How to Build an End-to-End eBusiness | Start to Finish with commercebuild
Table of Contents
The digital landscape has revolutionized the way businesses operate, introducing a new era of efficiency and accessibility through end-to-end eBusiness web tools. These innovative technologies have become the backbone of modern commerce, empowering organizations to streamline intricate business processes affordably and seamlessly.
At the forefront of this transformative wave is the range of tools offered by commercebuild, designed specifically to redefine the relationship between businesses, customers, and suppliers.
By embracing these end-to-end eBusiness web tools, companies can usher in a new era of efficiency and productivity. These tools empower businesses to effortlessly showcase their dedication to facilitating smoother transactions, optimizing communication channels, and fostering stronger collaborations with both customers and suppliers.
Where to Start with Your End-to-End eBusiness?
Adopting an eBusiness strategy as part of your overall plan comes with many advantages, and allows you to streamline multiple aspects of your business that may be hindered by the more traditional approach.
With your ERP at the heart of the system, a commercebuild webstore provides that online storefront that immediately opens up new business opportunities. Add to that:
- A PIM (product Information Management system) and bring your product data to life, greatly improve the accuracy and completeness, and push your product data out to even more marketplaces including Amazon and Google Shopping.
- Punchout to reach those larger corporate, hospitality, education, government, and healthcare clients who want to do business with you online.
- More options for handling Sales Taxes online.
- A Vendor Portal that opens up your relationship with your suppliers, and can facilitate the gathering of product data from the source.
eBusiness is a strategy, a vision, that incorporates a set of of well thought out tools and processes, that work together to bring efficiency and transparency and address the issues that traditional systems simply cannot handle.
In this article, you’ll find ideas and inspiration for your own eBusiness strategy, including your ERP system and commercebuild webstore, plus an introduction to the eBusiness partners you should talk to.
To that end, commercebuild has done the work for you and brought together some great partners providing market-leading tools. Each of the partners has been chosen not just because of their technology, but also because they place the same values on customer service and ROI as commercebuild proudly stands by.
Why have a Webstore?
eBusinesses have many advantages over physical storefronts. These are a couple of reasons you should consider an online webstore rather than opting for a physical storefront.
Flexible Business Hours
There are no time barriers that a location-based business can encounter since the internet is available to everyone all the time. Your products and services can be accessed by everyone with an internet connection.
The accessibility afforded by the internet transcends geographical limitations, enabling businesses to reach global audiences around the clock. Embracing an online presence empowers businesses to expand their market reach exponentially, connecting with diverse demographics and markets across continents, thereby fostering unparalleled growth opportunities.
Cheaper than Traditional Businesses
Digital eBusiness is less costly than a traditional business and does not need to be expensive or complex to set up. Processing transactions with your customers and vendors is less costly. The affordability and simplicity of electronic business not only reduces initial setup costs but also streamlines ongoing transactions with customers and vendors, resulting in lower operational expenses and increased cost-effectiveness in the long run.
This accessibility and cost-efficiency make it an attractive avenue for businesses of all sizes, leveling the playing field and allowing smaller enterprises to compete and thrive in the digital marketplace.
No Geographical Boundaries
The greatest benefit is the possibility of geographical dispersion. Anyone can order anything from anywhere at any time. This global accessibility and interconnectedness redefine the traditional boundaries of commerce, offering unparalleled convenience to consumers worldwide, who now have the ability to access a vast array of products and services from diverse locations, fostering a borderless marketplace that operates around the clock to meet the evolving needs of an interconnected world.
Winning Big Business
The active encouragement of digitalization by governments, healthcare, hospitality, education, and major corporations underscores a paradigm shift toward efficiency and innovation. Access to these sectors often hinges on embracing eBusiness capabilities, as failure to do so might not only limit collaboration opportunities but also hinder the potential to leverage partnerships and benefit from the expansive networks and resources these entities offer in today’s interconnected digital ecosystem.
New Market Entry
This newfound capability provided by eBusiness opens doors to previously inaccessible markets, offering businesses an unprecedented opportunity to transcend geographical boundaries and connect with diverse consumer bases globally, a feat that was once unattainable for traditional business models limited by physical constraints.
