing management

By centralising all pricing and product data, the ERP system ensures consistency across all sales channels and gets rid of the need for dispersed spreadsheets. Whether updating individual products, offering mass discounts, or launching seasonal promotions, this approach makes price adjustments more efficient.

E-commerce ERPs also make it easier to implement complex pricing schemes than just set prices. Features like dynamic pricing based on stock levels or demand, tiered pricing for large orders, and targeted marketing for particular groups can all be utilised. With this degree of adaptability, you can create customised pricing plans for various segments, enhance earnings potential, and optimise your entire pricing approach.

4. Omnichannel enablement

ERPs for e-commerce serve as a single source of truth, combining information from multiple sources, including social media, physical stores, and online businesses. No matter how customers interact with your business, having consolidated data lets you offer consistent and personalised experiences across all channels. Imagine a customer exploring your online store, adding products to their cart, and then paying for them without any problems at a physical store. With this level of data integration, you ensure a seamless experience at every touchpoint.

Read more: How ERP Accounting Software Elevates Finance Management

Additionally, the system centralises order fulfilment and inventory management functions. This means that you only have to use a single platform to handle all of your inventory and fulfil orders from anywhere. Utilising data integration, tailored interactions, and efficient omnichannel fulfilment, you can remove silos and establish a smoother customer journey.

5. Enhance revenue generation

These ERP solutions make sure you have the correct products in stock at the right time by offering real-time stock visibility, automated reordering and forecasting capabilities. It helps you to take advantage of times when demand is highest and minimise lost sales opportunities due to stockouts. ERPs can also help identify slow inventory, allowing you to run targeted discounts to maximise your product mix and free up capital.

Besides, by merging customer and sales data, you can pinpoint purchasing trends, divide up your clientele, and tailor your advertising campaigns. This lets you communicate with the appropriate audience and target them, increasing sales and conversion rates.

6. Ensured fiscal compliance

ERPs for e-commerce enhance accuracy and lower the risk of non-compliance by automating financial procedures. These systems also frequently connect with accounting or tax compliance software, which accelerates tax filing and lowers the possibility of fines or audits.

On top of that, because e-commerce ERPs provide an orderly and transparent record of your business activities, their transparency makes audits easier. It’s easier to organise and store crucial financial records so they can be quickly retrieved when you need them. Your team may confidently and quickly manage the difficulties of fiscal compliance with this all-inclusive strategy.

Factors to assess when choosing an e-commerce ERP

1. Implementation plan & timeline

Ensure that a thorough project analysis has been conducted to establish a realistic project timeline and budget, which are essential for the successful implementation of the ERP system. Take into account elements such as the difficulty of transferring your current data, the degree of training your staff, and the vendor's capacity to provide help during the implementation stage. Make sure the schedule meets your needs and causes as little interruption to your regular business activities as possible. This is critical because time and budget overruns are common during the ERP implementation stage. 46% of organisations experienced delays during their ERP project.

2. Select the important features

Not every e-commerce ERP provides the same features. Determine the key elements, including the CRM, inventory management, marketing automation, and reporting tools that were discussed in the previous section. Features that solve your current problems and help achieve your long-term growth goals should be the most important. Keep in mind that you should select an ERP with features that precisely correspond to your unique demands to avoid overloading.

3. Integrate with your current systems

Check if the e-commerce ERP you're considering works well with the CRM, marketing tools, or accounting software you already use. A smooth integration can reduce mistakes, cut down on the need for manual data entry between systems, and improve your overall workflow. Think about how well it fits with the software you're currently using and the benefits of having all your data in one place to decide how important integration is for you.

4. Pick one that scales with you

It’s advisable to select an ERP system for e-commerce that can grow with your company. Your e-commerce ERP must change as your customer base develops, product options broaden, and sales volume rises. As your company grows, look for a system that can integrate with other platforms, has modular add-ons, and flexible features.

5. Pricing considerations

Pricing models for e-commerce ERPs differ based on several aspects, such as functionality provided, on-premises vs. cloud-based deployment options, user licences, or continuing support expenses. Each value proposition must be carefully considered, and you must make sure that the pricing fits both your budget and the anticipated ROI. Think about recurring maintenance fees, customisation fees, and implementation costs in addition to the original licencing payments.

Key takeaways

In most cases, companies that have moved beyond the "packing orders in the living room" stage are more prepared for an e-commerce ERP. An ERP system functions similarly to your business’s command centre. It unites various divisions and drives seamless operations.

Are you trying to find the perfect e-commerce ERP? Our professionals are always available to assist you with every step of the implementation process. We can customise our services to meet your particular needs, whether you choose to select specific services or require consistent support during the entire process.

References:

• Panorama Consulting Group (2021). Understanding Average ERP Implementation Time: How to Set Realistic Expectations.