Continuity ERP Solutions
Apr 17, 2023

E-Commerce and ERP Integration, a Long-Term, Sustainable Plan

What is E-commerce?

Electronic commerce widely known as E-commerce means the process of buying and selling either goods or services or both by the way of the Internet. It is generally a shop only, just the difference is that there is no requirement for physical availability of seller and buyer. This concept of e-commerce is not new. It has been in existence since around the 1960s. However, it has taken a boom in recent years after the advancement of technology and the availability of the internet in almost all parts of the world. E-commerce has expanded the way how a business was looked at earlier. Famous marketplaces such as E-bay, Amazon, Flipkart and many more have created huge platforms where sellers can register to fulfil the needs of the customers. 

E-commerce has also expanded the number of choices that a customer can now get to buy a specific product or service. The options are endless. Now they can choose, place orders, pay online and get their order delivered to their doorsteps without having to go outside their house. Not only customers, but sellers have also found new ways for selling goods and services. Subscription services and drop shipping are some new business models that e-commerce has made people familiar with. 

The amount of convenience that e-commerce is providing to both the customers and the business is one of its biggest plus points. The business shouldn’t necessarily have a shop or a proper store to sell its products. Not only this, e-commerce has helped a number of businesses to reach a wider audience and expand themselves. And customers don’t have to step out of the four walls of their houses to buy any product or service. They can just sit inside their home, and choose from a never-ending list of products/services of their choice, place an order and get their order delivered to their doorsteps. 

What is ERP?

Enterprise resource planning, generally known as ERP is a business management tool whose work is to manage and intact all the important aspects of the business operations of the organization. NetSuite ERP system comes with different modules for different aspects of the business, from procurement of goods, manufacturing, warehousing, managing supply chain, finance, accounting, etc. Other business management software such as NetSuite CRM also helps in the management of customer-business relationships. 

The goal of ERP is to provide the business with a more detailed, unified and centralized database of all the organization’s operations and processes. This will not only allow the management to streamline communication but also improve collaboration between a number of departments. This will also help the management to increase the efficiency of the employees, cost reduction and informed decision-making. These business management tools can be tailored in a way that meets all the specific requirements of the business. This helps in saving time as well as the cost of business, as it doesn’t have to pay for something that it doesn’t require. Oracle NetSuite also has the option to make this entire ERP system cloud-based which will help the business to access the system on multiple devices.  

However, the benefits of ERP can be significant which include the increase of productivity of employees, quality control in production, better management of inventory and warehouse, supply chain management and enhancement of customer satisfaction and increase in customer loyalty.  Nevertheless, ERP is a very powerful tool which can help businesses irrespective of size or the field of work, to streamline their business operations and be a step ahead of their competitors. 

Integration of e-commerce and ERP systems 

On the one hand, E-commerce is the word that has been changing the lives of businesses in a manner that no one could have imagined. On the other hand, ERP systems have made the management of business operations so easy and increased both efficiency and productivity. And when ERP systems integrate with E-commerce, they can offer a number of advantages to the business. Some of those are as follows: 

ecommerce and erp integration

Enhanced reporting and analytics: the ERP system can provide the business with a more informed and accurate centralized database. The database depicts all the real-time insights into the business operations, from sales, inventory management, warehousing, supply chain management, order management, cash flow and many more. This real-time data will help the management to make effective and informed business decisions that will be beneficial for the overall growth of the company. 

Streamlined operations: The integration of ERP and E-commerce will help the business in the elimination of unwanted data entry with the help of automation. The data and information that comes on the e-commerce site can directly be flown to the NetSuite ERP, by automation which will help in reducing both the extra cost of employees for data entry and time. Not only this, but it will also reduce the chances of errors as all the work will be automated and no manual work will be required.

Improvement in customer experience: As with ERP, the management can get real-time track of all the business processes from inventory, to store management to supply chain management. Now the managers can provide the customers with information regarding products, and their orders and make a personalized environment with real-time information about the client. This will enhance customer experience and develop a feeling of customer loyalty. 

Better inventory management: As all data will be integrated into one single system, it will be easier for the business to check on their inventory levels across different channels. From the procurement of raw materials to the production of finished goods, all the inventory can be managed. Also, the demand for the products can be predicted. This will help in reducing overstocking of goods that won’t have a future demand and discourage understocking of those goods that will have a good demand in the upcoming future. 

Cost savings: Without ERP systems, all the work from data entry to inventory management was done manually. But with ERP systems, all the business processes will be automated which will not only reduce the chances of errors but also reduce the cost of manual labour. Also, the fault in the system of one department won’t hamper the work of another department, which will help in maintaining the smooth function of the business process. 

Therefore, integration of e-commerce with ERP systems will surely help businesses to improve data accuracy, improved management of business processes, productivity improvement, reduction in cost and increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. 

                             
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