Optimized Inventory
By leveraging electronic business methodologies, companies can optimize their inventory management through real-time data insights and efficient supply chain coordination, allowing for a more agile and responsive approach to inventory replenishment. This minimizes the need for excessive stockpiling and enables businesses to operate within a just-in-time framework, reducing storage costs and improving overall operational efficiency.
Important Webstore Integrations
In order to support your eBusiness needs, having solutions that integrate effectively is crucial.
commercebuild has built solid relationships with a multitude of partners that provide powerful online applications to work hand-in-hand with your commercebuild webstore and your ERP solutions. We believe partnerships play a key role in the development, delivery, and ongoing success of our products and solutions. Below we recommend specific partners and their applications that could be the answer for your eCommerce store’s success. However, if you would like to speak to an expert, request a demo to find out which solution will be best for your business.
Introduction to Our Partners & Solutions
Plytix PIM is a powerful, ERP-agnostic, web-based solution that allows for seamless team collaboration, ensuring your product data is accurate and complete. Plytix provides the tools to manage all aspects of product data supporting your commercebuild webstore, and multichannel options including Shopify and Amazon.
Pimics PIM is embedded into Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and allows you to manage your product data as a Business Central user.
Dynamic Web PIM is a web-based PIM solution integrated with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central that supports Dynamic Web eCommerce and other multi-channel options.
ProcurePort’s vendor portal provides ERP-agnostic sourcing and spending management capabilities that facilitate online supplier transactions including quoting, bidding, and auctions. ProcurePort increases efficiency, visibility, and drives down the cost of doing business.
Greenwing Technology Punchout Catalogs connect to all Punchout-compatible marketplaces and eProcurement systems commonly implemented by corporations, government departments, healthcare and hospitality providers. Greenwing enables you to provide punchout catalogs using your commercebuild webstore, and so facilitate strong eBusiness bonds with key customers. They support cXML, XML, xCBL, and OCI (Open Catalog Interface).
SureTax saves you time and increases productivity by automating sales and tax returns.
Webstore ERP Integration
Integrating your webstore and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems is crucial for eBusinesses as it facilitates seamless coordination and consolidation of diverse business processes such as sales, inventory management, finance, and customer relationship management. This integration ensures data accuracy, enhances operational efficiency, and provides a holistic view of the business, enabling informed decision-making and fostering a more agile and responsive approach to meet the dynamic demands of the digital marketplace.
Sage 300 and Sage X3
Sage 300 and Sage X3 ERP solutions integrate seamlessly with the commercebuild’s proprietary synchronization software to allow data and transactions to flow automatically between the commercebuild webstore and ERP software.
For Sage X3, the integration can be further enhanced with commercebuild’s proprietary API Gateway serving as the conduit for transmitting transactions such as new sales orders, sales order modifications, customer and address creation, and invoice payment postings.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central’s integration with commercebuild is achieved using the commercebuild app installed into the Microsoft Business Central environment. Data is subsequently retrieved from Microsoft Business Central on demand via direct API calls.
Transactions originating from the webstore, including new sales orders, sales order modifications, customer and address creations, and invoice payment postings, are automatically transmitted to Microsoft Business Central for processing and integration.
Vendor Portal ERP Integration
The potential for integrations between a ProcurePort Vendor Portal and your ERP open up possibilities for you and your vendors to have an efficient flow of data between the connected systems. By utilizing this integration, inventory demand requirements from the ERP are synchronized with ProcurePort, generating detailed purchasing requirement lists for vendors to bid on.
This integration facilitates the smooth generation of Purchase Orders (POs) and requisitions within the ERP, which are synchronized to ProcurePort for vendor bidding and awarding purposes. Upon awarding bids in ProcurePort, the POs are seamlessly synchronized back to the ERP.
Inventory receipts against these POs are completed within the ERP and synchronized back to ProcurePort for accurate tracking. Purchase Invoices submitted by vendors through ProcurePort are synchronized with the ERP, streamlining the invoicing process.
Lastly, payments made to vendors are synchronized from the ERP to ProcurePort, ensuring transparency and efficiency throughout the entire procurement cycle. This integration enhances collaboration, minimizes manual efforts, and improves accuracy in procurement operations between the vendor portal and the ERP system.
PIM Integration
Product Information Management (PIM) integration is crucial for businesses aiming to streamline their operations, enhance customer experiences, and maintain consistency across various sales channels. By integrating PIM systems, organizations can efficiently centralize, manage, and distribute product information across multiple platforms and touchpoints.
