
Ecommerce ERP: What Is It?
You have one goal, whether you are a business-to-business (B2B), direct-to-consumer (D2C), or an eCommerce website retailer, that is to grow your business. As your business grows, so does your operation's complexity. While Accounting module is used to manage your accounting and finance, a CRM module could manage your customer relationship, and an inventory management module could manage your inventory. However, your e-commerce business now requires more than these solutions.
Ecommerce ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) allows seamless integration between your eCommerce store and a cloud-based ERP solution. They connect your processes and procedures to create a seamless, future-proofed operation that extends your organization's reach and depth.
The Basics of ERP and eCommerce Services Integration
First, let's talk about eCommerce websites logistics. This includes fulfilling orders, processing payment options, handling returns, and managing inventory. It also involves ensuring security, tracking financials, and providing customer support. These tasks become more challenging to work on when your small business (perhaps one you started in your garage) becomes more extensive with multiple employees, a shipping fleet, and a warehouse.
Relying on systems built by hand and made to work through sheer willpower and determination will not work. A lack of consistency, data, and control will affect everyone. You can easily integrate your eCommerce store with a modern ERP software to automate your business processes and procedures, thereby becoming more efficient and avoiding future data problems.
There are several ways to integrate ERP with modern eCommerce solutions. You can use the eCommerce solution's API on your own. This allows you to customize the integration and makes it entirely up to you to manage. You can use a third-party solution that has a pre-built integration. This is relatively simple, and you can use it "out of the box." However, if you require customization, you must pay and rely on third-party teams without guaranteeing you'll get the desired results.
You can use an ERP system that has a native Ecommerce Module Integrated. A native integration ERP, such as Arion ERP, is undoubtedly the best and most future-proof. The companu creates the native integration to the eCommerce platform. They expose as much ERP data as the API will allow. The integration can adapt to market changes and "crazy" business situations, as they will.
Read More: Benefits of Integrating E-commerce Business with Arion ERP
What are the Different Types/Categories of E-Commerce ERP System?
1. Business-to-Business (B2B)
B2B ecommerce platform is the most popular type of e-commerce ERP system. This refers to a transaction between two businesses selling goods or services.
B2B business can be described as commerce between companies. B2B ecommerce solution deals with the relationship between both the businesses.
2. Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
Business to the consumer will then conduct a direct sale to the client of its products or services. Visit their websites to check the product updates, see photographs, and read reviews. After placing an order, the Business will deliver the products to the customer's address. Consider Amazon, Flipkart, and Jabong as examples of B2C Businesses. These Businesses require a CRM ERP module to manage and interact with the customers.
3. Business-to-Government (B2G)
B2G E-commerce refers to trade between businesses and the government. It alludes to the usage of the Internet for government-related tasks, including licensing and public procurement. These businesses require multiple modules for managing the business processes.
Examples: -- A business pays taxes, files reports, or sells goods and services to the government agencies.
4. Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
The traditional consumer-to-business model is more complex. This is a model where businesses buy from single consumers, but more often, those consumers run their Business marketplace.
This is B2C reversed. The customer provides the Business with a good or service. Consider the scenario where an IT freelancer presents and sells his product to a business. This would be a C2B transaction. This type of business requires CRM module to manage a smooth interaction.
5. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
Consumer-to-consumer ecommerce, also known as C2C, is commerce between consumers and private individuals. There isn't any business owners involved. It lets users directly sell their personal belongings and assets to potential buyers. These businesses require integration to multiple modules of an ERP System. Examples are eBay, Olx, and Quikr.
6. Consumer-to-Government (C2G)
Consumer-to-government or consumer-to-administration ecommerce allows consumers to give feedback and request information directly from government authorities. You can pay your electricity bill online and also make payment methods for health insurance, taxes, and so on.
7. Government-to-Business (G2B)
G2B e-commerce business model, the government provides all information and services to corporate organizations through a vast network of governmental websites; information is disseminated. This information is used by the business organization to apply for different permissions needed for starting a business. A Business Organization can also download and submit the forms online to the appropriate office.
8. Government-to-Consumer (G2C)
The government uses electronic commerce to conduct business with its constituents or customers, including tax payment gateways, vehicle registration, information and service delivery, and birth, marriage, & death certificate registration.
