Handshake in the shop | Specialist article eCommerce Magazine*

An expanding online shop faces many challenges. Middleware helps to link different systems.

E-commerce and omnichannel are on everyone's lips, and everyone knows how they work – or so the theory goes. However, according to a survey on the digital maturity of companies conducted by the Digital Commerce focus group of the German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW), the reality is quite different. The survey found that less than half of the German companies examined have truly embraced digitalization.* They are, in some cases, far from having sophisticated multichannel strategies or seamlessly integrating their online and offline worlds. To fully leverage the potential of e-commerce, a solid foundation is essential. Crucial to success are the processes behind the online shop: A two-component solution that combines multichannel sales with warehousing and logistics processes enables retailers and manufacturers to meet the challenges of e-commerce. This solution, comprising middleware and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, integrates all e-commerce processes, from order receipt and processing to shipping to the customer, links functionalities, and ensures a fast and transparent shipping process.

The building blocks of the multichannel strategy

Let's illustrate this scenario using the example of a retailer. He originally comes from the brick-and-mortar retail trade and already has an online shop. To stay on top of things, he needs to expand his online sales. He wants to reach the many customers who use marketplaces. He knows that it is hardly possible to compete with Amazon & Co, but that online marketplaces must be profitably integrated into his sales mix. In addition, he wants to operate internationally in the long term. Marketplaces are a good starting point here too. In order to implement his expansion plans, he needs a scalable system with which he can grow and replace manual processes with automated ones. As a central control tool, the middleware enables him to supplement his existing online shop with new marketplaces and comparison portals. In this central location, data (product data, order data, etc.) from all integrated systems is clearly summarized, processed and controlled. Each sales platform is supplied with its own product data. To keep track of things, he uses the e-commerce PIM system, in which he maintains product data centrally.

In order to make the shipping process efficient and streamlined, regardless of shipping volume, the retailer needs sophisticated logistics processes. Within its new 2-component solution, the e-commerce merchandise management system enables route-optimized collective picking and fast, reliable shipping through intelligent just-in-time processes. The system always knows where everything is and also guarantees high availability. The retailer benefits from cross-channel order and inventory management in real time. Every sale automatically ensures an inventory update, regardless of the channel. Overselling is impossible. In addition, the automatic order transfer increases the delivery speed.

*E-Commerce Magazine 6_2017 – The practical implementation of multichannel strategies and thus the expansion of individual e-commerce scenarios was the topic of the article “Handshake in the Shop” in E-Commerce Magazine 6_2017.