Cloud ERP is ecommerce rocket fuel. With the right ERP system, you can process and fulfill orders more quickly, better manage your inventory, and control costs.
The ecommerce marketplace continues to be highly competitive. Companies with seemingly limitless pockets, such as Amazon and Walmart, have set the bar high when it comes to fast shipping, excellent product selection, and low prices. Even if you’re not selling products directly to consumers, your business customers have most likely ordered from these giants in the past. This changes their expectations about product availability, pricing, and order times. Even though they may know that the products they’re ordering for their business needs are quite different than products ordered for consumer wants, their expectations have still changed.
This is happening throughout the ecommerce marketplace. To compete, you’ve got to have all the tools you need to manage costs, improve customer service, and increase efficiency. Cloud ERP for ecommerce does this and more to support your online retail business.
The Faster, the Better
IDC analysts highlight the pressure B2B and B2C organizations are under to provide customers with products/services quickly, easily, and seamlessly. In a paper entitled, Better Together: SaaS Digital Commerce Platforms and ERP Help Organizations Grow Past Legacy Limitations, analysts stated “IDC saw a dramatic shift toward digital commerce as organizations moved business models overnight and accelerated the adoption of digital commerce levels previously expected for 2024.”
Their research shows:
- 61% of organizations are likely to increase B2B digital commerce purchases
- 49% of organizations are working to future proof their business
- 41% of organizations are investing in new systems such as ecommerce software solutions
Along with increasing their online shopping, companies also expect exceptional customer service. With the numerous choices available to them, customers can easily jump to another company to order products if their interactions with your company are unsatisfactory.
And as you’ve likely heard, a happy customer tells only one other customer about their experience, but an unhappy customer is likely to tell many, many more. Online, that translates into a huge platform as customers take to social media to voice their dissatisfaction. It’s vital that ecommerce companies go the extra mile to make sure their customers are delighted with their shopping experience.
The Right ERP for eCommerce
The IDC report further goes on to say that having customer-facing software embedded into backend systems is crucial for ecommerce success. This includes cloud ERP for ecommerce, which supports the operations, accounting, and financial portion of the business.
The IDC paper lists six characteristics both B2B and B2C organizations should look for when choosing between their ERP and digital platform options. The characteristics include deep native integrations, open APIs, and scalability.
The benefits of integrating customer-facing applications with the ERP system include:
- Faster time to market
- Easier integration
- Agility
- Modularity
- Business intelligence
- End-to-end visibility
Acumatica checks all the right boxes for a smart cloud ERP ecommerce solution. It’s not only robust, but also flexible. Multiple options and integrations enable ecommerce companies to add the desired software whether it is a CRM system, Avalara AvaTax to calculate sales tax, or other products.
You can download IDC’s free Whitepaper, Better Together: SaaS Digital Commerce Platforms and ERP Help Organizations Grow Past Legacy Limitations, to learn how Acumatica future-proofs your ecommerce business. The paper also includes an overview of the current ERP and ecommerce landscape as well as observations on several trends in commerce and operations.
Emerald TC
Emerald TC provides software and consulting for manufacturing companies. We can help you choose the right accounting software, ERP system, payroll, or other software for your needs. Contact us or call 678-456-6919 for more information.