Short answer
The online store is connected to the inventory and accounting system via an API or regular data exchange: products and stock levels flow from the warehouse to the store, while orders and payments flow from the store to the warehouse and accounting. That way stock levels are always up to date and invoices don’t have to be entered by hand.
What data needs to flow
From the warehouse to the online store:
- products, prices, stock levels;
- delivery times.
From the online store to the warehouse and accounting:
- orders and customers;
- payments;
- returns.
The most common problems without integration
- A product gets sold that isn’t in the warehouse.
- Orders are retyped by hand.
- Stock levels differ between the shop, the online store and the warehouse.
- Invoices reach accounting with a delay.
How to build it
- Check what integration options the online store platform and the inventory or accounting system offer.
- Decide which system is the master for each type of data.
- Build the integration with an error log and notifications.
- Test with real orders, including returns and cancelled orders.
Example
The SelfNamed platform integrates printing, delivery, payment, e-mail, business analytics and marketing services, so an order is processed all the way from payment to delivery. More: how to automate order processing.
