Whether you are an ERP software provider or developer, it is mandatory to leverage all the technology available to you in order to grow your business and outstrip your competitors. The easiest way to do that is to automate your ERP services and expand them, with the result of allowing your clients to conduct their operations quicker.
Online store owners can capitalize on the power of ERP automation to sync their data with ease, reduce manual entry errors, automate tax compliance and other processes, and take business reporting to a new level. To help you better understand the entirety of the ERP automation process, we’re going to dive deeper into the main ERP features, workflows, and integrations.
Main Features of an ERP System
eCommerce ERP systems are extremely useful for any company that needs a modern way of managing their business information and enhancing processes, such as creating comprehensive reports, optimizing shipping and labeling processes, and monitoring inventory levels across multiple sales channels.
ERP systems are the choice of countless medium and large businesses to save time when accessing or entering data, share data between departments quickly, make forecast reports, reduce manual operations, improve automation, cut administrative costs, and enable companies to access their database from anywhere.
Major Types of ERP Workflows
ERP systems can be successfully used within a large range of departments, including finance, marketing, production, manufacturing, sales, or procurement. Professional ERP software can thus equip a business with intelligence, efficiency, and a higher degree of visibility across their departments of operations.
In today’s highly competitive eCommerce industry, ERP companies like yours can offer their partners a wide range of features, enabling online sellers to quickly sync inventory levels, update stocks, process orders, and automate shipping operations.
Let’s dive deeper into the 4 main workflows of an ERP system present in the eCommerce sphere.
Workflow #1: Syncing of Inventory Across Multiple Sales Channels
An ERP system is capable of accessing product and order data in order to allow its clients to keep their inventory levels accurate. Of course, no one wants to have items labeled “out-of-stock” if they are available in the warehouse or labeling them “in- stock” if they are unavailable. This is a costly mistake that could translate into a very bad brand reputation in the long run.
Workflow #2: Processing of Online Store Orders
Another essential workflow of an ERP system is the automation of customer order data capture. Once ERP software gains access to all this data, it can easily automate sales along with order shipping and processing. Once this is done, e-store owners can save time when choosing the correct discount combination for their stores’ visitors and generating purchase orders.
Workflow #3: Automation of Shipping Operations
ERP software comes with the unique capability to update stock levels in real-time. This allows merchants to offload their inventory management tasks seamlessly to their suppliers. In turn, the suppliers can use the information provided by the ERP system to inform buyers about their order status and delivery date.
Workflow #4: Offering of Reporting Capabilities
ERP systems can create valuable reports for e-merchants, enabling the latter to know exactly how their e-stores are performing, how their product shipments are placed, and what stocks they have in warehouses.
The Actual Role of eCommerce Integration in ERP Automation
To attain ERP automation, it is crucial to perform eCommerce integration procedures. Experts advise ERP providers to integrate their solutions with as many eCommerce platforms as possible to gain access to a plethora of data their clients use.
Performing such integration enables any ERP software not just to gain unrestricted access to its clients’ order data, inventory levels, and product info but also to offer its target audience a whole spectrum of additional benefits, including business reporting enhancement, next-level automation, multichannel flexibility, and easy data sync.
Integrating your ERP system with multiple shopping cart software can also allow you to outstrip your competitors by increasing your number of potential customers and offering you a better market penetration. Ultimately, this will enable you to expand your business, grow your profits and reach a new level of brand awareness.
One of the best possible methods to integrate your system with multiple shopping platforms at once is to use a unified shopping cart interface such as API2Cart. This unique tool allows you to avoid all potential integration difficulties that appear as a result of manual integrations, giving you access to the data of millions of potential customers.
How Can API2Cart Help ERP Software to Perform Its Functions Automatically?
API2Cart provides a unified API that allows ERP software to connect with 40+ shopping platforms and marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Zen Cart, Magento, and WooCommerce. Using the multitude of API2Cart API methods, ERP solutions can perform a wide array of its features:
- Sync inventory across all clients’ shops
- Retrieve lists of products, along with their corresponding descriptions, images, categories, variants, and attributions
- Keep track of all shipping processes and changes
- Create detailed reports for the target niche
- Get lists of orders, together with specific order details
Do not hesitate to contact its representatives now if you want to learn more about how API2Cart can boost your ERP automation processes.
