An overview of ERP integration
Nowadays, the power of ERP integration in business operations has been proved by the current successes of many organizations. ERP has connected different departments and created smooth, transparent, effective workflows and data flow for the whole business. There are some special points of the integration that the business runners need to comprehend to utilize effectively for their business growth. Introduction of ERP Integration That You Should Know Definition Without the integration, the business runners can’t have an overview of business performance and keep track of operations in real-time. The integration can link different apps and data sources to create a smooth system for any business process. It also strengthens the consistency and encourages collaboration between employees despite various departments. Classification CRM-ERP Integration There are many kinds of integration that can support different business purposes. Firstly we would like to introduce CRM – ERP integration. CRM systems can help you store customer data or other insights and connect with ERP to manage orders, process the fulfillment, and conduct the shipping. There are some popular CRM systems on the market, such as Adobe, Salesforce Sales Cloud, SAP, etc. Moreover, a more convenient choice for business runners today is using the ERP, which already has a CRM system. E-Commerce-ERP Integration The e-commerce business usually prefers e-Commerce – ERP integration to support their eCommerce selling. The e-commerce platform can go along with customers during their online shopping experience, from searching for products and placing orders to checkout. Moreover, there are some additional features that the e-commerce platform can bring to your business and customers. The integration between eCommerce and ERP systems helps the companies manage the order fulfillment process, inventory status, and delivery process. ERP-ERP Integration In the case of mergers and acquisitions, the business will need to combine different ERP systems to form a united strategy for the whole industry. The integrated ERP systems aim to develop and ensure consistency and accuracy in customer data, selling activity, and business performance. Customer Service-ERP Integration There is a kind of integration that optimizes customer satisfaction, reduces churn, and increases conversion. We called it “Customer Service – ERP integration.” The system includes a variety of applications to solve customer issues, support customers, and all other services to ensure the best shopping experience for the buyers. Some customer service ARP integration runs on an AI basis to generate a suitable and personalized approach for each customer segment. Benefits of ERP Integration Enhance Customer Experience The very transparent benefit of the integration is enhancing and personalizing customers’ experience in your e-Commerce store. The approaches built on customer data, intelligent insights, and AI processing are realistic, suitable, and effective in boosting the interaction between buyers and sellers. Leverage Effectiveness The integration system can help the business runner identify potential problems And prevent them from avoiding delay, cancellation, and other serious results that can negatively affect the business performance. With the support of the system, the business can keep an eye on the operation to optimize effectiveness and leverage productivity. Conclusion After reading the article, we hope you can understand and have fundamental knowledge about ERP systems. You can take advantage of the integration to strengthen their business operation and boost business growth in the future.
How can integrated software benefit your organization?
Along with the continuous development of the eCommerce world, technology solution markets also witness the advent of intelligent and powerful integrated software which can strengthen any business operation. The benefits of integrated software are significant, and they can support your business growth in the long term. Therefore, today’s article will figure out the remarkable advantages of an integrated system that can bring your eCommerce businesses. What Advantages Integrated System Can Bring Your Business Help Staff Stay Focused The most transparent benefit of integrated software is increasing workforce productivity. Nowadays, the business tasks require the employees to use many applications and software to finish and optimize the result. Therefore, the integrated software application can connect all the applications, and then the employee can stay focused on one platform to do various tasks. The software is convenient for staff to conduct the business tasks as the data from different apps can be shared. As a result, the employees can focus on more crucial tasks to attain more significant achievements to contribute to the overall business growth. Real-time Tracking With the support of integrated software, the customer can use the software and keep track of the process in real-time. Moreover, integrated software can continually of the day with real-time notifications about your task status, additional issues, and other arising problems. Therefore the employee does not need to keep an eye on the process all of the time; they just need to do other things and pay attention to the notification. Although the employees do not directly participate in the processes, they still have good control of the operation. Reduce Churn Rate Thanks to integrated software, the customers can easily access their data, including purchase history, favorite products, and other saved features. Therefore, they will have the same shopping experience regardless of the device. Also, the relationship between you and your customer will not be prevented by the location devices and other borders. As a result, you can strengthen and reinforce the customer relationship in the long term. Save money Compared to other technical solutions for businesses, integrated software is considered one of the cheapest approaches for organizations. While other application systems spend a large amount of time and a tree and other resources, integrated software-only focus on the bottom-line activities of the companies, Focus on users’ requirements Integrated software always tries to optimize and utilize the customer experience by improving performance. Also, the software can have the overall pictures of the customer experience to identify and figure out the pain points of the customer journey. Then, the IT developer relies on that to develop and improve the system. Thanks to the real-time notification of the system, people in charge can make appropriate adjustments and modifications quickly. Conclusion Aunt to regain our tactical advantage. We help you understand the benefit that the integrated software can give to your business. Moreover, if you are looking for integration software that can send real-time notifications, upgrade customer experience and increase the overall productivity, you can try Atom8 to leverage your operation.
