How eCommerce integrations can help you fuel your business growth

If you’re selling online or offline, you also need to scale up your business across other sales channels. Today customers desire a seamless and consistent shopping experience across brands. They now shop for brands & not channels, what was showrooming for them is now web rooming. For them, the line between channels is increasingly getting blurred.

For any business to grow in scale, it needs integrations to multiple sales channels like its own website, online marketplaces, logistics and fulfillment companies to increase reach and offer more conveniences to customers. A business would also need to keep its data consistent across enterprise systems and deliver to customers via shipping partners.

For any online business, there are 3 components –

• Webstores–  This is how the business interacts with the customers. Your own website such as Nykaa.com is your own personal store. These web stores are built on SaaS-based platforms such as Shopify, PrestaShop, MartJack, Drupal, etc. However, such businesses may also sell on multiple marketplaces like Amazon.com, Flipkart.com, etc.
• Backend– A business manages its day-to-day operations via its backend. This includes managing orders, creating a single inventory pool to assign and fulfill orders correctly for timely, efficient delivery.
• Delivery –The ability to fulfill online orders and manage returns through shipping and fulfillment companies. Here the ability of a business to quickly process orders and deliver them to customers in the shortest possible time is crucial.

For any offline business, there are –

• Offline Store(s)–  This the place where customers interact with brands and look for great the customer experience & store ambiance e.g Lifestyle by Landmark Group. However, such businesses may also sell on multiple marketplaces or build their own marketplaces for offering a better customer experience.
• Backend– A business manages its day-to-day operations via its backend. The invest with best of breed”offline solutions” which includes point-of-sale solution, back-office system, ERP, warehouse management and inventory management solutions.
• Order Fulfillment–Shopping transactions happen inside a physical store. Today retailers are looking for the ability to fulfill online orders through their stores and manage returns through shipping and fulfillment companies.

As businesses grow, complexities owing to scale and size increase. Here, these integrations are crucial to helping the business scale up and manage vendors across channels.

Types of integrations

• Integration to Web-stores- Web-fronts are SaaS-based solutions on which you can build your web stores. Some of the popular eCommerce front-end include Shopify, Magento, WordPress, MartJack etc.
• Integration to Marketplaces- Businesses may want to list on multiple marketplaces both domestically and globally to be able to acquire more customers and increase their sales. Some of the popular online marketplaces include Amazon, Lazada, Zalora, Flipkart, MatahariMall, Qoo10, etc.
• Integrations to Shipping companies/Fulfillment companies-To be able to effectively deliver goods, a system needs to leverage the services of these companies.  Some of the popular 3PL providers include DHL, BlueDart, FedEx, UPS, DB Schenker, LBC, DTDC, USPS, etc.
• Integrations to Retail and Accounting systems- To make sure all their data is in sync across the enterprise, organizations need to be integrated these ERP and retail systems.

Vin eRetail is a SaaS-based retail suite for multi-channel retailing. With ready integrations to 75+ global marketplaces, third-party logistics companies, financial and retail systems it makes it easy for Sellers on Marketplaces, eTailers, Marketplaces, 3PLs, CPG, and Brick n Mortar Retailers to sell and manage the order management and fulfillment processes easily.

Check out the complete list of integrations here.

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