5 reasons you should implement eCommerce inventory automation right now
As your eCommerce business grows, everything becomes more demanding even in inventory automation. Those processes and systems that have always worked for you in the past? They may not be as efficient now. Your teams may be performing redundant tasks, time may be wasted as data is stored in disparate systems… These are just a few signs that it’s time to explore eCommerce inventory automation. Boosted productivity and more time back In the simplest terms, automation uses digital technology/tools to perform and complete tasks automatically. So, you don’t have to do them manually. Some examples include data integrations, AI, machine learning and marketing automation software. As well as streamlining business processes, automation boosts internal productivity. Your team no longer needs to spend time on repetitive tasks such as manually inputting data and searching across multiple systems to find the information they need. That means they have more time to spend on other value-added tasks. For example: Finding ways to increase customer retention Reviewing customer NPS (net promoter scores) and looking for ways to improve it Building stronger relationships with their peers/colleagues A chance to increase employee engagement Imagine telling your team that there was a way to get that repetitive task (the one they all hate) off their Monday morning to-do list for good? Your employee satisfaction and engagement would probably increase! This is what automation can do. Leading on from our first point, those time-sucking tasks (like data inputting) can be automated. All your team needs to do is check the system every now and again to ensure everything is running as it should. That means more time back to focus on tasks that really make a difference. The ones that can propel their career development and breathe some much-needed excitement back into their lives. Valuable access to business intelligence As you know, the business landscape is constantly changing – sometimes, suddenly without warning. It’s important to access the right data at the right time so you can make well-informed decisions as you adapt to this change. Automation tools, such as data integration, are particularly important here. If your commerce platform is integrated with your ERP system, details of any orders placed can transfer to your back office. This means a faster order fulfillment cycle. Likewise, any information gathered and stored in your ERP system can feedback to your commerce. For example, inventory and warehouse levels can ensure any stock-related information on your e-commerce website is accurate. Combine this with built-in analytics tools and you’re setting your business up to respond more successfully to unexpected spikes in demand. Opportunities to improve marketing campaigns and conversion rates Access to real-time data is key if your business is going to run 24/7, 365 days a year. In the previous section, we mentioned how a commerce-ERP integration can ensure your website can always display real-time stock information. But that’s not the only thing automation can offer, in terms of real-time data. Marketing automation software, for example, can help your marketing team continuously improve its campaigns. Data gathered from various parts of a marketing campaign (e.g. email performance, CTA clickthrough rates and social media engagement) can be used to optimise follow-up campaigns. Better yet, this data doesn’t need to be manually gathered. It can automatically feed through to customisable dashboards. Modern marketing automation software can even recommend the next best steps, based on that data. Improved customer satisfaction and experience Things like teams working in siloes and disparate systems can impact the quality of customer service and experience your company provides. Which can then impact customer satisfaction. Automation can tackle this by eliminating siloes and connecting your data, systems and employees. This then leads to all of the benefits we discussed above. But above all, you can now better engage with your customers and keep them happy. This is by: Providing them with the information/products they’re looking for – quickly Eliminating the likelihood of them encountering unavailable products Allowing them to quickly perform the action they want (e.g. purchase, speak to a customer service agent/salesperson etc) Giving them more autonomy (e.g. somewhere to check order statuses, create price quotes, receive automatic notifications related to their orders etc) Conclusion To maximise the benefits of eCommerce inventory automation software, start with your user adoption strategy. If you place automation at the heart of your business, you’ll find adapting to sudden surges in market demand is much easier. But if you want to maximise the ROI of your technology investment, you must prioritise user adoption. In case you are looking for an app solution, check out Atom8. This amazing app can automatically notify you when the businesses are in shorrt of inventory. In addition, when a product is out stock, this can help to eliminate that product from the storefront. You will not have to worry about taking care of everything on your own. Let it be a part of your journey.
Stay secured with the top 6 fraudulent eCommerce transaction statistics
Online retailers currently deal with around 206,000 attacks on their stores each month. As the popularity of online shopping grows, so does the opportunity for cybercriminals and unscrupulous consumers to scam online businesses. If you own or operate an online store, you must protect yourself against fraudsters who steal from you, wreck your online reputation, alienate your customers, damage your brand, and hurt your profits. This comprehensive guide tells you everything you need to know about eCommerce fraudulent transaction statistics —what it is, how it works, and what you must do today to protect your online store from the growing threat of online fraud. Conduct regular site security audits. Want to discover flaws in your security before criminals and fraudsters do? Conduct security audits—often. Ask yourself these questions: Are our shopping-cart software and plugins up-to-date? Is our SSL certificate current and working? Is our store PCI-DSS compliant (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)? Are we backing up our online store often enough? Are we using strong passwords for admin accounts, hosting dashboards, CMS, database, and FTP access? Or are we scanning our website regularly for malware? Are we encrypting communication between our store and our customers and suppliers? Have we removed inactive plugins? Make sure your store is PCI compliant. If you operate an online store that accepts credit card payments, you must be PCI compliant. PCI stands for Payment Card Industry. It standards for compliance are developed and managed by the PCI Security Standards Council to ensure the security of credit card transactions in the payments industry. PCI compliance means your online store and your business processes meet these PCI standards. If you operate a SaaS-based eCommerce store, your platform will typically provide this compliance. Monitor your site regularly for suspicious activity. Bricks-and-mortar stores hire fraud prevention officers to catch shoplifters. You can protect your online store against fraudulent transactions by monitoring your store for suspicious activity. Monitor your accounts and transactions for red flags such as inconsistent billing and shipping information; as well as the physical location of your customers. Use tools that track customer IP addresses and alert you to any addresses from countries known as a base for fraudsters. Use an Address Verification Service (AVS). Credit card processors and issuing banks will usually offer an Address Verification Service to detect suspicious credit card transactions in real-time and prevent credit card fraud. The Address Verification Service checks the billing address submitted by the card user (the customer) with the cardholder’s billing address that’s on file with the issuing bank. This check takes place as part of the merchant’s request to the payment processor for authorization of the credit card transaction. When addresses don’t match, the system either declines the transaction or flags it for investigation. Require Card Verification Value (CVV) numbers for all purchases. The three-digit security code on the back of VISA®, MasterCard® and Discover® credit and debit cards and the four-digit security code on the back of American Express® credit and debit cards is called the Card Verification Value (CVV) or Card Security Code (CSC). By requiring all purchasers to supply this code for every transaction, you ensure that customers have the physical credit card in their possession. This helps to keep you safe and reduces fraud. Use Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, which is the primary protocol used to send data between a customer’s web browser (like google) and your online store. HTTPS encrypts this data to protect sensitive information, such as customer names, addresses and credit card numbers. Using HTTPS prevents your online store from having its transactions broadcast in a way that’s easily viewed by hackers, cybercriminals, and fraudsters. You use HTTPS by buying an SSL certificate. Conclusion Yes, fraudsters are getting more sophisticated in how they attack online merchants. And the number of attacks on web stores is increasing as eCommerce grows in popularity. But eCommerce merchants are also getting more sophisticated in how they detect and deter online crooks. Once you understand what eCommerce fraud is and why it is so prevalent, and once you learn how to detect online fraud, you are empowered to take the necessary steps to prevent fraud on your online store. In case you are looking for an app solution to deal with fraudulent eCommerce transaction statistics, check out Atom8 for a reference. Rather than having your employees to track the system all the time, let Atom8 do it for you. This app has the function of notifying when there are any potential fraud orders; such as unexpectedly large orders or domain issues. You will technically relieve the burden on your people’s shoulders and have more time to focus on more important tasks. This will be a very promising solution for any store.
