Software for Marketplace connections
Up-to-date stock levels and suitable item descriptions are the basis for successful sales on the marketplace. The retailer's software must communicate with that of the marketplace provider so that all information about the goods is automatically available to the online marketplace.This is exactly where REMIRA software comes in and also enables a fast time-to-market.
More reach through marketplace connections for retailers and manufacturers
Marketplaces, regardless of whether they are a B2B marketplace or an e-commerce offering for end customers, offer companies a quick entry into online trading. The advantage of online marketplaces over own online stores: Customers know the platform and are already regularly active on Amazon and eBay, for example. In contrast to your own online store, marketplaces also work with tried and tested processes for sales and the entire process.
Marketing your own products online on a sales platform such as Amazon, eBay, Otto, Zalando and others not only offers potential for retailers, but also for manufacturers. Retailers benefit from the level of awareness and can venture a quick and direct entry into digital commerce. Manufacturers and brands can present their products on the online marketplace without intermediaries and act as sellers themselves. This allows them to reach users, their actual customers, online themselves and collect important information about their preferences. A provider such as Amazon also provides an infrastructure for cross-border selling. Not selling on the right online marketplace can therefore mean leaving sales potential untapped and money lying on the street.
How do you get started with this business model?
On the one hand, it is important to find the right online marketplace for your own offer. The differences between the marketplaces lie, for example, in the following aspects:
- Target group
- Reach/users per month
- Branding of the platform
- Organizational requirements of the marketplace operator
- Price structure
- Handling/usability
- Marketing activities
- Presence of the competition
What is software for marketplace connections?
Software for marketplace connections is middleware that exchanges data with the marketplace software on the one hand and the company's existing software on the other. This involves synchronizing the data, automating processes and providing the marketplace or several online marketplaces with the information they need.
With marketplace software, retailers can offer goods on the desired marketplace without having any special expertise in e-commerce and without having to replace the company's existing IT infrastructure. The same applies to B2B marketplace software: it must ensure that the products are visible on the online marketplace using the data available in the systems. The right marketplace software can also make tried-and-tested and outdated systems and IT infrastructures fit for e-commerce. A modular solution adapts individually to existing systems and individual requirements.Ideally, all retail, shipping, warehouse and logistics processes are combined in a central system. The result is a control center for modern retail that automatically maps all relevant e-business processes.
For example, if a retail company offers the same items online that it also presents in-store, it can happen that an item is sold in the stationary store that another customer has actually already ordered on the e-commerce platform. Software for Marketplace connections therefore synchronizes all data on sales and remaining availability in real time. It can also book goods reserved online so that they are no longer available for sales from another channel, even if the item is still physically available in the warehouse.In this way, the e-commerce software helps to avoid overselling - and only offer what is actually available.
Software for marketplace connections makes omnichannel successful
A retailer or manufacturer's existing IT architecture is generally not designed for highly automated online sales. In order to generate sales via a marketplace, organizational and structural challenges must first be overcome. On the one hand, retailer-specific third-party systems such as ERP/merchandise management, accounting and payment systems must be connected to the sales platform. Secondly, each marketplace works with different systems and data formats and therefore has different integration requirements.
Retailers who want to sell via a platform often combine these many systems using complex in-house developments, tools and numerous interfaces. This makes the entire system landscape even more complex and therefore more susceptible to errors or update problems. In order to keep pace with the fast-moving and constantly evolving online sales environment, modern middleware for connecting marketplaces is an ideal solution.
Are you looking for a solution for smooth sales on online marketplaces?
Our intelligent software for marketplace connections supports you in selling via a wide variety of channels in almost unlimited numbers.
What are the advantages of software for marketplace connections?
For a multi-channel strategy or an omnichannel approach, numerous small processes in the technical and organizational infrastructure must be coordinated. The decision in favor of software for marketplace connections should therefore not only depend on the price and good services of the provider, but also on the interface competence and the performance desired by your company, e.g. for
- Management of third-party suppliers, shipping service providers and payment service providers
- Examples of sales channels from store systems, apps and marketplaces to social media.
- Integration of different inventory systems such as ERP, financial accounting, PIM, logistics and CRM
- Continuous updating of all stock levels on all sales channels (avoids overselling)
- Processing of various payment methods, including the processing of partial payments
- Enabling shipping options such as shipping from the main warehouse, via drop shippers or external logistics providers, ship from store or click & collect.
- Support for returns options, such as home delivery and in-store returns
- Answering customer queries and creating tickets
Software for marketplace connections ensures that the various requirements and complex structures do not impair the customer's shopping experience. For example, the customer expects good usability, complete product information, an appealing presentation of image and text content and smooth processes after clicking on "Order now" or for returns - in other words, an end-to-end customer journey. The fact that there are different channels, different touchpoints through which the customer connects with the seller should not play a role for the customer.
Important functionalities of software for online marketplaces
From business-to-business marketplaces to eBay classified ads for every user: Amazon, eBay, Otto and Co. have very different requirements in some cases. In addition to the increasingly complex system landscape at the brand or retailer, there are various data formats required by the sales platforms. This quickly leads to errors in the transfer of information and, instead of smooth omnichannel retailing, there are always errors in the transmission of orders. Overselling due to non-automated processes and outdated stock levels are also not uncommon. To ensure that companies not only list their products everywhere, but also really benefit from the advantages of additional sales channels, software for marketplace connections acts as an enabler for entering the platform business.
It should offer the following functions, for example:
- Connection to marketplaces through listing and order management
- Automated order routing
- Short-term connection of new online marketplaces
- Communication and delivery bills to customers
- Managing the interaction of different systems
- Real-time data exchange
- Automated processes
- Integration of payment service providers
- Provision of current stock levels
- Delivery of complete product information
- Smooth performance for platform operators
- Avoidance of errors through integrated technical infrastructure
- Reduction of personnel costs
- Simple expansion of the product range through dropshipping
Entering marketplace sales with existing ERP
It may seem difficult to connect online stores and marketplaces with your existing merchandise management or ERP solution. This is because the existing enterprise resource planning system (ERP) reliably manages all items with basic, packaging and price data, but is not designed for rapid scaling into online markets in terms of the scope of product information, data formats and process orientation alone. This can be remedied by software for marketplace connections, which acts as an intermediary between the existing IT system and the sales platforms and can be used as an extension to the existing ERP system. Such a solution enables the smooth connection of marketplaces, automatically supplying them with all the necessary data in the required formats. And it can centrally connect other systems that come into play in online retail: from payment service providers to external product information management (PIM).
Are you interested in omnichannel commerce software?
Supporting your customers on all channels is becoming increasingly important. A seamless connection to the various sales channels is crucial for this. We understand this and offer you - whether you are a large or small company - customized solutions that are precisely tailored to your needs.Find out more about our omnichannel commerce software solutions now.