Odoo
Odoo is an open-source ERP platform for small businesses and mid-market ecommerce companies looking to automate sales, accounting, marketing, and other associated operations.
ERP in ecommerce: business value & development options
November 22, 2024
Ecommerce ERP is a comprehensive ERP software solution equipped with modules and features that help ecommerce companies oversee, automate, and streamline day-to-day business operations, including order, customer, inventory, and finance management.
With 10+ years of experience in ERP services, Itransition develops enterprise resource planning solutions to help ecommerce companies connect their departments, automate routine tasks, gain workflow visibility, and eliminate data silos.
About Itransition
10+ years of experience with custom and platform-based ERP solutions
50+ completed projects of different scales across various industries
Hands-on expertise in delivering out-of-the-box, custom, and hybrid ERP solutions
Strategic partnership with Odoo, Microsoft, and NetSuite
Key ecommerce ERP features
Ecommerce ERP is a multifunctional software suite that covers a wide range of business processes and operations and ensures solid control over your entire ecommerce ecosystem.
Inventory management
Tracking product availability in real time to plan stock and maintain an optimal inventory level, improving productivity and avoiding extra operational costs.
Order & returns management
Consolidating orders from multiple channels and streamlining order fulfillment and order return operations, enabling real-time customer notifications on order statuses, to improve order accuracy and customer satisfaction.
Shipping & warehouse management
Facilitating warehouse control with real-time product status data as well as data on incoming and shipped products to eliminate stock shortages and overstocking, as well as enabling automated shipment tracking and delivery rate calculation.
Finance management
Unifying all financial data, increasing transaction visibility, and streamlining report generation and accounting operations within departments for simplified control of financial processes, risk mitigation, and regulatory compliance.
Customer management
Automating the collection and analysis of customer information to personalize customer experiences and ensure higher customer retention and loyalty.
HR management
Automating payroll calculation, shift scheduling, attendance control, as well as compensation and benefits tracking to reduce manual back-office tasks and operational costs.
Analytics & reporting
Gaining access to the company’s data to generate ad hoc and scheduled reports, get insights into business performance, and enable data-driven decision-making to improve operational efficiency.
Looking for an experienced partner to implement ecommerce ERP?
Benefits of ERP in ecommerce
Process automation
Automating data entry, processing, and reporting to decrease manual efforts and minimize human-related errors while boosting employee productivity.
Unified data management
Centralizing data storage and enabling robust data governance to simplify data access for employees without compromising data security.
Data-driven decision making
Analyzing ERP data to gain visibility into the organization’s workflows, track business performance, and enable data-backed budgeting, financial forecasting, and sales planning.
More productive cross-team collaboration
Providing employees with a centralized tool for real-time information exchange, improving remote cooperation and interactions across the company departments and increasing overall productivity.
Omnichannel commerce enablement
Gaining a unified view of customer touchpoints and customer journeys, as well as tracking customer-facing operations in real time to create a solid foundation for a seamless customer experience across all sales channels.
Ensured fiscal compliance
Achieving regulatory compliance by streamlining and automating the management of critical financial tasks, including accounts payable/receivable calculation, financial reporting, general ledger management, and multi-currency payment handling.
Best ERP platforms for ecommerce
Core ecommerce features
- Drag-and-drop web store configuration
- Built-in marketing tools
- Pricing lists automation
- Checkout process automation
- Warehouse and delivery management
- Supply chain management
- BI and reporting
- Human resources management
Deployment models
- Odoo Online SaaS
- Odoo.sh PaaS
- On-premises deployment
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
A Microsoft solution designed specifically to cater to the needs of actively growing companies, including ecommerce online businesses, streamlining their day-to-day operations.
Core ecommerce features
- Finance and cash flow management
- Sales, returns, and shipment management
- Inventory management and item tracking
- Demand and supply balancing
- Built-in connectors with Shopify
- BI and reporting
Deployment models
- Cloud
- On-premises
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (now available under the Finance & SCM licensing) helps midsize and large ecommerce companies automate and streamline their finance, supply chain, and commerce processes.