All you need to know about system integrator
Nowadays, many e-commerce businesses have taken a lot of advantages from system integrator to support business operations and selling activity. The market for system integrators is diversified, so before adopting them into business, there are some key points to consider. Therefore, today’s article will give you the essential information about system integrators that you need to acknowledge. Essential Information About System Integrator Definition The main function of the system integrator is to address the business demand and requirements to come up with the technical solution to operating the business tasks. Their process will include building, forming, and adding necessary features to support the business operation that sticks to business purpose and make the solutions compatible with the current system. System integrator business model Today, many IT companies provide technical solutions for the business, including system integrators. Normally, the IT company provides Consulting services, system integration services, and close cloud services. If you want to adopt system integrators into your business, you will easily contact some solution company. For instance, SmartOSC can help you integrate various applications into your e-commerce store. For instance, the automation product recommendation app B2B platform partner Program For System Integrator. System integrator partner programs include many exciting activities to support the business runner to run and operate efficiently with the integration. They are such different partner programs for various system integrators. Some popular partner programs include discounts for reselling Service delivery training programs and free trials. However, to be eligible for partner programs, The system integrators need to pass some standards related to the annual revenues, sell milestones, or have a specific invitation. Advantages Of System Integrator The system integrator will receive a lot of benefits after integration. Integration can assist the business is operating without any barriers. It also helps the staff stay focused and do multiple tasks simultaneously without jumping among various applications. Moreover, the integration allows businesses to focus on the more meaningful goals rather than paying too much attention to repetitive and simple business tasks, which can waste valuable resources. Finally, integrating a new system into your operation is one of the decisive factors in motivating and reinforcing the process of digital transformation. Examples Of System Integrators SmartOSC is one of the leading companies in the system integrator markets with more than 15 years of experience. They provide multiple solutions for eCommerce stores to integrate into their operation on different platforms, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento. Moreover, they also offer consulting services for blockchain solutions, giving you useful advice when getting started with this innovative technology. If you are finding effective solutions for business, you can contact SmartOSC to find out the most suitable approaches. Conclusion The system integrator is considered a helpful factor for your business growth. Therefore, we hope you better understand system integrators and can take advantage of them to make your business perfect.
Follow these eCommerce trends to appeal to Gen Z customers.
Gen Z is extremely proactive in eCommerce, so they directly affect your selling activities. They also have some differences in behaviors, trends, and expectations that the eCommerce sellers should pay attention to for business strategies. Therefore, today’s article will give you some remarkable points about gen Z ecommerce trends to enhance your business growth. Impress Gen Z Customers With Those e-Commerce Trends Payment Methods Gen Z is living in the digital era, so they have a chance to make use of technology products. The blooming of e-wallets, e-banking, and blockchain wallets has brought them various options to process payment with high speed, convenience, security, and privacy. They prefer to use a debit card rather than a credit card. However, economic businesses need to add more payment methods to allow customers to process their payments conveniently and smoothly. Moreover, they also pay attention to the transaction fee, so you need to offer payment methods with a low or free transaction fee. Mobile Shopping It’s easy to meet a Gen Z customer who goes online shopping with their smartphone because it’s fast and convenient. Therefore, the eCommerce store needs to optimize its mobile web interface and establish an app that they can install on the phone and access your store whenever they want. Moreover, you can quickly update the information about the new product or a new promotion campaign for them because Gen Z customers usually hold their smartphones many hours a day. Technical Ability Born in the digital era, Gen Z is competent in using technological tools and smart devices to support daily life. They quickly get acquainted with the new innovative solution technology, so there are no big problems for them to shop on the latest platforms or tools. Therefore eCommerce businesses can easily transform their business using the newest technology such as blockchain or others to increase the shopping experience and strengthen the operation. E-trust While other generations usually don’t pay too much attention to the security, privacy, or e-trust on the e-commerce platform, Gen Z requires a much more high-security system to protect them from cyberattacks. Therefore, eCommerce websites should display security certificates to make them feel safe and willing to go shopping on your website. Brand Loyalty Compared to the previous generation, Gen Z is considered the generation with a lower customer retention rate. They always require higher quality and easily leave your store if they can find a better one. Therefore the e-Commerce business should make appropriate changes and improvements to products and services. Social Advertisement It is more effective to convince the Gen Z customers through the advertisements with educational and informative content. Because it helps them better use the product rather than over-advertising about the product functions. They are also interested in related tips that can support their daily lives and are relevant to your products. Conclusion While they are different from other generations, Gen Zs are one of the profitable target customers for your eCommerce stores. We hope you can easily satisfy the younger customers and attract more audiences with our selected gen Z eCommerce trends.