9. Government-to-Government (G2G)
G2G refers to the electronic interchange of information and data between departments, organizations, or government entities. Through increased communication, data access, and data exchange, G2G aids e-government activities. Example: Any E-commerce transaction between two or more government departments.
10. Mobile Commerce ( M-Commerce)
The selling and purchasing of goods and services through mobile portable devices like smartphones and tablets are called mobile commerce (M-commerce). According to experts, mobile commerce will advance eCommerce features. It enables customers to purchase goods and services online from anywhere.
Much more exists in mobile commerce. M-Commerce has aided in the development of new services and businesses, as well as enabled the growth of already existing ones. These innovations are examples of:
- Mobile banking for tickets and boarding passes money transfers, contactless payment gateways, and in-app purchases.
- Purchasing location-based services and digital products content management.
- Discounts and loyalty cards for mobile marketing.
What ERP Features Are Important for Ecommerce Businesses
You should include essential features in your ERP search selection criteria if your eCommerce business wants to integrate its eCommerce business with an ERP system software solutions.
Finance
Although Arion Accounting can manage your general ledger, accounts payable (AP), or accounts receivables (AR), a fully integrated Arion cloud ERP solution will allow you to handle all the tasks and provide real-time updates for electronic Commerce. When an eCommerce sale is entered into your ERP system, it instantly shows up in your sales order and is populated in your financial statements. Once the payment is processed, it becomes revenue.
Important to remember that bank loans and venture capital of large amounts are only sometimes granted to fast-growing companies using Arion accounting software solutions. The ERP system ensures that documentation is firmly in place and is accurate to 100%.
An ERP system also audits your finances and inventory. It can also monitor your customers, including relationships and sales channels. The eCommerce system can be integrated with ERP to become an extension of the auditing system.
CRM
Integration of CRM with ERP and eCommerce solutions is a win-win situation. Why?
A successful eCommerce business must effectively manage contacts, leads, opportunities, customer accounts, and customers. It also needs to have the ability to track what happens during each stage of the sales cycle. A seamlessly Integrated CRM System is essential to give every department instant access to synchronized, real-time data from one source.
You can quickly build a customer base within the integrated solutions to reach your customers with offers like sales, discounts, and special promotions selection. These promotions are created inside the popular eCommerce platforms. The ERP system software understands what it is receiving and creates a record for reporting.
The integration of eCommerce ERP and CRM creates an omnichannel commerce environment. Your centralized CRM will assign each order to the right customer suitability, regardless of how they purchase your product. It gives you a 360-degree view of your customer journey interactions with you in the past and present.
Inventory Management
Tracking inventory is more difficult when the business opportunities is growing. It is essential to know the location of your products. Customers also want to see if they are in stock. A fully integrated ERP system is smart enough to share this information with everyone. The integrated ERP solution provides real-time, accurate access to inventory available, regardless of whether it is in a warehouse or splits between warehouses. It also allows you to view inventory additional costs and reorder quantities.
Logging into multiple systems to find an answer is no longer necessary. The selection process is automated, and manual errors can be reduced or eliminated.
Distribution, Shipping, and Warehouse Management
An integrated ecommerce business models like inventory management, is the best and most efficient way to manage your shipping, distribution, and warehouse management at inventory levels.
Distribution is complex. It involves wave and batch picking, packaging, receiving, and transferring. These tasks can be automated with ERP. Warehouse workers can use tablets or phones to completely control their studies. The lot and serial number tracking eliminate errors, and third-party EDI software handles EDI compliance.
Management of Product Information
Centralizing product information in an eCommerce ERP solution is essential, as potential customer expectations may sell products in many different ways. This information can include pricing for your products, customer-specific pricing, and options related to your product. You can push this information to multiple locations by storing all your info in one place.
You have a content management on open-source ecommerce platforms. It allows you to differentiate between different audiences and disseminate content information to each one.
Top Benefits of Integrating your Ecommerce Solutions and ERP
You will enjoy many benefits by choosing an ERP solution based on these features, such as better pricing, process visibility, improved productivity, and access to valuable data.
