As an eCommerce seller, you always look for ways to save time and increase efficiency. There’s nothing worse for a business owner than losing an order or upsetting a customer. Just one bad experience can turn a customer off your brand forever – and they’ll be sure to let others know too.

It doesn’t matter the reason for the messed-up order – incorrect data, slow order processing, or unreliable integration. Without the right processes, you’ll spend more time fixing errors than improving your customer experience. In this blog post, we’ll outline the top benefits of eCommerce automation so that you can decide if it’s a good fit for your organization.

What is eCommerce Automation?

Many eCommerce sellers depend on clunky spreadsheets or even manual data entry to process their online orders, especially when using different systems for order fulfillment. Sellers will key in order data from their eCommerce platform into an accounting, order management, ERP, POS, or 3PL system.

Passing data through these systems by hand leaves room for errors. It’s easy to mistype an address, order number, or SKU – which all result in a lost order for a customer. Even when you enter perfect order data, manual data entry is slow. Some companies spend 6+ hours a day manually moving inventory and order data between their systems. That’s why many eCommerce merchants turn to automation. It turns routine operations into something you don’t need to worry about and frees up precious time for other activities requiring attention.

Ecommerce automation is the use of technology to automate running an online store. This includes automating product management, order fulfillment, accounting, customer service, and marketing tasks. 

Top Benefits of eCommerce Automation

Let’s take a look at some of the key ways that automation can benefit your eCommerce business.

Increased Efficiency 

One of the most significant benefits of eCommerce automation is that it increases efficiency. With automation, the software can now handle repetitive tasks that take up much of your time. This frees your time to focus on more critical tasks, such as strategic planning and product development. 

Improved Accuracy 

Another benefit of eCommerce automation is improved accuracy. When tasks are automated, there is less room for human error. This is especially important for high-accuracy functions like order fulfillment and accounting. 

Enhanced Customer Experience 

Enhanced customer experience is another one of the top benefits of eCommerce automation. You can provide a more efficient and personalized experience for your customers by automating customer service and marketing tasks. This leads to higher customer satisfaction rates and repeated business. 

Scalability 

Ecommerce automation also allows you to scale your business more efficiently. As your business grows, you can add more products and orders without hiring additional staff to manage the increased workload. Additionally, many eCommerce platforms offer built-in scalability features that make it easy to expand your business as needed. 

Cost Savings 

Last but not least, another essential benefit of eCommerce automation is cost savings. Automating repetitive tasks can help you reduce labor costs associated with those tasks. Additionally, many platforms offer discounts for larger volume orders, which can further reduce costs associated with scaling your business. 

What to Look for in an eCommerce Integration Solution

• Ready-to-Go Connectors for Your Systems – Look for service providers with integration connectors for your systems and integrate inventory, order, customer, item, and shipping/tracking data.
• Sync Frequency – Depending on your business needs, you don’t have to settle for batch syncing that isn’t in real-time.
• Actionable Data Insights – Real-time reporting should give you crucial insights into your customers, like when you should move inventory to one location or another.
• Data Validation, Error Logging, and Alert Notifications – There’s nothing worse than flying blind and not knowing that you have a big issue for days and weeks. Have confidence in how your data is moving through your systems and that you can find and fix errors if they come up.
• Support You Can Count On – The faster, more reliable their support team, the faster you can help your customers.
• Cost of Ownership – don’t fall into the trap of signing up for a service with a low sign-up or monthly subscription fee. Make sure that your maintenance costs, such as consulting fees and your ability to make changes in the future, won’t cost you excessive money. 

What Are the Options?

There’s no “one size fits all” approach. It is vital to assess your business needs and workflows carefully. It’s always a good idea to plan for your future needs, so you don’t waste money on something you may outgrow in months. 

Below are some high-level notes on the options that you may consider:

• Workflow automation tools – if you’re just starting or your workflows aren’t overly complicated, consider using tools such as Zapier or Make.com. They come with many prebuilt connectors and would be a great way to automate routine tasks without much cost. Businesses with more complex needs may consider Celigo.
• API integration platforms – if you cannot find a tool offering support for all of your systems, you may opt for SAAS solutions such as Boomi, Mulesoft, or Jitterbit,  allowing anyone to build integrations between any custom APIs without the liability of maintaining their servers and lots of custom code. These are relatively expensive tools, and you still need a qualified developer to build an integration. Still, if planned well, you may be able to save on the implementation and maintenance costs in the long run. 
• Custom-built integrations – this option is probably the first thing that comes to mind, but it comes with a cost. Anything custom requires diligent planning, and you must be conscious of ongoing maintenance costs. Anything with the word “custom” means you have a unique piece of software, and you will need a dependable development partner for the initial implementation and ongoing maintenance. With that said, custom integrations do not necessarily have to be expensive or complicated. Make sure to research your current platforms for various integration options. It may be based on API or file feeds, or there may be prebuilt plugins offering most of the functionality you’re looking for. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, there are many benefits to implementing eCommerce automation into your business strategy. When done correctly, eCommerce automation can help you save time and money while improving the customer experience. 

If you’re looking for ways to improve efficiency and scale your business more effectively, eCommerce automation may be the answer you’re looking for! 

Speak to Access Solutions to see if you’re ready to make this move and what approach would work best for your business!