One of the many challenges that any company faces is harboring its way through the shaky waters of internet marketing. It is always easier to run brick and mortar business, and customers are more frequently more satisfied with shopping physically.
The Challenges
When starting an Ecommerce alongside your brick and mortar shops, several important aspects need to be entertained so that the whole process goes smoothly. One such aspect of this is the linking of Point of Sales with your Ecommerce business.
It is fairly easy to run POS on a single platform, it’s just pure math. No complicated machinery or inter-linking is needed with anything else. But when you expand your business on the social media and internet, you need to be aware of the consequences. Without linking your systems together, it will be almost impossible to keep the records straight.
Imagine ordering something online, while you have no data on how much stock is left behind in your inventory. While your POS are equipped with all such information, you need to link it with your Ecommerce site so that accurate stock data is available on all fronts.
This might seem challenging in the start, but it is a life-saving change for your company.
The Benefits
This is an established fact that this integration is important for your sales and growth.
- You save time since all the data is up-to-date. There is no double checking or manual checking needed.
- Orders through both your brick and mortar business and Ecommerce business will be channelized and organized accordingly. All the information will be available to you at all fronts.
- Customer data analytics can be unified and presented in a 360 dimension.
- Linking these systems will allow the customers to ‘click’ and ‘collect’. Hence, a more diversified shopping experience.
- Online data will always be available in your store as well as on your Ecommerce website. No chance of confusion.
- Customers will be automatically informed about the shipping details.
- Manual errors are eliminated.
How to Integrate?
With the advent of modern technology, it has become easy to integrate the POS and Ecommerce. There are many integration solutions, some of them are listed below.
- Custom Integration
This type of integration is heavy on the pocket and requires very specific details. It might not be an easy job if you are not well equipped with the right integration knowledge. Moreover, it requires resources that are important for it to function efficiently.
Without the right resources, right equipment and knowledge; custom integration cannot be easily executed.
- Multichannel Management Platform
This multichannel system operates between POS and Ecommerce portals, providing them connections through it. This allows it to efficiently sync the data between both your systems. Audits and workflow can be viewed in the background of your program, letting you stay updated.
This system is slightly expensive but very effective for economic potential.
- Point to Point Connections
This is the most direct connection between your Ecommerce to your POS anywhere. The data is directly projected to your POS and is inter-linked to all the details. There is no other ‘cloud’ or ‘system’ in between this connection. It is as simple as a walkie talkie.
It is an easier and a cheaper solution for all your business needs. More so, it is used by small retailers and Ecommerce businesses everywhere in the world.