Better Online Customer Experiences
Customers will have a better online experience if they are engaged in a more personal way. The ERP solution can manage your fulfilment, notify customers when the manufacturing process starts, when the product has been packed up, and when it is shipping out.
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Pricing Management
Pricing management is similar to product information management. It allows you to manage product descriptions pricing in ERP. Your response can be customized to suit different customers. You can, for example, customize your answer to other customers in B2B businesses. If customer number one has negotiated rates and customer number two (a new customer) has not, the information can be sent to the popular ecommerce stores platform. It is also possible to determine which customers have access to your unlimited product. For example, customer one has full access while customer two has only 80%.
Access to Valuable Data
Access is a keyword. You can access valuable data stored on your eCommerce site as customers interact with you. This data can be used to forecast and provide actionable reports.
Visibility of the Process
This allows for process visibility. You can create reports showing your company's performance, sales returns, inventory, and inventory. You can also see who is doing it and evaluate your company's profitability.
Productivity Increases
The ERP system is the central record system and can be used by all employees to increase productivity. Automating their tasks can increase productivity by tracking inventory deductions at fulfilment and generating an automated process to submit a purchase order request.
When and Why to use ERP Software in Ecommerce?
Online ecommerce shops that are overgrowing reach a point where they must ask themselves if all processes are working efficiently. This can lead to significant financial and temporal resource loss. Due to a lack of communication between departments, certain activities are done twice, which doesn't add value despite all the effort. The following are the most problematic areas for companies:
- You must enter data manually
- If data needs to be updated, it must be obtained from other departments.
- Inefficient interdepartmental workflows
- Reports are not optimized
- It can be challenging to keep track of important KPIs
Inadequate data can lead to mistakes that should be noticed. An ERP system allows keeping track of other development plans to be able to react in real time. This is similar to controlling your car's engine while driving and deciding in real-time whether you want to stop at a side road or bring it to a garage. An e-commerce company can make managerial decisions by looking at the entire online businesses store. This information is accessible to decision-makers via the enterprise resource planning system.
Should ecommerce Companies use ERP Systems for their Businesses?
This question is not easy to answer, as is often the case. Each company will have to make a decision. An ERP System can streamline many processes, especially online commerce engine. However, one thing is sure: An example of its effectiveness in e-commerce will show you how it works.
Imagine that you are selling footballs. An ERP system stores all data regarding a customer behavior who makes a purchase via your online store and records it in an extensive database management. The system also checks for the availability of the ball. The product is then virtually placed aside after confirmation.
The shipping address, packing note, and shipping label are also sent in real-time and without manual effort. The inventory is also reduced, and the system informs production that more goods are needed. An ERP system is essential for multichannel retailers, especially Omni- and multichannel. This increases the complexity of these processes, making them even more critical. This simple example shows the potential benefits of an ERP system for e-commerce.
Integration of e-commerce Stores with ERP Systems
Online shops often need an ERP system with a connection or integration for their store system. This could be Arion Ecommerce Builder, Shopify or Magento. It is essential to distinguish between integration and harmony. These terms are often used interchangeably. Because integration is more extensive than a connection, this has both benefits and disadvantages.
A comparison can help you better grasp the concept. This comparison shows integration as having a roommate in an apartment. They share your living room, kitchen, and bathroom. If you see each other nearly every day, you may benefit from joint shopping and sharing the rent. This cohabitation can cause friction. You may have different ideas about how to clean your apartment. Or you might prefer quiet in the morning while the other person enjoys more quiet time in the evening. This is why you need to pay more attention to the person you live with when you move in.
A connection is similar to outside help. A cleaner might be called in to assist with specific tasks. This creates less conflict, and cleaners don't have to be adapted to your personality. He does the work, and then he leaves. This simple, uncomplicated approach doesn't allow you to enjoy a close relationship with your roommate.
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Conclusion Ecommerce Systems with ERP Systems
An Ecommerce ERP solution like Arion eCommerce may be the best option for eCommerce businesses that are looking to expand. Your eCommerce store can seamlessly integrate with a cloud hosting-based ERP solution, allowing you to connect all your data and processes. This will enable you to create a profitable, efficient business using ecommerce technologies.