How to use customer insights to merchandise products for the BigCommerce store
Customer insight is one of the powerful factors to help you upgrade, strengthen and leverage your business selling activities. Many businesses know how to gain many customers inside with the smart tools; however, just a few companies know how to use them efficiently and effectively to contribute to the business success. Therefore, we suggest some approaches to help you utilize customer insights to merchandise products on your BigCommerce store. Ways To Utilize Customer Insights To Mechanside Products Examine Customer Journey Customer insights provide detailed information about the customer journey that you can examine at each buying stage. We can identify the barriers that customers encounter and whether they are satisfied or not. With the good points, we can focus on them, invest more, and develop our strengths in merchandise products. However, with the bad points, you can try to improve them and find the solutions to help the customers overcome the obstacles. Improving your weaknesses is extremely vital as the customers will appreciate it, reinforce their loyalty and enhance the brand’s reputation. Improve Product Quality One of the main functions of customer insights is to improve product quality. Customer insights will be fundamental for you to research the customer process of using your products, such as if they find any difficulties when using the product or whether the product meets their requirements and expectations. In detail, feedback is also one of the crucial factors in customer insight, which will recommend you improve the product in the future. When you can address the customer insights and use them to enhance your product features and functions, you can design the most realistic, helpful products and stand them out from your competitors. Enhance Customer Service Customer satisfaction and the effectiveness of your merchandise product strategies are also affected directly by the quality of customer service. Therefore, you need to take advantage of the customer insights to improve customer service. The customer service that sticks to the customer insights will be supportive and helpful and can retain many customers. Launch New Product Listening to customers will help you to have a chance to create and merchandise product line that has supportive and powerful features that the customers want. Therefore they are willing to buy it, and you will get success with the latest products. Strengthen Marketing Strategies Customer insight is one of the key ingredients for successful marketing strategies. By understanding what customers need, want, and expect, you can design and develop a marketing strategy that can convert the target audience into customers and maintain the customer relationship in the future. For example, Atom8 can group and edit customer categories based on insights and customer data to produce personalized approaches. Moreover, the existing customers’ customer insights can help you make plans to attract more customers in the same target segment. Conclusion Merchandising products is not too difficult if you know how to exploit customer insights efficiently. We have suggested some effective approaches that you can use to generate suitable strategies to merchandise products for attaining great customer satisfaction.
How to build a thank you page that retains customers
Customer retention strategies play a vital row in reinforcing, developing, and maintaining customer relationships for the businesses. The marketers usually conduct customer retention approaches after the purchase process, through post-purchase campaigns, etc. Today, our article illustrates how we can return customers via thank you page with detailed instructions and recommended approaches. Create Thank You Page To Enhance Customer Retention Redirect To Your Product Page Usually, the thank you page is the final step of the customer journey, so it’s difficult for them to have a chance to go back to your store and continue their shopping. Therefore, if you want to keep them engaged and offer them an opportunity to discover more interesting products on your eCommerce store, you need to redirect them to your product page, blog, or landing page. As a result, they can stay on your site longer, increasing the rate of making the next purchase rather than leaving your store and visiting another. Encourage Sharing Feedback Customers always need improvements in their shopping experience. Although they have successfully purchased your products, they may still encounter some issues during the shopping process. Therefore, you can take advantage of the thank you page to ask them for feedback. It should be a critical task. You just invite them to send the feedback and encourage them by giving vouchers for the next purchase. Asking for feedback also expresses your attention, care, and appreciation to the customers and helps them feel valued. Display Cross-sell And Upsell Page Like other pages on your eCommerce stores, the thank you page is also ideal for you to recommend products related to customer preferences, current marketing trends, and seasonal needs. Moreover, if the customers are satisfied and have successfully placed orders, they are possibly willing to make the next purchases. Also, you need to focus on personalization of the recommendation, taking advantage of customer data and the products they bought. For instance, you can use Order Booster to generate suitable and personalized cross-sell and up-sell pop-ups. Invite Users To Reach Out Next, a thank you page can help you give customers a reaching-out suggestion. It is an opportunity to invite customers to participate in your annual webinar, customer conferences, or other activities to enhance engagement. Moreover, you can suggest they subscribe to your blog and other communication channels to keep them in touch. Offer Free Education Or Trial It would be better if you could add value to your product by providing free educational usage and free trial periods. For example, if you sell smart devices or applications, you can offer tutorial videos or courses to utilize and take advantage of your products without any barriers. Moreover, you can give them a 2-week or one-month trial for them to experience and initially explore your app. Conclusion Different firms could have different customer retention strategies on their thank you pages. We hope our recommendations can be a valuable source to collect ideas and create a compelling thank-you page.
