What is eCommerce Integration, And Why Do You Need It?

Are you starting an eCommerce business or looking for a way to boost the existing one? If so, you’ve probably encountered the term “eCommerce integration.” So, what is eCommerce integration, and why do you need it if you want your business to succeed?

The 21st century brought so many tools, apps, eCommerce marketplaces, platforms, and SaaS software solutions, that it became almost impossible to run an eCommerce business with a multichannel sales system and incredible customer support without integrating at least two, three, or more tools.

Okay, let’s start from the beginning. What is eCommerce integration?
It combines, synchronizes, or merges data from one tool/app/marketplace/platform to another (or multiple).

The beauty of the integration process lies in the ability to connect all systems, regardless of whether they are on-premise or cloud. Yes, even those who treasure data on their local systems can combine them with some modern cloud apps through integration platforms, such as SyncSpider.

So, the main point is that we might not like connecting two or more apps, but it is inevitable in modern times. Why? Because we’re growing into an omnipresent civilization.

The number of social media, marketplaces or platforms where people just hang around will only increase over time. And to reach those people (which are your target audience), you need to be present everywhere.

And when you look at the problem that way, you realize that you will need an army of employees to take care of every channel you use, especially when the business starts growing.

Not to mention that you would probably have to be awake 24/7 since eCommerce business has no time-zone limits, and you want to provide the best customer experience possible.

And if you were wondering how successful eCommerce businesses deal with it, let us reveal the trick they use. Yes, it is an eCommerce integration and automation.

We’ve tackled the automation term, so let’s clarify it quickly. If you have an eCommerce business with many repetitive tasks, and they might even be conditional (if YY happens, then it triggers XX action), you will need to automate them and cut them out of your to-do list.

That’s how you save your time, and let’s admit, it eliminates human errors. (Yes, we all make mistakes sometimes). Automation in eCommerce saves time and money, and you do want to think about that since it’s a precondition for every success story.

If you’re unsure what you can integrate and how it would help your business, look at some of the most integrated tools, apps, marketplaces, platforms, and software solutions in the previous years.

We segment eCommerce tools into several categories (eCommerce platforms, eCommerce marketplaces, ERP, CRM, research, business, marketing, and analytics tools) and pulled from statistics the two with the most significant market share in 2021.

Let’s make a short list of benefits you get with the integration process, and see what integration allows you to do, and how it helps your business processes.

And here, we need to distinguish three groups of eCommerce businesses because their needs will differ depending on that:

1. Online stores
2. Agencies
3. ERP software vendors

So, suppose you’re an online store owner. In that case, for a small eCommerce business starting with the website or perhaps selling your products on Amazon or Shopify, here’s what you can expect from the integration process.

1. Saves time – Handling minor everyday tasks is a killer for productivity. By automating data entry and repetitive processes, you can focus on growth.
2. Simplifies multichannel sales – When you connect multiple platforms, you can sell on multiple channels at once without manually uploading products to all marketplaces.
3. Improves customer experience – If your orders, fulfillment, and shipping flow smoothly, no matter where sales are coming from, it delivers a great buying experience for your customers.
4. Makes your tech works together – Getting critical apps and tools talking to each other creates a totally different dimension for your business. You don’t need to rely on native integrations, maintaining APIs, and managing additional plugins.

Now, suppose you’re an agency dealing with multiple eCommerce clients. In that case, your goal is to automate most of the work because it’s easy to slip into chaos when you’re doing everything manually. And here’s what automation and integration can do for you.

1. Speeds up repetitive tasks – Setting daily, weekly, or monthly recurring tasks once and letting the integration platform handle them is like getting your business into warp speed. You can easily set triggers and automatically start tasks which releases you from reminders and manual work.
2. Enables managing multiple clients under one roof – You can quickly build, update, and manage all your clients’ integrations from one place.
3. Enables you to offer more to your clients – By using an integration platform, you allow your clients to integrate apps, tools, marketplaces, or other eCommerce platforms they need. And guess what? Your service has just leveled up!
4. 24/7, all year round – Yes, with automation, you are at your clients’ disposal 24/7, 365 days a year.
5. Increases productivity – You all know that multitasking is a productivity-killer. So you want to eliminate all unnecessary tasks and automate them so that your team can focus on tasks that require their attention and work as efficiently as possible.

Are you using SAP, Oracle ERP Cloud, Microsoft, Infor, IFS, Sage, or any other ERP system for your eCommerce business? If so, you might want, at some point, to improve it by connecting it to cloud apps that help your sales or customer support process.

That’s when you’re starting your integration journey. And here’s what you get with it!

1. Gives your ERP a competitive edge – Offer more than your competitors, and enable your customers to automate their workflows through your ERP.
2. Places your ERP at the center of customers’ business circle – Once your customers get used to running their business from your ERP, they will never want to leave you. Make your ERP the smart brain of their operation by simplifying how they send data from and to your software.
3. Saves money and time – By using integration tools, you don’t have to spend money or time on devs, APIs, or anything else that goes hand in hand with the integration and automation process.
4. Increases customer satisfaction – Create a fast and reliable experience for your customers. Integration through SyncSpider, for example, enables you to protect your software from overloading with plugins. It will continue to work blazing fast with a single integration point. The result: Your clients will have all the tools they need, and your ERP will work without pressure.

When we talk about eCommerce integrations, we must mention that business users typically search for integration solutions for ERP or CRM software.

We’ve discussed ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) in the previous chapter. Still, it’s probably helpful to mention for all of you who don’t know that ERP software is used for various processes, which are sometimes the key point to business success.

For example, ERP is used for placing orders, customer updates, pricing (and pricing changes), inventory, finances (salaries, for example), and many other segments.

On the other hand, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) focuses on the communication between businesses and their customers, clients, and consumers. And that is, as you might guess, the pillar that affects your business success.

These software solutions are created to improve customer experience, help marketing and sales efforts, enable better planning, and eliminate or decrease human errors.

Yes, the integration process is not always seamless as it should be. You’re basically combining two different software solutions that are not always compatible. Or, in some cases, your software is on-premise, meaning it has no API you can connect it through with some other cloud solution.

In these cases, you’ll need an integration platform that acts like middleware between your software and other solutions.

Want to find out more? Here’s one video you might find useful

Overall, if we’re talking about eCommerce business, the integration process comes as a part of growth. You must be prepared for it if you plan to expand your business. And if you’re not planning to expand, why start at all?

Syncing multiple sales channels or tools you use for marketing purposes, and running them from one place, will save your time and provide much better communication with your customers.

Not to mention that eliminating human errors from the processes adds to your professionalism and is essential if you’re focused on b2b eCommerce. It allows you to manage multiple integrations in real time and with accurate data.

That’s why eCommerce integration became essential in an eCommerce business, regardless of whether you’re an online store owner, agency, or ERP vendor.