How Acumatica Shopify Integration Enables Omnichannel Retail

If your goal is omnichannel retail, then your Shopify site cannot stand alone.

The allure of omnichannel retailing from a shopper’s perspective is full transparency regardless of where or how they ultimately make their purchase. But the harsh reality of being an omnichannel retailer means that the back-office systems used for your financials, warehouse management, and fulfillment must be able to communicate with your eCommerce website, and data should flow freely between your web store and your ERP’s back end. While all that may sound complex, here’s how an Acumatica Shopify integration enables omnichannel retail easily.

Omnichannel Retail Is Hard to Achieve

If you are among the growing number of retailers that seek to offer your products through multiple sales channels including online, by mail, or in a physical store, that’s omnichannel retail in a nutshell. In an omnichannel environment, customers can purchase online, receive the product in the mail, and return the product to a physical retail location, for example.

While not a new concept, the last two years have seen an increase in shopper expectations to buy and pick up their purchases however they prefer. Retailers with limited options will be less frequent destinations for shoppers because, as the eCommerce market continues to mature, customers will be expecting a seamless buying experience from every retail vendor. The integration of the ERP functions with your eCommerce platform, such as Shopify, ensures your customer will experience their purchase as a single, seamless transaction. 

Ecommerce-integrated ERP Simplifies the Complexity

Ideally, you want to find a solution that will enable you to connect your website and shopping cart while avoiding the challenges most retailers see when they expand their sales channels. For instance, there are additional considerations to plan for to satisfy customers in an omnichannel environment:

• Your online catalog must be complete and accurate in real time. 
• Pricing, availability, and order processing must have the highest accuracy. 
• Credit checking and order approval may require additional connections. 
• Fulfillment must be completed quickly and accurately, including: 
  • picking, packing, and shipping 
  • billing and collection 
  • follow-up to ensure customer satisfaction 

When your eCommerce platform, website, and shopping cart functionality are integrated with your ERP and other internal systems, you avoid costly data duplication and will have a system that isolates the roles and responsibilities of the online presence from the back-office processes. 

To ensure the highest pricing and availability accuracy, your product information such as pricing and availability should come from the ERP database. As well, customer transactions such as sales, allocations, and shipping instructions should go into the ERP order management and inventory systems. Order and item pricing and quantity will typically come from the ERP, especially in the case of configured or customized products.

Now, the order status from the ERP will be available to customers during the life of the transaction and beyond. Purchase and accounting history is automatically posted to the customer account and can be made available to the customer through the eCommerce site. And because it’s extracted directly from your Acumatica ERP, there is no time lag or duplication issues. You can send also status updates via email when the order is accepted, in process, and shipped including the tracking information.

A Partner With Experience

If it’s time for a new ERP system, be sure that you have a suitable eCommerce module or proven partner that can integrate your eCommerce platform to the rest of the ERP functions and database. The team at Aqurus can help you. Reach out today to find out how their expertise can help you create efficiencies and cost savings. Call (403) 768-0322 or email today!