5 strategies to improve your BigCommerce store’s facebook ads
Let’s face it — people of the 21st century are forgetful. We are drowning in all sorts of information and sometimes make mistakes when trying to filter it out. That’s why it’s not surprising if someone forgets about an important meeting, has no idea why they walked into their kitchen, or abandons a cart with a much-wanted item in your online store. Sure, we cannot improve the memory and focus of the whole of humankind. However, what we can do is set up nice and friendly reminders about things that may matter — and that’s what Facebook Retargeting is all about if you want to improve BigCommerce store’s Facebook ads. Optimize your ad Creating a Facebook Retargeting ad is an important step to improving your BigCommerce store’s Facebook ads, but it’s not the only one. Once you get started, you need to monitor your ad performance constantly and make changes to the ad if it happens to be unsatisfactory. As you grow your business, managing Facebook Retargeting ads may start taking up so much time that you’ll need to hire a marketing manager or get an app like Adwisely that will fully automate Facebook retargeting ad creation and management for you. Make sure that there are enough visitors to your website Facebook Retargeting ads don’t work without sufficient website traffic. The logic behind it is simple: if no one visits your online store, there’s no one to be reminded of your products. That’s why you need to know the size of your website audience. For this, on the Overview dashboard of your online store, go to Analytics and check the Online store sessions. If there are fewer than 100 online store visitors per day, you need to increase your website visitor count to run Facebook Retargeting ads. Tips on how to increase website traffic: Run a Website Clicks campaign on Facebook. Consider working on the search engine optimization (SEO) of your website. Learn about different ways of getting website traffic. Check if your daily budget is sufficient. A desire to save money is natural and logical. However, spending less than needed will hurt your business when it comes to Facebook Retargeting ads. That’s why you need to know why and how to adjust your campaign’s daily budget. Tips on adjusting the daily budget: Review your daily budget every seven days to see the results and understand if adjustments are necessary. See if your ad message is doing its job. Make sure that the ad messages you use in Facebook Retargeting ads don’t ruin the impression of your online store. Poorly written ad text can significantly increase the cost of your ads. They can even get the ad disapproved of by Facebook. Tips on writing efficient ad messages: Use these recommendations when coming up with an ad message Keep your ad message short (up to 90 characters) and decent. Double-check your website You may sometimes get so caught up in looking for a perfect product that you never take the time to go to your online store and see it as your customers would. As a result, you may have no idea that some buttons are disabled, images are not shown properly, etc. — all this may severely hurt the performance of your Facebook Retargeting ads. Tips on what to check: Visit your website at least once a week. Make sure that product descriptions are up-to-date. Look around, add products to the cart, and try and click through various shipping options. If you see that at least one step of the purchase process is broken, investigate and fix it immediately. Disable Quick View Option and custom checkout pages if you know that they prevent the pixel event from firing properly. Uninstall apps that generate multiple annoying pop-ups. Make sure that you don’t distract your customer from making a purchase. To do so, refer to Atom8, an automation app that can notify you when there are any annoying pop-ups. You will not have to waste your time tracking and can pay more attention to doing something else that matters more. Conclusion Above are five strategies to improve your BigCommerce store’s Facebook ads. If you want to find more information regarding Atom8, we will assist you at your desk.
