It’s no secret that eCommerce is one of the fastest growing sales channels for both B2C and B2B companies. On the B2C side, merchants selling via Amazon saw a 60% YoY increase in sales this past holiday season. Meanwhile, B2B eCommerce sales continue to gain traction, and are projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2023 (or 17% of all B2B sales).
These surges present a huge opportunity for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. But they also present new challenges, especially when it comes to customer satisfaction. Why? Because megaliths like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and others have normalized things like same-day and next-day delivery, super-easy product searching, and the “endless aisle.”
Here are just a few things today’s B2C and B2B buyers expect from their eCommerce experience:
- A clean, user-friendly website with powerful search functions
- Rich product content, including descriptions, specifications, images, videos, and reviews
- Accurate up-to-the-minute inventory availability
- In-cart options like multiple ship-to addresses, delivery date preferences, currency converters, and more
- AND free and fast delivery for every order
To truly succeed in today’s competitive economy, you need to not just meet these expectations, but exceed them. So, how can your business provide even more than today’s customers want? One way is by integrating your eCommerce platform with your Acumatica ERP system.
Here’s why: with non-integrated systems, all your eCommerce orders need to be rekeyed into your Acumatica interface, before the fulfillment process can begin. This can put a big delay on shipments, as typing in hundreds or even thousands of orders by hand takes time. It also means that orders sent during “off” hours have to wait for an employee to manually check on orders to even get started—which might not happen till mid-day the next day.
On the flip side, a lack of integration can result in inaccurate inventory information on your eCommerce site. With a non-integrated eCommerce site, inventory changes in your Acumatica system need to be manually changed on your website, which your employees may only be able to do once a day, or perhaps a few times a week. As a result, you may have customers place an order before you realize that item is out of stock. Sending that “oops” email can cost you more than this sale; it might cost you that customer forever.
To get the most out of your Acumatica integration, you need an eCommerce platform that addresses key customer demands. For example, TrueCommerce Nexternal features customer-friendly features like an always on-screen shopping cart, single-click reordering, suggestive search, and customer reviews that make finding the perfect product easy. For B2B eCommerce customers, the platform also includes functions such as online wholesale quoting, customer segmentation options, and volume-based pricing.
By integrating your eCommerce platform with your Acumatica system, you can eliminate manual data entry, and enable your eCommerce and ERP systems to communicate in real time. This means that orders coming from your online store will be sent directly to your Acumatica system, which then automatically begins the fulfillment and invoicing/payment processes. Plus, your Acumatica system in the cloud is active 24/7/365, so orders that come in after hours no longer have to wait for the next business day for processing. With Acumatica’s powerful automation capabilities, you can get a jumpstart on fulfillment, making it easier to meet your customer delivery promise.
Finally, it’s important to work with trusted industry experts who act as partners, and help you assemble solutions that will best fit your business needs. One such expert is TrueCommerce’s Channel Manager Jeff Franklin, a recent recipient of Acumatica’s Most Valuable Professional award. Jeff was awarded for his outstanding contributions to the Acumatica community. He helps businesses take advantage of multiple Acumatica Certified solutions, including eCommerce, EDI, and fulfillment.
With Acumatica powering your business, the right integrated solutions, and experts like Jeff at your side, you can create a seamless experience for your customers, so you can exceed their expectations every time. Read more about TrueCommerce’s Acumatica Certified solutions.
