Businesses can’t remain competitive today without engaging in ecommerce. But not all ecommerce workflows are created the same.
Almost all SMEs (Small and Mid-sized Enterprises) engage in some form of ecommerce today, but the starting point often is separate ecommerce platforms and company backend systems. Data must then be downloaded or manually entered, creating an inflexible, inefficient system.
Savvy SMEs take a different approach to ecommerce, though: They integrate and automate their ecommerce operations with SAP Business One, an SAP suite in a box ERP solution for small business.
SAP Business One ERP is tailored to the needs of SMEs, and a trusted consultant will offer a variety of integrations to unify and connect all systems and data. This includes ecommerce, which may easily be connected without the need for any development or custom coding.
Integrating ecommerce with SAP enables SMBs to integrate, manage and optimize sales across a number of channels while also automating the flow of data among them. And because ecommerce data is shared in real-time with back-end systems, businesses can better analyze and mine data for intelligence to inform strategy and hone company objectives.
Simple Plug-in Functionality & Benefits
Integrating SAP for small business with a company's ecommerce platform provides an easy path to online business expansion and growth. Online customer and transaction data will be available to back-office software and systems, enabling useful reporting and analytics.
Navigator Business Solutions offer pre-built integrations to more easily interconnect to the leading ecommerce systems and vendors. Shopify is one of the industry leading ecommerce and POS (Point of Sale) solutions used by small and mid-sized companies. Navigator has developed a configurations process that streamlines the data connection between their clients' SAP Business One and Shopify systems. This integration automates the end to end processes involved in receiving an order through the client's e-store through inventory allocation, accounting recognition and billing through to confirmation sent back through Shopify.
Automating the connection between Shopify and SAP Business One
Cloud-based solutions are ideal for SMEs, enabling fast and secure access to data without the hassle and costs associated with storage. The SAP Business One price covers these features and more, making it a valuable investment.
Using a cloud implementation of SAP for small business offers a host of additional benefits, including automatic updates. It eliminates the need for software installation, as everything is handled in a secure cloud server.
Many integration platforms also offer intuitive mapping tools. These are useful for easily matching ecommerce data elements with ERP backend systems in real-time. SMEs need not worry about custom coding and development as everything is already supported by the system.
Additional benefits of integrating your company's ecommerce solution with SAP for small business include being able to stay on top of online orders thanks to automation that will speed up transaction times and reduce manual errors.
Integration enables better management of inventory since the ecommerce system is directly connected to the ERP solution. Order fulfillment may also be streamlined because of integration. And back-office workers will no longer need to manually enter ecommerce orders, which cuts back on errors.
The SAP Business One Price is Right
SAP Business One is an ideal fit for SMEs, as it is engineered to streamline business processes and drive growth and profitability. A powerful ERP offering, the SAP Business One price is designed to be affordable and enable a low total cost of ownership.
Pricing is relatively straightforward, and SMBs can control costs by paying only for the document types they use on a monthly per-integrated-document pricing basis.
The SAP Business One price is designed to be modular, as well, enabling SMBs to license and pay for only the number of users needed at any given time. Businesses can easily scale up or down as needed.
And the SAP Business One price may be calculated as an ongoing operational expense rather than a large capital expense.
Additional savings will come from reduced IT costs. IT staff will no longer have to handle implementation and hardware and software maintenance, freeing them up to focus on core company growth objectives.
Ecommerce Integration is a No Brainer
Real-time integration of ecommerce data and processes with back-end systems is a no-brainer for SMEs. It enables a host of benefits including centralized data access and management as well as improved data quality.
And improved data quality creates more employee trust in data, rendering it infinitely more useful for generating reports and analytics designed to drive business growth.
A recent study from Fact.MR shows the demand for ecommerce software and platforms is projected to grow by 12.5 percent from 2018-2028. That growth is being fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, of course, but also by the trend toward online sales among competitive SMEs.
ERP systems are all about integration, centralization and automation. SAP for small business delivers those features and more, while also enabling easy integration with ecommerce and other business systems. Those features make it an attractive option for any SME in the market for a powerful ERP solution.
