|
|
eCorner eCommerce |
Is it important to have your eCommerce website talking to your back
Invariably one of those requirements is about integration by which we
If you have well chosen administrative software systems in place then
* Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Many of the companies we meet have a view that there must be real time
We recently had a discussion with a medium sized business using MYBO
So the first issue that you need to address is get everyone on the
The methods of integration vary for different systems but in general
Import / Export Files (CSV, Excel etc)
In this situation information is passed from one system to the other
Web services or SOAP
This is a little more complex but is about real time connectivity. In
Data Base Integration using SQL
Most systems these days have some form of SQL data base behind them.
There needs to be a decision made about integration based on the real
The other area that is important to integrate is stock levels and
* Number of products
This leads on to the integration with Point of Sale or POS systems.
When you start looking at integration make sure that you clearly
You might also find that it is simpler and cheaper to replace an aging
Payment and Shipping systems should always be considered as they
end financial or ERPsystem? We see lots of companies every week who
are looking to start an online store (eCommerce Website). It may be
B2B or B2C and there is always a long list of requirements. In fact we
probably have seen every requirement ever written for an eCommerce
Solution. So when we see a new potential customer for the first time
they are sometimes disappointed that we don't find their requirements
challenging.
mean making software systems talk to each other.
the issue of integration may not be so complex or difficult. Some of
the main requests we see for integration requests are:
* Financial Systems
* Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
* Warehousing - stock control and shipping
* Point of Sale (POS)
* Payment systems
* Shipping systems
integration between the back end admin systems and the website.
However this is often the least likely and least effective solution.
and they wanted to get all product and stock data from MYOB in real
time (meaning as transactions occurred) and post orders to MYOB and
create new customers in real time. Problem was the MYOB system ran on
a server in their internal network without Internet access. So sending
information back and forth from a website remotely hosted was going to
be a challenge. In this case the Financial Controller ran MYOB and did
not want it open, the Marketing Manager ran the website and wanted to
sell online. The Managing Director wanted the online sales to be
delivered in real time to MYOB because the Financial Controller
believed that was the only way that the company could control online
orders. This is a no-win situation.
same page.
they are:
but they are not connected in any way. This method of integration is
safe and works in the majority of systems as most have import / export
and it all comes down to format and field mapping.
this case there are XML files that are used to map data between the
two separate systems. The movement of data can be as required, meaning
that it may happen as transactions occur or may happen on a scheduled
basis.
So you can update the data base tables using SQL or you can use one of
the data mapping tools available. This method of integration can often
be complex and lead to issues unless the referential integrity of the
data bases are maintained correctly.
needs of the business. if you get 2 or 3 orders a day online then
manually entering that into you financial system is not an issue. But
if you get 600 a day it is a different story. But ask the question
about how often the systems need to be in sync.
availability. If this is not done correctly and maintained then you
may end up selling products you don't have. In reality this is far
more important that order information but probably less emotional. If
you business is solely selling online then the website can manage
stock levels and be updated daily or as required. Again the level of
effort depends on the number of products. But if you sell from a real
bricks and mortar store as well as online you have added a layer of
difficulty. If the products that you sell can be easily replenished
then running out may not be an issue. So you are left with a decision
based on;
* Method of sale
* Time to restock
* Impact of delay in shipment
This can sometimes be very complex and may cost in real terms. One
solution for a small retailer might be to use the online webstore in
the shop in real time. This may actually be a unique selling feature
and can be promoted in store. All it needs is a web accessible
terminal or kiosk.
define what you want as an outcome. The negative affects maybe cost,
online performance and more complex back office systems. The positives
are better customer service, more efficient systems and processes, and
less human resources.
financial system with one that is more able to handle online sales one
such example is SAP Business One which integrates easily into
eCommerce. Often we have found that the companies we speak to made a
decision on a financial system many years previously and over time the
business changes but the system does not. End result is that the back
end administrative systems impede the companies progress and growth.
improve both usability and security.