ERP eCommerce Integration:
A Case of Streamlined Order Management

We repeat this quite often ‘eCommerce and ERP cannot be working in silos, they are to be integrated’. The whole idea behind this ERP ecommerce integration is to provide streamlined order processing, efficient inventory management and personalized customer experience. The ROI provided after the deployment of this integration is phenomenal and we saw ecommerce businesses perform wonders.
In this article we talk about a real case scenario where we deployed i95Dev Dynamics GP Connect solution to further boost their operations.

About the Client

Our client provides durable 4*4 off road solutions for enthusiasts and has successfully carved a niche in the domain. Their core business mission was to inspire and help adventure enthusiasts on their journeys on some of the most enduring trails without breaking a sweat.
The products our client delivered were durable and a cut above the rest of the competitors. The reason being their dynamic pricing and the sheer variety they were able to offer. Down the line their business operations began to bear fruit and grow, and they were prepared to take the next logical step. ‘Go Omnichannel, Go international’.
They had all the requisites in them to conquer new frontiers.

• A well versed team of employees who were enthusiasts and adventurers themselves
• Wide array of the best products the industry had to offer
• Creativity and off the beat solutions to customers queries

With these in their arsenal, all they needed was a great ecommerce solutions company that can give their dream wings. While they turned out to the great company intended to, they still had some hiccups along the way. These hiccups are relatable to most budding ecommerce players.

The Problem

Before i95Dev started helping, they had a functioning estore and a strategy in place to integrate their new eCommerce store with their ERP system. Ideally, this integration must have optimized the ecommerce operations of our client such as:

• Reduce scope for errors
• Inventory management
• More informed sales representatives who can provide great customer service
• Ability to manage orders through various channels- Omnichannel function

Development of the ecommerce store and the integration with their Dynamics GP ERP was complete. However, the integration turned out to be faulty and it was disrupting the daily order of business. This led to some serious ramifications in their business strategy. Some of the major problems can be related by to any operator.

• Order Duplication: Our client used to take in orders from various channels. Their objective was to create a unified and omnichannel shopping experience. But due to the improper integration between their eCommerce and ERP lead to disparate systems and confusion.
  Take an instance where their customer created a profile on their website and placed an order through a call. Due to improper integration, two orders were created on their ecommerce admin panel and the ERP for the same customer. This lead to order duplication and serious discrepancies in their accounting cycle and order processing.
  Time of the resources was lost due to rechecking of the orders and their revenues took a hit.
• Improper Customization: We always harp over the point no two businesses are the same and not all business have the same requirements. The customized ecommerce ERP integration solution delivered to the customer was not suitable to the client’s business needs.
  Our client just had one-way sync between the ecommerce store and their Dynamics GP ERP system. Our client as stated earlier was fulfilling orders through direct sales, phone sales, physical retail outlets apart from their online store.
  The orders which were created on the online store were synced with a numeric order id into the ERP. The offline orders were entered into the Dynamics GP manually by their backend team. This again led to different orders being created with the same numeric order id leading to failure to integrate and confusion.
  The cause of this was improper integration between systems, failure to communicate and assess their business requirements properly.

Role of i95Dev in the turnaround

The goodwill and brand name of our client strived hard was quickly taking a hit. This is when i95Dev team stepped in to help. We followed a meticulous process to identify the root cause of the problem.
We went through the implementation blue print of the previous solution provider and understood the way our client operated and took orders. Then, i95Dev team got down to business and deployed our flagship integration solution ‘i95Dev Dynamics GP Connect’.
Our deployment helped them achieve a seamless two way integration between ecommerce store and ERP system. This enabled them to take order from physical stores, phone and other offline orders. We achieved a single window view of all their orders from multiple sources. This helped them achieve:

• Reduction in manual errors
• Cutting down of time and increasing the productivity of their resources
• Increased revenues due to streamlining and connecting various disparate channels
• Better inventory management
• Achieving Omnichannel strategy
• Ability to provide personalized customer service

By helping them tick all the right boxes we made our client stay true to their core value that is “Providing the best off road solutions and making the world push their limits”.