3 Methods to Transform an Online Store into Omnichannel

Okay, you have the best UI and UX on your website and online store, now what? How will you manage stock levels, process orders, communicate with your customers, or link contact points to turn the customer’s shopping experience into an omni-channel? Now, think global. How you will manage items, inventory, customers and order data from different locations, stores, sites… using a single source will reduce the time spent and give you more control.

Get your customers profitable, know the value of their useful life and be able not only to sell, but also to personalize marketing according to profiles, interactions, visits … all visible from a single system.

Although we generally recommend using SuiteCommerce for e-commerce, you may already have your own site developed by a third party. Fortunately, we have different integration options, so don’t let this prevent you from controlling your company, integrating all the activity of a multi-channel and multi-location retail business – from e-commerce, Marketplace, points of sale and order management to the marketing.

Linking your online store with NetSuite for internal management is the best investment you can make. The benefits for the client go through visibility of the stock available in real time, homogeneous and detailed information on the product, speed and transparency in updating the status and delivery of orders … all characteristics that allow you to maximize the value of visitors. For the business, NetSuite provides a robust and flexible tool to manage everything else – from other points of sale to after sales – providing customer and business information – such as what type of customer is most likely to accept a promotion or Which ones have had habitual incidents with the orders-, be it a B2B, B2C or B2B2C company- helping you evolve and improve, and thus grow.

As a modern, digital, and customer-centric company, there are a few things to consider before integrating:

1. To plan a successful integration, it is important that you have a clear experience that you want to create for your clients. Not only while they visit the page, or the purchase process, but the entire experience. Understand the points where you interact with your customers and how you want them to interact with you at the different points of contact.
2. Know what information you need to operate in the business.
3. What data and conclusions of your analysis do you need to keep control, be informed and make qualified decisions?

NetSuite ecommerce and most third-party e-commerce applications are sophisticated platforms that offer a wide range of tools to configure the system. Due to this flexibility, conflicts between platforms can occur, and sometimes preconfigured connectors are unable to resolve them.

As we always say, you should not look for a system that replicates your current operation. Instead, you need to take a step back, analyze how to optimize current processes, and then find the system and consulting to help you redefine and implement.

Integrate the online store with NetSuite

Of course, you need or should seek automation. Two other factors that are very likely to influence are your budget and specific business processes. All these factors will be key when deciding on a solution.

Preconfigured connectors. – It is a fast and affordable option for small businesses. For normal businesses, without complex processes or customizations it can be the perfect option. No initial costs, since almost all work with a monthly fee and can cover the most common automations. However, if your requirements go further, do not apply or do not want to follow the usual business rules, no matter how cheap this type of integration is, it will not be an option. It will give you continuous headaches instead of solving.

Custom Integrations. – They need development and, therefore, have an initial cost. The advantage is that it adapts 100% to your needs and will be fully compatible with your business processes.

Cyclr Embedded Technology. – Could be considered “connectivity as a service”. Instead of adapting to the predefined connector and having a standard data set, or building a fully custom integration from scratch, this technology is incorporated into NetSuite implementation so that integration with the online store is done natively. A comprehensive API allows your service provider to design their own UI / UX or use a simple drag and drop interface. There are many benefits to using this “middle ground” solution. Accelerate the development of integrations, reduce the burden of creating plugins or supporting custom code created based on your API. Cyclr offers connectors for accessing data through APIs, but also dedicated connectors for accessing data through webhooks (including features like field auto discovery), MySQL, databases, and web-based forms. In addition, it has workflow controls between the connectors to be able to configure rules between multiple applications, such as Ecommerce – CRM – NetSuite – Bronto, for example.

At Anchor Group, we are certified by NetSuite and have NetSuite developers to make developments and we have extensive experience in third-party e-commerce integration.

What should you consider when integrating NetSuite in your online store?

Most important of all is to ensure that all business processes and touchpoints between systems have been mapped, so that communication between them flows.

Basically, what needs to be connected is:

1. Stock update.
2. Integration of the catalog.
3. Category integration.
4. Discounts – It may be necessary to adjust the different methods between the e-commerce platform and NetSuite.
5. One-way integration of electronic commerce to NetSuite.
6. Shipment confirmation – One-way integration from NetSuite to e-commerce.
7. Payment / refunds. – You need integration with the payment gateway.

But to ensure that the integration is complete, it is not possible to ignore other specific business areas and processes that you may or wish to have:

1. Flow of customers from the online store to NetSuite.
2. Flow of inventory updates from NetSuite to the online store and back when an order is placed.
3. Order-customer-item relationship to update in both systems.
4. Possibility of viewing the history of orders made from any channel – point of sale, online store, by phone … -, both for the customer and the company.
5. Billing, payments, return authorizations, inventory update when item is returned, available both on site and in NetSuite.
6. Storage of payment details, such as credit card.
7. Is the payment flow standard or does it have specific conditions such as: fees, subscriptions, payment on shipment or reserve of funds at the time the customer places the order?
8. Transactions and types of data that your company accepts and how e-commerce and your NetSuite system work with them.
9. Inventory location. If you manage a multi-location inventory, you must ensure that the integration links the online store to the appropriate location to ensure availability and send the order to the designated warehouse for processing.
10. Configuration of forms and integration of customer and order data between the online store and NetSuite. Make sure all required fields are set to capture and pass information between systems so there are no errors in the logs.
11. Workflows are custom business rules and processes. Make sure that there are no incompatibilities in the flows between systems, and if you want them integrated or limited to their own system.
12. Integration with other lines of business, such as support, ticket sales, marketing, etc.
13. If you make international shipments, do not forget to take into account taxes, customs and duties, and how they will work in the integration.

The integration of two or more systems is not easy. Different companies and developers intervene in the development of the systems, with different objectives and purposes in mind. Fortunately, NetSuite was built with future integrations with other systems in mind.

We have built many NetSuite apps, which include NetSuite for iPhone and for android to manage actions on your phone

Should You Keep Shopping Around? … Good, but there is better out there. 3dcart is an ecommerce website builder you can learn more here.