Scale your Magento store with these simple steps
Magento platform is considered one of the most effective e-commerce platforms globally. However, some businesses cannot operate effectively and efficiently on this platform and cannot grow and expand due to some reasons. Therefore, our article today will show you some basic approaches to scale your Magento stores, increase the revenue, improve customer satisfaction and boost the business growth. Effective Approaches To Scale Your Magento Store Improve Web Performance The thing that you need to pay attention to is the web performance. A web with a slow loading time will prevent the conversion from the target audience to your customers. Therefore, improving web performance is vital in motivating, encouraging, and attracting customers to place orders in your eCommerce store. There may be some approaches to enhancing web performance, such as reducing photo size, cleaning up your code, and using high-quality extensions. Using high-resolution images is unnecessary because today’s screen has improved the quality, so it’s easy for the customer or audience to access the photo clearly without the highest resolution. Also, you need to optimize and clean up your code to reduce the loading time. Last but not least, you need to integrate high-quality extensions only as the low-quality extensions may not be compatible. They also consume a lot of memory, slowing down your web processing and causing bugs. Simplify Navigation Customers are always looking forward to the easy-to-use and simple navigation eCommerce website. The complicated and unmanaged navigation will cause difficulties for the customer to reach the content they want; it also increases the time to find their expected products and improves the customer churn rate. If possible, you can simplify and use one-step navigation instead of multi-layers to take the customers directly to their destination. Enhance Filter Tools Customers, especially the new ones, really need the support of filtering tools to find what they want. The filtering tools of Magento stores should have the ability to accurately filter by color, size, gender, function, and types. Moreover, it’s also necessary to have additional and advanced features such as sorting by popularity, recommendation, or trend. Diversify Payment Options Along with the booming eCommerce businesses, payment also has more innovative and convenient solutions. Therefore, to scale your Magento store, you need to diversify your payment options and satisfy the customer in the checkout process. Moreover, you need to pay attention to their security, privacy, and the consistency of the payment application to avoid cyberattacks, data leakage, and other frauds. Useful Product Recommendation Displaying effective product recommendations is essential to scale and empower your Magento stores. To show related products effectively for cross-sell and upsell, you may need to run a tracking process to record customer behaviors and collect customer data. Therefore, you may utilize applications to generate suitable and persuasive product suggestions. Conclusion You may feel satisfied with our suggested ideas if you look forward to the easiest approaches to scale your Magento stores. Moreover, if you want to find more solutions to scale your B2B Magento stores, you can try the Magento B2B platform to get the best results.
Level up your BigCommerce logistic strategy with these 5 ideas
After the increase in digital shopping due to the coronavirus outbreak, 51% of retail leaders said they’d be increasing logistics and supply chain investments, per a report from BigCommerce and Retail Dive from late 2020. Of course, while shipping can be a strong point of differentiation for your brand, you can’t just create a strategy and call it a day. You have to be prepared to execute — both operationally and in terms of pricing strategy. That requires the coordination of multiple teams, from marketing to fulfillment and many others in between, or in other words, a clear and smart logistic strategy. Establishing your logistic policy isn’t just about what options you’ll offer. You also have to ensure that everyone involved in the pipeline understands their part in the process. So let’s look at the absolute must-haves in your logistic strategy and what you need to know to make it happen. Assemble a great team The first step is identifying the right people to help make decisions about your shipping strategy to tackle any big challenge. Who are the stakeholders in this project, and at what level will each be involved? Here’s a list to get you thinking: The marketing team is responsible for communicating with your customers. They may use shipping promotions like free or flat-rate shipping to bring people to your site, increase order value, or promise expedited shipping speeds for an upcharge. Your web designers and developers ensure customers see the right shipping options surface at the right time — and that the offers are clear to customers from a microcopy and usability standpoint. The fulfillment team is, of course, very involved in ensuring orders are picked, packed, and shipped accurately and on time every time. Your customer service team members are perhaps the most important. Nothing sparks an angry customer call like a missing or delayed delivery. Support needs to know how your approach to shipping will affect customers at each stage in the customer lifecycle — especially if it has any impact on product prices — so they can plan to answer customer questions satisfactorily. Set the right goals Now that your team is assembled define what you want to achieve with your shipping strategy. There are plenty of areas you could focus on, but here are some common examples: Increase conversions by offering shipping options and price rates your ideal customers expect. Increase average order value through promotions like a free shipping threshold or flat rate shipping on certain high-profit items. Expand market or target audience by shipping to new geographies. Decrease costs by investigating alternate shipping services with major carriers. Improve operational efficiency through incremental process improvements and thorough education of fulfillment teams. Choose the best shipping strategy. You might be overwhelmed by all the options at first, but don’t worry — we’ll break them down. Successful online stores implement several of these shipping methods into a complete strategy that works for their unique business. Free in-store pickup. If you have several brick-and-mortar locations or a very strong local business, offering free in-store pickup could be a win-win for you and your customers. Benefits: Customers can skip the wait for and the cost of delivery. Your online business can skip the weight of one more package. Live rates. Getting live rates in real-time directly from carriers like UPS, FedEx or DHL will often get you the best possible rates while still covering your shipping costs. Using this approach as a promotional tool isn’t easy because the rates may vary significantly. Benefits You ensure the cheapest possible shipping option by charging exactly what the carrier would charge you. For lightweight orders or customers near your warehouses, you can often offer significantly cheaper shipping than your competition while still covering costs. Same-day delivery. Same-day delivery is exactly what it sounds like — but it’s a lot harder to achieve than it is to define. Serving your customers with