In the digital commerce industry, increasing income is the primary goal, thus maintaining many operational technology solutions may seem tedious. However, this isn’t the case!
E-commerce technology has grown to the point where it is no longer necessary to manually update the same information across multiple platforms.
In what way has this become possible? Integrations.
Let’s take a look at what they signify and how they might benefit your business.
What is an Integration?
An integration is a simplified workflow that connects two independent systems together so that they can easily communicate the information they need for better performance in a more efficient manner. Rather than merely linking disparate pieces of technology, they actually improve upon them by introducing new capabilities and features.
As an example, imagine that your Lazada or Shopee store is linked to your warehouse management system.
When a customer places an order at your store, what happens next?
As soon as an order is placed on Shopee, all of the order’s information are automatically pushed to your warehouse management system. To put it another way, you now have a clear picture of exactly what you’ll be packing in your warehouse and how much of it you’ll be doing so. Moreover, all of this takes place in real time. Because no information is passed back and forth, your Shopee store’s inventory is promptly changed, and the cycle is ready for the next order.
Integrations are clearly the key to becoming more efficient, productive, and agile. Their goal is to connect your current systems with third-party applications and produce an effective solution that powers your business.
“It’s about finding the right technology fit that meets the business needs, proper implementation, and customization. “
Bernard Hor, CEO of Hatio
To further appreciate how integrations might improve your business’ everyday output, consider the following advantages:
Having ready-to-use integrations with major eCommerce players and systems:
With ready-to-use integrations in your eCommerce ecosystem, you can optimise your online experience and your back-end business operations with outstanding agility. You’ll be able to efficiently manage cross-channel sales and fulfilment, keep track of your customers’ sales journeys, automate day-to-day operational chores, and gain useful insights. In order to fully comprehend them, let’s take a closer look.
- To Reduce Human Intervention and Improve Data Accuracy
Order and inventory management, product information management, warehouse and logistics management are all part of multichannel operations.
However, the majority of your time is taken up by making sure that all of the relevant sources are kept up to date. The amount of manual involvement, checks, and monitoring required here is clear.
As a result of an integrated system, all necessary solutions, including the pick & pack system may be updated with the correct information about the incoming data. This lowers errors and inconsistencies throughout the process. As a result, accurate data is kept in safe company databases, allowing everyone to access it whenever they need it without having to worry about its legitimacy or authenticity.
- To Increase Efficiency
Research by econsultancy.com, 18 percent of SEA eCommerce enterprises have difficulty managing their multi-channel business because of a deficiency in data integration.
Information may be conveniently accessed in one system, allowing for greater agility and transparency in many operations. This speedy syncing implies that every aspect of your integrated system is updated exactly when it should be, enhancing the speed of your operations and thereby increasing efficiency.
You don’t have to struggle with separate processes to keep track of inventory across numerous markets, improve your order processing flow, or even manage peak time promotions. You may therefore centrally control all your business operations, automate obvious tasks, and increase the efficiency of your company by using integrations.
- To Improve Customer Experience
Customers are notified of changes to their purchase history, order status, and shipment tracking since integrations allow for real-time adjustments in customer information. Integrating your ERP system with sales channels allows you to present your clients with a wide range of information from the get-go, making it easier for them to make informed decisions.
Customer loyalty increases since they know exactly what to expect at every step of the way while shopping online.
- To Streamline Operations and Reduce Turnaround Time
According to the ‘State of B2B Ecommerce in ANZ, Southeast Asia and India’ survey, 34% of Southeast Asian businesses altered their multichannel management experience after implementing integrations with back-end operations and supply chain software.
The real-time nature of the integrations ensures that all functions have access to the most current operating data. As a result, it eliminates any needless delays and activates the appropriate process and order notifications. Because you can easily control each business process, you will be able to do more efficient, intuitive procedures more quickly. Overall, integrations assist the bottom line of your company by increasing productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness.
- To Improve Sales Effectiveness
If a company’s online sales data is missing, it can be a major setback. Integrating all of your sales channels and markets into a single platform allows you to track the performance of each product and channel.
To answer questions like ‘which product is being sold on any certain channel’ or ‘what promotion appeals to a specific consumer,’ you may use these data to determine the best sales approach for each business aim.
You can enhance your bottom line by reducing selling costs and/or increasing revenue. However, both of these approaches benefit from ready integrations. You’ll see an increase in revenue when the company’s top line improves. Conversion rates are boosted by a better online experience, but minimising operational issues improves efficiency.
