Enterprise Resource Planning in Ecommerce
Enterprise
Resource Planning: What Is It?
Enterprise
Resource Planning refers to a software that brings together all facets of an
operation. These tools integrate functions like marketing, HR, logistics, and
customer service, all with the intention to make processes more efficient.
An
ERP software automates the core processes by collecting orders, delivering
reports on these orders and gathering and storing information to make each of
your departments effective.
In
short, an Enterprise Resource Planning software has the ability to cut out
unnecessary tasks and jobs, essentially minimizing the amount of work each
person in your organization has to complete. This saves you money in the long
run.
The
Components of an ERP System
Think
about all of the current software for your company. You might have a customer relationship
management tool, a website, accounting software, supply chain
management modules, HR systems and email marketing tools. Wouldn't it be nice
if one system brought all of these processes together?
That's
what Enterprise Resource Planning does for a business.
And
after all of that, ERP delivers information after accumulating it into a large
database. For example, a CEO may go into the software to obtain data or
information on the following:
- Payments
made by customers
- Outsanding
payments
- Shipment
statuses
- Products
and inventory
- Supplier
relationships
- Details
on customers and how your company targets them
What
Types of Companies Generally Use ERP?
Large corporations take
advantage of ERP far more frequently than mid-sized and small
businesses. Why is this the case? Most small businesses could benefit from
these tools, but it generally comes down to money. Enterprise Resource Planning
requires a significant amount of cash, since the majority of software options
are designed for organizations that have the means to spend large sums on a
monthly basis.
Overall,
your best bet is to wait until you scale up and accumulate more income to
support the spending on. After all, even articles focused on sharing small
business ERP options stick to the same pricey solutions.
The
Primary Reason Businesses Utilize ERP
Although
connecting all processes and tools in an organization seems interesting, the
primary reason companies turn to this is for the automation. After all,
automation launches several opportunities for saving money, becoming more
efficient and even allowing you to reallocate your labor force elsewhere.
How
ERPs Come Into Play for Ecommerce Organizations
ERP for ecommerce comes
into play far more frequently than one might assume. Building off the previous
section, we should look into an example of what we mean by automation.
Let's
say Company ABC sells gardening products through an online shop. Initially, the
company owns several software modules for completing various tasks
throughout the sales and supply chain process. For example, a
customer comes to the store and checks out. The website sends them a receipt
and captures their email. Company ABC has both shipping and marketing processes
in place, but none of them connect with each other.
Therefore,
an employee must check to see if the product is in stock, then mark the item as
bought so the warehouse or supplier can go and package it up.
Then,
someone must notify the shipping company and send out a shipping confirmation
email with a tracking code.
Finally,
your company wants to bring the customer back to the store, so they have an
email marketing person who sends promotions to the list of emails in the
database.
How Enterprise Resource Planning Does a Better Job
Now
let's say that our hypothetical Company ABC implements an Enterprise
Resource Planning software. The tool integrates all of the processes, from
marketing to shipping.
A
customer stops by your gardening supply store and throws a few items into the
shopping cart: a shovel, gloves and work boots. She clicks through to the
checkout page and makes the purchase. With the integrated software, a receipt
gets sent to the customer, and no one has to check to see if the items are in
stock or not.
The
warehouse automatically receives a notice to package the products. All of the
packaging and shipping supplies are printed and ready to go. When the package
departs from the warehouse, an email automatically goes to the customer to give
them a shipment tracking code and maybe a few links to related products. The system
handles the majority of email marketing that doesn't need to be customized.
Not
to mention, all customer support interactions before and after the purchase get
logged into the software, showing the customer history and other information
about the user. HR taps into this flow as well, since the software displays all
of the interactions each customer support rep has had. Therefore, HR goes back
to evaluate which of the people they should give promotions to.
The
whole key behind Enterprise Resource Planning is automation. In the end, a
company gains efficiency and naturally more money.
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