OnlineRetailer – April 18, 2022
Digitization is the order of the day. We’re also seeing this trend increasingly in business-to-business (B2B) scenarios, where professional buyers are accustomed to placing orders online through e-commerce platforms. However, companies are often deterred by the complexity and high costs associated with setting up and managing a B2B e-commerce environment. Alistar proves that there’s another way.
A conversation with Tim Vanden Ecker, Expert Team Lead for ECM & E-Commerce at Alistar.
You streamline your business in the ERP; the online store is an add-on module
Companies are often deterred by the complexity and high costs involved in launching and managing an online store. Alistar developed an e-commerce platform specifically for this purpose, called “GeCommerce”.
With GeCommerce, we’re moving away from the idea that an online store and an ERP system are two separate solutions. An online store is an additional module on your ERP system that uses both the same data and the same order processes. We’re expanding our points of sale, but we’re not launching a new management platform.
Tim Vanden Ecker
Expert Team Lead, Alistar
Thanks to GeCommerce The online store will display data directly and in real time from the ERP system. This includes inventory data, customer-specific prices, customer-related items, promotions, "My Orders," and reordering. It’s even possible to implement a multi-company policy within GeCommerce from the central back office, such as two separate e-commerce channels: a premium online store and an outlet online store for clearance items.
An ERP-integrated online store enhances the user experience
In today’s online world, we’re used to visiting beautiful, attractive, and high-performing online stores. We’re familiar with the processes and steps involved in placing an order. By integrating our online store with an ERP system, we ensure that corporate buyers experience the same interface they’re used to from B2C online stores. When we can offer the same user-friendly experience using our ERP data on inventory, orders, and personalized prices, the likelihood of converting a visitor into a customer increases.
The seamless integration of GeCommerce with Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers plenty of opportunities, including in terms of succession.
Tim Vanden Ecker
Expert Team Lead, Alistar
By integrating your ERP system with GeCommerce, you add a new dimension to your customer analysis. You gain a fresh perspective on products and your users’ search and purchasing behavior. The information we can extract from our online data can be used not only to improve your store but also to launch targeted marketing campaigns in the CRM system. Examples include Dynamics 365 Sales, whether or not in combination with a marketing automation platform such as ClickDimensions.
In addition, it offers Microsoft Power BI As a dashboarding tool, it offers us advanced capabilities to compare ERP and online store data, giving us a better understanding of our products, costs, and the market we operate in.
You can implement GeCommerce in a fairly lean way
In just four hours, we can already present an initial proposal to our clients through a proof of concept. The total turnaround time for a project is then just twenty business days. This way, you can give your business an online boost in a short amount of time. You’ll enter the world of e-commerce in an affordable and accessible way.
Thanks to the integration with your trusted ERP system, you can quickly shift your focus to optimizing and improving your processes, rather than rebuilding them from scratch.
The new insights your online store provides are invaluable for marketing, sales, and your customer success story. Being able to adapt quickly and respond in a timely manner is essential in this rapidly changing world.