same-day delivery requires a smoothly smooth logistic strategy operation and plenty of resources. Benefits Stand out from the crowd with the fastest delivery time, and you’ll increase your conversion rate. Those higher conversions — and the reputation you’ll build with same-day options — could lead to increased revenue. But unless you’re only doing local business, this shouldn’t be your first go-to strategy. You have to walk before you can run! A slightly easier goal to achieve could be two-day or overnight shipping. “We’ve seen two-day and next-day delivery transform merchants’ websites regarding ads efficiency, customer lifetime value, and average order size,” said Michael Krakaris, co-founder at BigCommerce fulfillment partner Delivery. Free shipping. Free shipping has become, for many consumers, an expectation after becoming spoiled by Amazon Prime. Benefits: It’s easy to explain to customers It aligns with customer expectations It positively impacts conversion rates for customers who make it to your checkout funnel. But, while free shipping is free to your customers, it’s not free for you. You still have to pay the carrier and make sure your margins are high enough to cover the associated costs. Even if you’re making more sales, you’re not getting ahead if you’re losing money on each one. Ecommerce Packaging Options While not every business needs to ship products in the kind of package that ends up in one of the many unboxing videos on YouTube, the way your shipment presents itself at your customer’s front door is a concrete representation of your brand. That means you need to consider a few things. Choosing your packaging. When choosing the packaging, you’ll use things like the fragility of the items, how the components packed inside will settle or move around, and how the package will be opened. Fragile products will need extra padding in the packages, and there are still more specific considerations if you’re shipping temperature-sensitive or perishable items. Custom packaging. Custom packaging can set you apart from your competitors and give shoppers a more memorable unboxing experience. And it doesn’t have to be dramatic. Maybe your packaging materials are
Integration architecture techniques for modern organizations
Compared to two decades ago, when data Integration architecture was a more straightforward operation for most organizations, data integration has become the connective tissue that holds the modern IT environment together. In the past, it was a bit like a small-town road system, with few connection points, and no traffic jams to be concerned about. The IT environment of today looks very different. On one level, the enterprise is simply dealing with more requirements for data integration. Companies have deployed multiple ERP systems, CRM, marketing automation, point-of-sale systems, mobile applications, etc. The small-town road system of yesterday has been replaced by a network of highways and interchanges that need to accommodate higher traffic volumes, with substantially more sophisticated security and reliability mechanisms. It is easy to see how data integration has developed into a key competency for business success. Here are some data integration techniques and best practices for planning your roadmap. Begin with the end in mind Anthony Scriffignano, Chief Data Scientist at Dun & Bradstreet, advises: “Never lead with a data set; lead with a question.” Every data Integration architecture should begin by establishing clear objectives for the project. Is the organization trying to optimize operations and gain efficiency? Are you aiming to understand your customers and prospects better to gain a competitive advantage? Does the business need to modernize its landscape and be better prepared to adopt new technologies? Well-executed data integration projects can yield tangible results. What results are you targeting, and how will you measure them? There are many reasons to embark on a project to improve data integration. It is vitally important that IT leaders be clear about their reasons for doing so. Decide which data sources to include The business case should drive decisions regarding which data to include. Traditional mainframe and IBM I systems continue to play a key role in the operations of most large enterprises and even many small and mid-sized companies. These systems hold core transaction data essential to most data integration initiatives. Next, companies should look at the disparate software systems throughout their landscape and identify the role that data from each of those systems should play in meeting the objectives laid out in the business case. Finally, look beyond the organization’s boundaries to determine whether and how you will incorporate data from external sources. This could include third-party data for analytics (such as consumer location data and traffic analysis that can drive site selection decisions for a retail store). Minimize complexities in data integration techniques Data transformation is fraught with complexity. For example, mainframe data can be especially challenging due to some anomalies associated with variable length records and COBOL copybooks. To make matters worse, it is getting more and more difficult to hire people who have the skills required to make sense of these complexities and the skills to handle newer technologies. Enterprise-grade integration tools can simplify the process by managing complex data types behind the scenes. IT can focus its attention on the important matters of designing and validating the integration roadmap instead of mastering the arcane details of mainframe data. Determine data communication methods There are numerous things to consider when determining how data will be communicated. For example, real-time integration is the gold standard for which most organizations aim. Also, batch-mode integration can adequately address several scenarios and even be built to meet an “almost real-time” standard. It is important to consider both current and future volumes of data to assess whether pipeline capacity will be adequate to handle the traffic. Ultimately, the communication method you choose will depend on your objectives. Where do you want the data to live, and what do you plan to do? Again, it comes back to the business case. Suppose your objective is to consolidate information from multiple sources into a big data platform for analysis. In that case, your strategy will look very different than if you are pushing changes on a customer record from a legacy system to a marketing automation system. Consider future needs Today, businesses have access to a range of new technologies unknown five to ten years ago. We have seen an explosion in the amount of data available. Thus, innovation has followed suit, as businesses have discovered new ways of using new technologies and data to increase efficiency and drive competitive advantage. Data integration is generally not a ”once-and-done” project in today’s world. As the organization evolves, new technologies emerge, and different information sources become available, you need to reassess and realign your data integration architecture techniques periodically to serve business objectives. Conclusion In conclusion, companies must establish an integration architecture strategy for robust, adaptable tools and frameworks that can support their organizations. Also, new technologies emerge organizational needs evolve, and new opportunities come to light.
