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| Enterprise resource planning personalizes customers service |
Product-based
businesses have an overwhelming amount of data to track: inventory,
pricing, sourcing, financials, payment, shipping, and much of that
information has unique formatting from one business to the next.
Enterprise resource software
helps businesses manage all their
information, but running an e-commerce website often means they have
to maintain the data in two places. Integrated solutions offer
accessibility to important information across multiple software
packages.
Here
are four reasons synchronizing your ERP to your e-commerce site makes
sense:
- Protect & serve your existing customer base. With so much information held in an ERP, not running your e-commerce site with this information puts your business at risk. Today’s customer expects a personalized experience and an interface that houses important account information. Access to customer-specific pricing, product/SKU alias, quantity discounts, tax schedules, inventory levels, product information, account history, shipment tracking and payment details helps customers manage their transactions 24 hours a day. Customers have busy lives and they want to be able to access their accounts when it is convenient for them.
- Gain new customers similar to your existing customers. With an easily accessible e-commerce site that is designed around the needs of your customers, acquiring new customers with similar needs becomes easier. Create search-engine-friendly pages on your e-commerce site and leverage the product data from your ERP to attract new business through search and in online marketplaces. Understanding your base customer and building content based on the personas of your existing customers will help target similar prospects.
- Improve internal efficiency & reduce costs. By empowering your customer with an ERP e-commerce website that acts as their own personal portal to your business, you offer the customer a more efficient experience while reducing overhead. Your employees will spend less time on phone calls and data entry. Without ERP e-commerce integration customers must engage directly with your employee, who in turn refers to the ERP. Using ERP e-commerce integration means any internet-capable device gives customers direct access to check prices, check inventory, research products, place orders, track shipments, print receipts, prepare returns, view account history or make payments. They simply log into their account through the ERP e-commerce website. With ERP integration the e-commerce site allows your customers around-the-clock access to all their information on demand without using additional employee resources.
- New markets. When growing your business and expanding into new markets, creating an ERP-integrated, e-commerce website provides the building blocks for success. Over the past 10 years companies have needed to establish e-commerce in order to land new clients and expand into savvier markets. These markets evolve around technology – technology that changes daily, and companies need flexibility in order to grow. As e-commerce evolves, having an integrated system that can be adapted for new technologies is vital. Mobile commerce exemplifies this at the moment, and if you are not poised to adapt your competitor is. We cannot see where the future of technology will take us, but the more flexible and integrated your systems are, the easier it will be to serve your ever-evolving, tech-savvy customer.
Enterprise
resource software establishes a central database for all departments
within an organization to access according to their needs. This
allows tracking of customers from their first point of contact to
their hundredth. The software tracks inventory from its
individually-sourced parts to the final sale while keeping records of
all related costs and revenue.
Without this powerful tool, companies must rely on unique data repositories that require updating and maintenance, increasing the potential for errors. If your company relies on ERP software, you’ve already made the smart choice to integrate your systems, and e-commerce integration is the next step.
Without this powerful tool, companies must rely on unique data repositories that require updating and maintenance, increasing the potential for errors. If your company relies on ERP software, you’ve already made the smart choice to integrate your systems, and e-commerce integration is the next step.
* Image license: Royalty and attribution free
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