Centralizing eCommerce data is currently the most efficient approach to database management. These days businesses want to integrate eCommerce data with ERP and CRM to manage it all in one location. As companies handle more data than ever before, the efficiency gains for this type of holistic data management is obvious. In the absence of properly integrated data, even processing standard online orders can become a burden to businesses. It is often costly, clumsy and time consuming for managers to manually transfer orders from the eCommerce store to the back-end accounting system.
Positives
The advantages of centralizing the entirety of business data including ERP, CRM and eCommerce data are numerous. Good eCommerce integration removes the menace of duplicate data entry. Website orders are automatically sent in real time to the ERP systems without data entry duplication. This speeds up the online shopping process, prevents mistakes and provides consistency. Online shops seamlessly integrated with ERP and CRM improves the real time interactions between websites and fulfillment centers. This type of integration cut errors associated with manually inputting web orders into ERP systems. Manual data transfers are often counterproductive primarily due to cost and time implications.
Intimate customer experience
Importantly, centralized data systems enable synchronization of customer and inventory data. Online orders trigger updates and the decrementation of inventory systems and customer records. For instance, when modifying contact information, it will instantly synchronize with the CRM and ERP system. Data centralization also reduces eCommerce order cycle including shipping time. In an integrated system, new orders will be seamlessly in real time to the ERP system. The data will then be collected, packed and shipped as fast as possible. This makes order cycles more efficient and quicker. Moreover, using real time product, inventory and order tracking data updated in a centralized system will help improve customer service. This provides marketing and sales staff the tools to craft a tailor customer service which is ultimately positive for branding loyalty and repeat business.
The main argument for centralized data is the effects it has on the ability of marketing professionals to tailor customer experience. This is true for all technology. However, when managing an eCommerce solution, efficiently centralizing the data is absolutely important to profitability. DigiCommerce often encourages clients to take this approach because of long term efficiency gains. This is the future of a holistic database management approach and it might be more costly not to adopt it.