With 80% of internet population browsing ecommerce sites to buy something, having an e-store apart from a physical retail store can certainly work to attract customers and grow your business. An ecommerce store allows your business to reach a global audience, no matter how small or big it is. Also with no time constraints or geographical boundaries for online shopping, an ecommerce store can play a crucial role in driving up sales.

Retailers commonly use an enterprise software system such as SAP (CRM) or ERP to manage their ecommerce business. A crucial aspect of running any online business is to integrate these back office enterprise systems with your ecommerce store front. Also referred to as ecommerce integration, this ensures bi-directional flow of information between the back-end ERP system and the company’s ecommerce site. Here are some benefits of ecommerce integration.

Eliminates Manual Entry of Data

When your ecommerce store is not connected to your back office ERP, any orders placed on your website need to be manually entered into your back office ERP. Manual data entry is extremely time consuming, which can always be eliminated through ecommerce integration.

Ecommerce integration with your existing CRM or ERP system ensures automatic flow of information between the e-store and the ERP back office. So whether it is movement of orders from web store to your ERP system or updating inventory from ERP to your ecommerce store, data is automatically transferred to the desired location. So with integration, your ecommerce store immediately receives inventory updates. This means your online customers gets accurate inventory information at the time of placing orders.

Eliminates Errors

Manual data entry has been associated with high error rates as well as duplicate entry of data. In simple words, human error is a given when it comes to manual data entry. Mistakes are bound to happen when entering information manually. In order to eliminate errors related to manual data entry, automating the process is the key, which can be always achieved through SAP e-commerce integration.

Data Synchronization

With your ecommerce platform integrated with your back-office Microsoft Dynamics or SAP Business One solution, data is synchronized between the two systems. For instance, when the customer does an online purchase, the inventory level at your back end is automatically updated. This ensures that there is no mismatch between inventory levels and orders.

Shortens Order Cycle

Ecommerce integrations automate key order cycle processes. For instance, sales orders flow from the ecommerce store to your distributors for fulfillment without manual intervention, so one can definitely say that the integration speeds up the order fulfillment process.

Reduced Operational Costs

Unlike manual entry of data which is time-consuming, automatic data transfer occurs in real time through ecommerce integration. Whatever orders placed at the e-store, are processed at the back office and then automatically sent to the distributor for fulfillment. So with ecommerce integration, the procurement process gets dramatically streamlined. Thus the absence of manual data transfer does help in reducing operational cost.

Better Customer Service

With the ecommerce store integrated with your back office ERP, you are in a position to provide better customer service. This is because ecommerce integration that ensures automatic data transfer allows customers to view stock status information as well as track order status in real time. All this works in improving customer experience, in turn helping to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

On the whole, less manual intervention in your various business processes is the biggest advantage of ecommerce integration. This will enable you focus on things that matter most – sales and customers.