Best inventory valuation methods for your BigCommerce stores
There are several inventory valuation methods to determine your company’s asset value. As a BigCommerce business owner, it’s important to know which works best for your company and how they affect your bottom line. This blog post will discuss some of the most popular ways to calculate an asset value on inventory, highlighting the pros and cons of each method. Weighted Average Cost The weighted average method, also known as the average cost inventory method, uses an average to determine how much money goes into the COGS and items in inventory. To get your WAC per unit, divide the cost of goods available for sale by the number of units. This weighted average cost inventory valuation method is often used because it’s simple and easy to understand. A significant advantage of the weighted average cost method is that it gives a good estimate of the overall inventory value. The only major disadvantage of the weighted average cost inventory valuation method is that it can be affected by changes in the actual cost of individual items in stock. For example, if the price of a commodity increases, the weighted average cost per unit will also go up. This method is suitable for companies that sell various non-perishable items where the products have very different costs. Inventory storage costs calculations are multiplying the price per unit by the number of teams in the inventory. Specific Identification With the specific identification inventory valuation method, each product unit receives a unique identifier. You can track the cost of individual units in physical inventory, which is ideal when you need to keep a close eye on prices. This is the most precise of the methods here because it assigns a unique value to each item in stock. It’s the ideal option for companies selling homogeneous products, such as grocery items, that will not change much. The primary drawback is net income is changeable on financial statements. Inventory valuation using this method works best for companies that sell single items or small groups of very similar things. To estimate inventory storage costs when not tracking products separately: Multiply the unit cost by the number of units in stock and the products shipped. First In First Out (FIFO) With FIFO cost valuation, you base costs of inventory on chronological order. The valuation uses the first unit purchased for the cost basis, so it’s sold again. The FIFO method assumes the first products in inventory are the first to leave. This is a more accurate method, as it avoids overstating the value of your inventory assets. Here, you value inventory based on most recently incurred costs. It is less useful when business is slow since it doesn’t consider inflation. Inventory valuation using the first-in, first-out method works best for companies that sell homogeneous interchangeable products with steady demand. It’s most common with perishable inventory. Inventory storage costs are estimated by multiplying the price per unit of the most recently purchased units by the number of units in stock. Last In First Out (LIFO) With LIFO cost valuation, you base inventory costs on reverse chronological order. The valuation uses the last unit purchased for the cost basis. The biggest benefit of LIFO is the tax advantage it offers. During times of inflation, LIFO results in a higher cost of goods sold and a lower balance of remaining inventory. A higher cost of goods sold means a smaller tax liability. An understated inventory position may cause your working capital make look worse than it is. LIFO may cause an underestimate in your stocks. It can negatively affect profitability and growth potential. Inventory valuation using the last-in, first-out method works best for companies that sell homogeneous interchangeable products with erratic demand. LIFO accounting is only legal in the United States. Conclusion Inventory valuation methods are important because they heavily influence operations, from pricing decisions to tax strategies. To make informed decisions about your company’s finances and how much inventory to purchase, you must understand which inventory valuation methods to use and why. Regularly conduct inventory valuation throughout the accounting period. It ensures you have the right list you need and is a financial health indicator. In this case, refer to BackOrder, an application that can help you to eliminate dead, excess stocks by notifying you of the situation in your warehouse.
