How do you pick an ideal enterprise eCommerce solution?

The first thing you need to do is to decide on the features that you want in your eCommerce solution. You should also take into account the company’s size, industry, and budget. An enterprise eCommerce solution refers to a full-fledged platform where there should be multiple systems. They can be related to sales, stock, customer management, etc. Simply put, this solution responds to all commerce-related complexities ranging from product cataloging to managing orders and connecting with third-party systems.

These problems can have some additions, which can range from receiving a large volume of orders, dealing in multiple currencies, and selling in different geolocations.

This platform is a wholesome eCommerce that keeps your business up and running. If it somehow struggles to manage these systems effectively, your competitors will come up front and your profit margin will reduce. Customers will bounce into such platforms where they find everything aligned, proper, and up to the level they expect. Clearly, your loss will be your competitor’s gain.

If you want to steadily keep rising way above your competitors, discover how to select an ideal enterprise eCommerce solution. Take into account that it’s should have scope to scale up today, tomorrow, and every time when you need.

Here, an enterprise eCommerce platform can save you.

What is an Enterprise eCommerce Platform?

It is an online space where enterprise businesses sell their line of products online. It’s for both, small and large companies. But, there is enterprise-grade software that comes up with advanced features that are the best fit for enterprise-level businesses.

These platforms are available as different software packages. But if you’re not ok with them, cloud-based eCommerce solutions are also available. They eliminate installing software and upgrade them more often.

For more important features and effective systems, you have to pay out a little more than usual.

While some enterprise eCommerce platforms are delivered as software packages, today’s major platforms are cloud-based – simplifying, or even eliminating, the software installation and upgrade requirements. The higher price tag of enterprise eCommerce software comes with important features, let’s look at those now.

What Features are Required for an Enterprise eCommerce?

Majorly, this solution should have all such features that are advanced for online selling.  Here, you should take these points into account.

• Effectively managing a catalog for customers from different locations
• Scalability of the platform as the traffic grows and so are demands
• Easiness in combining with other systems throughout the company, such as accounting, inventory, chatbot, customer relationship management (CRM) system, etc.
• Integrating analytics tools to track a customer’s previous purchases and come up with recommendations on the basis of their purchasing history

Now that you know features that are must-haves, let’s discover how you can choose the best working platform.

How to Choose an Enterprise eCommerce Platform?

For online selling startups, these suggestions or tips to select an ideal enterprise ecommerce platform can be overwhelming. And, those who already have an eStore, can think about migration. And unfortunately, it’s challenging.

Be psychologically prepared that installation, integration, and training to use them effectively are a must. You cannot skip any of these steps, especially when it comes to integrating with third-party systems. Configuring them can take multiple hours. This is not the end of hot waters. The upfront and ongoing costs can push you to rethink. So, it’s a tough call for any entrepreneur. It’s not the choice, but you have to find such experts who can tell you the right way.

1; Are you B2B, or B2C?

There are different categories of these platforms, which are based on different customers. These all can be B2B, B2C, etc. You can choose a specific one that resonates with your customers. Otherwise, you require one-fit-all types of business models.

If you are really considerate to choose the specific one, ask the eCommerce software developing company or vendor to guide you. You may directly ask by requesting to share various eCommerce models of his software. Ask about the difference between various business types because it’s necessary.

After all, you have to manage your transactions, accounts, and customer experience on your own. If you consider the B2B model, for example, communication takes a long time. So do the transactions.

On the flip side, B2C eCommerce models are way quicker in processing. The buying process takes a few minutes and conversion does not need long & heavy communication. This type of business model does not require any corporate account, quotations, multilevel user access, and customer support via a CRM.

So, always understand which business model yours is.

2; Consider Your Stakeholders’ Requirements

Running an enterprise is a joint effort. You need the assistance of your departments, which expect your support. So, avoid making decisions on your own. Take the opinions of your all departments before reaching a decision. Include your IT department also that can ensure the integration of critical systems.

Likewise, your marketing team may need an interactive platform to personalize the customer experience, such as a chatbot or customer relationship management system (CRM).

In the nutshell, every department has its own requirements. So, you need to talk to every team before making a final decision.

3; Decide between SaaS, IaaS, PaaS

Now that you know what enterprise eCommerce solutions are, it requires a software platform. Mostly, these platforms are cloud-based, such as SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS. These all have their own plus and minus points, which are really important to know to choose the best solution.

Be Ready with Your Own Right Questions

eCommerce cannot be a standalone activity. There are many systems that keep it up and running. So, you have to consider their problems. Consult with them and ask questions before saying ‘yes’ to any system, tool, or platform.

Here, the question should be the right one. It’s indeed crucial. Let’s say, the marketing team must think about

Marketing & business questions can be like these:

1. How to customize user experience while resonating with your brand
2. How to set online catalog while handling all categories correctly
3. How to run promotional campaigns and offer discounts
4. How to monitor purchases and recommend items
5. How to track customers’ activities online
6. How to optimize your eStore, or if there is a dedicated account manager
7. Is it a freemium system? If yes, what are the upfront cost and ongoing costs?
8. Is the eCommerce solution the right fit for today and tomorrow?
9. Is it profitable?

4; Discover the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

The total cost of ownership can make a dramatic difference in store migration. But, not every company makes the right decision. Many companies fail to select a good-fit platform. They find it absolutely ok to bear hefty costs initially but do not foresee expenses like consulting fees, development costs, and other factors that are included in ongoing expenses. You need to consider other recurring costs, such as hosting, licensing, SSL certificate, customer support, and more. Calculate how these factors will affect the total cost of ownership before finalizing the decision.

Summary

Retailers or entrepreneurs can select an ideal enterprise eCommerce solution by taking a few points into account.  They should find out the total cost of ownership, discover which type of eCommerce they are into, and integrate the opinions and requirements of all departments, like marketing, sales, etc.