We at Folio3 have done Shopify integration with ERP for many customers over the years. Air Bag Man is one such client. Before coming to us, the client spent countless hours on manual data entry, orders, shipments, and payment management. The client needed an urgent solution to this problem.
Folio3 NetSuite consultants assisted them with Shopify ERP integration, helped Air Bag Man reduce their man-hours, and sped up the updation and order processing process.
Through ERP integration, your enterprise resource planning system can be integrated with other crucial platforms and applications. This facilitates a smooth information flow and ensures data quality and consistency throughout your business.
By automating operations and procedures, you can increase productivity, obtain insightful knowledge, and make wise decisions that spur expansion.
Both on-premises and cloud-based technologies can be used to integrate ERP systems. Integrated solutions decrease human data entry and automate company processes and workflows using software not available in the ERP software system.
What is ERP?
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) connects every facet of your company, from supply chain and sales to production and finance. ERP offers a consolidated platform for managing and streamlining your operations by unifying various procedures.
For it to be implemented successfully, it must be tailored to your unique business objectives and structures. To assist strategic planning and execution, this entails integrating data from several departments, including finance, logistics, and human resources.
Connecting your online store to an enterprise resource planning system in order to streamline operations is known as ERP integration with Shopify. Consider ERP as a single source of truth that integrates manufacturing, supply chain, finance, and everything else.
Businesses are now concentrating on integrating eCommerce with their ERP software due to the growth of eCommerce. Companies that avoided this channel in the past are using it more and more. It is anticipated that 95% of all purchases will be made online by 2040 (Source: Blue Link 70 Must-Know ERP Statistics and Trends for 2024).
Impact of ERP on eCommerce
eCommerce operations become fragmented in the absence of an ERP system, which results in mistakes in data, inefficiencies, and lost growth prospects. ERP systems are essential for streamlining processes and providing an excellent client experience. ERP systems have the following effects on eCommerce businesses:
Centralized Data Management
eCommerce companies produce enormous volumes of data, including sales records and consumer information. This data is consolidated by an ERP system, which guarantees reliable and consistent operations.
Real-time Inventory Tracking
ERP systems lower the chance of stockouts or overstocking by providing real-time stock level changes. This guarantees that your Shopify store’s inventory availability is always accurate for customers to see.
Automated Order Fulfillment
ERP systems automate order processing by linking with shipping companies and fulfillment facilities, which lowers manual error rates and speeds up delivery.
Efficient Financial Reporting
eCommerce companies can save time and money on accounting by using ERP systems to track revenue, sync sales data, and streamline tax reporting.
Integrating Shopify & ERP
Although a lot of ERPs include pre-built interfaces, the quantity and kinds of apps that these can link to are sometimes restricted. You’ll probably need to look into other possibilities unless you’re using a full software suite from a single vendor or you just require the most popular integrations.
Custom Integrations
Businesses create custom integrations to link particular software to their ERP systems. Programming is involved in this procedure, which calls for time and technical know-how.
Vendor-built or Native Integrations
Pre-built connectors, also known as vendor-built or native integrations, let you easily link well-known apps to your ERP system. These integrations are often free of additional cost.
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)
Building and maintaining application integrations is made easier with the help of the cloud-based platform iPaaS. This enables businesses to design unique workflows and does away with the requirement for on-premise gear.
Benefits of Shopify ERP Integration
Imagine that you don’t have to oversee and update every aspect of your business by yourself. That’s what ERP gives you. Let’s look at the other benefits of ERP connection with the Shopify platform:
Modern Sales System
Shopify is a strong and effective tool that makes online selling easier. You can easily handle customer communications and order fulfillment by doing ERP integration with Shopify. To make sure the required products are accessible, you can access real-time, precise inventory data. Order status updates can be sent automatically, giving your consumers a flawless purchasing experience.
Central Data Hub
Data dispersed across many platforms might be one of your biggest challenges as your firm expands. Eliminating these data silos and centralizing all information are two advantages of Shopify integration with ERP.
Unified data storage is not the only benefit of ERP integration. It gives your teams, whether in the marketing or sales divisions, the most recent information and guarantees that there are no errors or duplications. In the end, this results in improved data analysis and more assured choices.
Automated Processes
Data entering by hand takes a lot of time and is prone to human mistakes. To address that, Shopify ERP integration automates a number of procedures, like inventory updates, inventory replenishment, order fulfillment, order updates, and customer invoicing.
Improved Customer Experiences
A better customer experience is one of the other advantages of Shopify Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integration. According to a Shopify poll, 75% of enterprise businesses see this as their top priority.
Integration helps in synchronizing data for an omnichannel experience, track customer orders for streamlined flow of data between ERP and Shopify store, automate process for order fulfillment, and reduces human error so correct items are delivered to customers.
Revitalize Legacy Systems
Integrate your old systems with a CRM to bring them up to date. By doing this, you can preserve the value of your current tools without having to replace them entirely.
Enhanced Mobility
Shopify integration with ERP empowers the employees of any business with real-time access to data from any place and any device because of the fully integrated system.
Better Financial Management
Accurate financial insights are obtained by synchronizing Shopify’s sales and spending data with your ERP system. Financial planning, budgeting, and tax reporting are made easier by this connectivity.
Scalability for Growth
The complexity of managing operations increases with the size of your firm. The seamless connection of Shopify with ERP guarantees that your systems can manage numerous sales channels, fresh product launches, and large transaction volumes.
Key Considerations Before Integration
Prioritize Critical Data
Determine the essential information that powers your company’s activities. Financial information, customer information, order information, product inventories, and any other crucial data that must be easily transferred across your systems may fall under this category.
Identify Inefficient Processes
Identify the manual tasks that offer little value and take up a lot of time and resources. Seek out procedures that require laborious workflows, manual computations, or repetitive data entering. These are the domains where automation can make the biggest difference.
Choose Deployment Method
Examine the benefits and drawbacks of both on-premises and cloud-based ERP implementations. On-premise solutions provide you with more control over your data and infrastructure, while cloud-based ERP offers you flexibility, scalability, and less maintenance. To determine the optimal choice, consider your IT resources, security requirements, and business needs.
Select Integration Method
Choosing the integration depends on what type of business you have and what technical resources are available. You can directly connect your ERP to Shopify using Shopify APIs. If your ERP has a built-in eCommerce integration, you can use the ERP’s native integration. Third-party integration solutions can also automate the data flow between Shopify and ERP. You can use their pre-built connectors for Shopify integration with ERP.
Conclusion
By integrating ERP with Shopify, you can automate different parts of your eCommerce business and consolidate disparate data in one location. The opportunities are substantial, as demonstrated by the above-mentioned real-world situations.
Think of the current sales features, unified data, faster processes, and, eventually, improved customer experiences that come with ERP integration with the Shopify platform. The advantages are practically endless.
Folio3’s pre-built connectors are made to accommodate any type of business. However, we do provide specialized solutions tailored to your particular requirements.
We can modify your integration to meet your unique requirements and make sure it not only fixes your present issues but also expands with your company, assisting you in reaching your objectives and giving your clients a better experience.
Reach out to us for a detailed demo call.