Evaluating ROI: Handling System Integration Challenges Effectively in Ecommerce
Integrating various systems ensures seamless operations, from inventory management to customer service. However, system integration is fraught with challenges. This article explores system integration challenges and provides strategies to handle them effectively while evaluating the return on investment (ROI) of successful system integration. Understanding System Integration Challenges in E-commerce System integration in E-commerce involves connecting different software systems and platforms to work together as a cohesive unit. This integration enables businesses to automate processes, improve data accuracy, and enhance overall operational efficiency. With the rapid growth of digital commerce, integrating systems like inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) has become indispensable. Challenges in System Integration Technical challenges Operational challenges System integration projects require significant time and resources. Balancing the demands of integration with ongoing business operations can strain a company’s capacity. Delays in integration can lead to disruptions in service, missed deadlines, and increased costs. Effective project management and resource allocation are critical to ensuring that integration projects are completed on time and within budget. Gaining the support of all stakeholders is vital for successful integration. Without buy-in from key stakeholders, projects can face resistance, leading to delays and increased costs. Clear communication is essential to ensure that all parties understand the benefits of integration and are committed to its success. Regular updates and involvement of stakeholders in decision-making processes can help maintain alignment and support. Integration requires aligning different business processes and workflows. Disparate systems may have different ways of handling tasks, leading to inefficiencies if not properly aligned. Mapping and standardizing workflows across integrated systems is essential to ensure smooth operations and reduce redundancies in system integration challenges. Strategies for Handling System Integration Challenges Strategies for Overcoming Technical Challenges Before initiating integration, assess current systems to understand compatibility issues and integration needs. Conduct feasibility studies and impact analyses to plan effectively. Middleware can bridge the gap between incompatible systems. Integration platforms, such as MuleSoft or Dell Boomi, provide pre-built connectors that simplify the integration process. Security is paramount in system integration challenges. To protect data during integration, implement encryption, firewalls, and secure APIs. Regular security audits are essential to maintain robust security. Data quality is critical for successful integration. Implement data cleansing processes and establish data governance frameworks to ensure data consistency across systems. Design integration solutions in system integration challenges with scalability in mind. Regularly test system performance and plan for future growth to ensure the integration remains effective as the business expands. Techniques for Resolving Operational Issues A clear change management plan helps manage resistance to change. To ease the transition, involve stakeholders from the start, communicate the benefits of integration, and provide training. Integration requires aligning different business processes. Map and standardize workflows across systems to ensure smooth operations and reduce redundancies. Effective communication among stakeholders is crucial. Establish clear communication channels and use collaboration tools to keep everyone informed and engaged. Use project management software to set realistic timelines and milestones for system integration challenges. Monitor progress regularly, address issues promptly, and adjust plans as necessary. Post-integration, establish a support structure for continuous improvement. Regularly review and update integration settings, monitor system performance, and provide ongoing training. Evaluating ROI of System Integration Metrics for measuring ROI in system integration System integration often leads to significant cost savings by automating manual processes and reducing errors. Efficiency gains result from streamlined operations and improved workflow automation to solve system integration challenges. Integration enhances data accuracy by eliminating data silos and ensuring consistent data across systems. Improved data accessibility enables better decision-making and faster response times. Atom8’s instruction to help businesses achieve successful system integration Atom8, developed by GritGlobal, specializes in assisting businesses with successful system integration. By offering comprehensive solutions that address system integration challenges, Atom8 ensures seamless integration tailored to the unique needs of e-commerce businesses. Expert Consultation and AssessmentAtom8 provides expert consultation to assess existing systems and identify integration needs. This initial assessment lays the groundwork for a tailored integration strategy in system integration challenges. Utilization of Advanced Integration ToolsLeveraging advanced integration tools and platforms, Atom8 facilitates smooth system connections. These tools ensure compatibility and streamline the integration process. Robust Security and Data Management SolutionsAtom8 implements robust security measures to protect data during integration. Their data management solutions ensure data quality and consistency, which is vital for effective integration. Ongoing Support and Continuous ImprovementPost-integration, Atom8 offers continuous support to monitor system performance and make necessary adjustments. Their commitment to continuous improvement ensures that the integration remains effective as the business evolves. Conclusion In conclusion, evaluating the ROI of system integration helps understand its value and impact on the business. With expert assistance from Atom8, e-commerce businesses can navigate the complexities of system integration challenges, ensuring successful outcomes and sustained growth. Contact us if you need help finding the best solution for your business.