Core ecommerce features
- Cash flow and general ledger management
- Inventory control
- Demand planning
- Sales and marketing
- Broker management
- Customer loyalty management
- Transportation administration
Deployment models
- Cloud
- On-premises
Oracle Netsuite
A dedicated SuiteCommerce ecommerce solution by Netsuite is a feature-rich platform suitable for B2B and B2C merchants of all sizes.
Core ecommerce features
- Pre-built themes for storefront design
- Billing automation and financial management
- Customer and business account management
- Streamlined checkout process
- KPI monitoring
- Financial reporting
Deployment model
- SaaS
Acumatica
A leading provider of ERP solutions, Acumatica offers a cloud Retail Commerce edition geared towards online retail businesses.
Core ecommerce features
- Inventory management
- Sales order processing and management
- Warehouse management
- Reporting and dashboards
- In-built connectors for other ecommerce software
- Customer self-service
Deployment models
- SaaS
- Private cloud
Get expert ERP consulting services from Itransition
Our ERP services for ecommerce
We provide advisory support for your ERP implementation and upgrade projects to ensure your ecommerce ERP solution is delivered within time and budget:
- Analysis of business needs and technology environment
- ERP solution architecture design
- ERP software selection
- ERP strategy creation and roadmapping
- ERP implementation support
We take on an ERP implementation project end-to-end to deliver a scalable and future-proof ecommerce ERP solution:
- ERP consulting
- ERP integration
- ERP migration
- Custom ERP development
- ERP testing
- ERP support and maintenance
- ERP customization
Ecommerce ERP system integration options
The inherent flexibility of ERP software allows it to connect with other components of your ecommerce infrastructure. The scope of ERP ecommerce integrations depends on your company's needs, business functions, and the number and types of systems already implemented, and can include the following systems:
Digital storefronts
Integrating an ecommerce ERP platform with online stores and ecommerce systems will consolidate data exchange between the storefronts and the back-office to collect information on leads, orders, and customers and provide a seamless operation of your ecommerce ecosystem.
PIM systems
Syncing your ERP software with a PIM system ensures the ERP system will operate using real-time product information to streamline procurement, order management, and shipping workflows and feed the updates back into the PIM for seamless product data synchronization across channels.
The integration between ERP and customer relationship management software results in better front- and back-office synchronization, matching customers’ profiles with purchase and billing history to be used for service improvement, analytics, and more transparent cross-department collaboration.
Integrating ERP and an ecommerce site’s analytics or business intelligence system will help you derive valuable insights from your data to identify the most profitable business opportunities, optimize your cross-selling and upselling strategies, and adjust your ecommerce platform’s product portfolio according to sales trends.
Inventory management software
This type of integration enables an ongoing flow of information between ERP and inventory management software, allowing real-time inventory levels tracking, accurate item cataloging, low-stock inventory reporting, automated inventory replenishment, and streamlined sales order management.
EDI software
Connecting your ERP with electronic data interchange software enables the ease of sharing corporate data related to orders, invoices, or shipments with your business partners, suppliers, and distributors. This ensures faster communications and transactions, along with better order and inventory management.
Ecommerce ERP integration methods
ERP integration models and techniques depend on your current ecommerce software ecosystem, existing business processes, and data flow requirements. The most common ERP integration methods include:
Integration models
Custom integrations
Integrations between ERP and other types of software created in-house via their APIs.
Native integrations
A model based on pre-configured integrations built by the software vendor.
iPaaS
Integrations relying on cloud-based online platforms licensed and centrally hosted by a service provider.
Integration techniques
Point-to-point integration
A one-to-one integration technique used to link single business management apps to your ERP, easy to set up, and recommended for companies requiring a limited number of interconnected software solutions.
Middleware integration
A more complex architecture involving multiple integrations across several ecommerce applications and mediated through a centralized software connector acting as a network hub.
Custom vs off-the-shelf ERPs for ecommerce
The choice between a tailored ERP platform built from the ground up and a packaged ERP software solution depends on the needs, requirements, and goals of your business.
Out-of-the-box ERP
Costs
Costs
Higher upfront costs to finance the development process.
Higher long-term cost of ownership due to vendor license fees.
Timeframe
Timeframe
Extensive development times may delay the adoption.
Faster adoption since out-of-the-box ERPs are ready for deployment.
Feature set
Feature set
Fully personalized ERP modules and features to meet your needs.
A fixed range of predefined features that allows for minor adjustments.
Support
Support
Maintenance is mostly handled in-house by your IT department.
The vendor provides ongoing support based on your subscription.
Turn to us to create your ecommerce ERP
ERP deployment models
Cloud ERP
The ERP solution is deployed in the private, public, or multi-cloud environment.
Pros:
- Faster implementation process
- Scalable data storage
- Seamless remote system access
Cons:
- Less control over data security
- Potentially restrictive licensing options
On-premise ERP
The ERP system is hosted locally on the company’s own hardware and servers.
Pros:
- Complete control over the system
- Extensive customization options
- Highly protected data access and solid security
Cons:
- Limited scalability
- Higher upfront costs
Hybrid ERP
Some of the ERP modules are deployed in the public or private cloud, and others are deployed on local services.
Pros:
- Wider feature selection
- Cloud-based ERP's superior scalability
- On-premises ERP’s control over sensitive data
Cons:
- More complex data integration architecture
- Potential compatibility issues
Top-down vs bottom-up ERP adoption
When it comes to implementing ERP software in an ecommerce business, an essential aspect of this process concerns the key players driving its adoption.
Benefits
Benefits
Holistic planning based on the "bigger picture" Clear guidelines defined by the management Faster implementation due to minimal negotiation
More attention to feedback and discussion Promotes staff motivation and engagement Faster user adoption once the ERP is ready
Best for
Best for
Larger, mature organizations with established business processes and operating in heavily regulated industries.
Start-ups or SMBs aiming to promote staff autonomy, problem-solving, and innovation.
Cautions
Cautions
Risk of disregarding user feedback Need for respected, recognized leadership
Potential lack of a unified vision Absence of centralized guidance may be disorienting
Related services
Ecommerce services
We provide companies with expert ecommerce consulting and implementation services to help them decide on a suitable software solution tailored to their requirements and seamlessly integrate it into their ecommerce infrastructure.
SAP Commerce implementation
Itransition’s team personalizes and integrates SAP Commerce products, and ensures the ongoing platform-based solution improvement for companies to make their commerce workflows more automated and optimized.
Magento development
Being an Adobe Bronze Partner, we leverage the capabilities of the Adobe Commerce (Magento) platform to develop tailored solutions and ensure your competitiveness in the ecommerce industry.
Marketplace development
If you're looking for a marketplace development partner, Itransition's team is here to develop a unified custom marketplace that fits your business model and helps you achieve desired business goals.
Customer data analytics
Itransition's data analytics experts develop tailored customer data analytics solutions to help you personalize customer interactions and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Ecommerce ERP FAQs
Will our corporate & customer data be safe?
We deliver enterprise resource planning systems equipped with advanced cybersecurity measures, making sure that your data assets are safe and handled in accordance with all major data management standards and applicable regulations, including GDPR and PCI DSS.
How much does ecommerce ERP implementation cost?
Here’s the range of parameters affecting the final ERP for ecommerce costs:
- Complexity of integrations
- Availability of in-house technicians
- Deployment model
- Choice between custom and off-the-shelf ERP
- Set of features, modules, and add-ons
- Size of your company
Speaking of broad estimates, implementation of a platform-based ERP solution for a mid-sized company starts at $50,000, while a custom one will cost $1mln or higher.
ERP, CRM, or both?
Smaller companies can start with a CRM system to streamline their customer management and sales operations, while established corporations should combine the potential of CRM in promoting sales and customer relations with the complex operations management features of an ERP platform.
How to sync ERP & ecommerce software?
Since sharing your data assets among multiple integrated software requires greater storage capacity, the data synchronization between your ERP and other solutions should focus on relevant data types and involve a reasonable data exchange rate (real-time data syncing for essential information and lower frequency for less critical data).
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