Webstore PIM Integration
Integration between the PIM and your commercebuild webstore involves a comprehensive process that facilitates efficient data synchronization and management between the Product Information Management system and the webstore platform. Utilizing Excel exports from the PIM, the integration generates Excel import templates tailored to the webstore’s data requirements.
These templates encompass various crucial elements including product content, custom fields, filters, metadata, and related items. By exporting this data from the PIM and importing it into the webstore, businesses ensure consistency, accuracy, and relevancy of product information displayed to customers, and maximize the elastic search capabilities crucial for providing the best experience for your webstore users.
Furthermore, establishing a PIM API connection within commercebuild enables real-time data updates, ensuring that the information displayed remains current and synchronized across the entire webstore, enhancing customer experiences and driving sales by providing accurate and compelling product details. This integration not only streamlines operations but also strengthens the webstore’s functionality and efficiency in presenting information to potential buyers.
PIM ERP Integration
Integrating Product Information Management (PIM) with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems offers an efficient solution for synchronizing and managing data across platforms. Leveraging APIs and Excel can enable communication between the PIM and ERP systems, allowing for the synchronization of crucial product information for display and import purposes within the ERP environment.
For Business Central users, the installation of Pimics within the BC environment further enhances accessibility and availability of comprehensive product data throughout the PIM, ensuring that the ERP system has access to accurate, up-to-date information for various operational needs. This integration optimizes workflow efficiency, streamlines data sharing between systems, and facilitates better decision-making processes within the organization by ensuring consistency and reliability of product information across the ERP landscape.
PIM Vendor Portal Integration
Integrating a vendor portal with a Product Information Management (PIM) system offers an opportunity for data exchange between vendors and the organization, allowing vendors to efficiently submit product data for new items directly into the PIM and, in so doing, reducing the effort usually associated with subsequently locating the data and images needed to publish new products to the webstore.
The PIM system can also serve as a resource for vendors by providing accurate and comprehensive product data necessary for Request for Quotes (RFQs) and Purchase Orders (POs). This integration not only simplifies the data submission process for vendors but also ensures that the organization has access to up-to-date and consistent product information, fostering smoother collaboration, minimizing errors, and expediting procurement processes for both parties involved.
Punchout Integrations
Punchout integrations play a pivotal role in B2B eCommerce by enabling streamlined connectivity between a buyer’s procurement system (such as an ERP or eProcurement platform) and a supplier’s eCommerce website.
Webstore Punchout Integrations
Webstore Punchout integrations using commercebuild’s proprietary software offers a streamlined process for connecting Punchout sessions directly to the webstore catalog. Once enabled and configured, this functionality facilitates the building of carts within the webstore during Punchout sessions.
Buyers can “punchout” to your webstore, browse the webstore’s catalog, select items, and construct a cart tailored to their needs. Subsequently, the selected items are transferred back to the Punchout system and then returned to the originating eProcurement or ERP system. This integration ensures a smooth, error-free process, enabling buyers to leverage the comprehensive offerings of the webstore while maintaining compatibility with their procurement environment, ultimately optimizing the purchasing experience and workflow efficiency.
Punchout ERP Integrations
Punchout-to-ERP integrations employ an API interface to handle purchase orders generated from within the ERP or eProcurement system and convert them into open Sales Orders within the ERP system. This integration streamlines the transfer of data from the Punchout sessions directly into the ERP, eliminating manual entry and ensuring accuracy in order processing. By utilizing APIs, the system efficiently translates incoming Punchout POs into the ERP’s format, creating open Sales Orders ready for further processing.
This automated integration not only enhances efficiency but also reduces errors, expediting the order-to-sales cycle and ensuring a smooth transition of information from the procurement environment to your ERP, ultimately optimizing operational workflows and order management processes.
eProcurement to Punchout Integrations
eProcurement to Punchout integration is facilitated by Punchout partners such as Greenwing.
Greenwing specializes in managing the integration between the eProcurement/ERP system where Purchase Requests originate. This integration allows seamless connectivity, enabling users within the eProcurement/ERP system to initiate Purchase Requests and access supplier catalogs through Punchout sessions.
By leveraging Punchout technology, organizations ensure a smooth flow of data and procurement processes, enhancing user convenience and enabling a unified experience across systems for efficient purchasing and requisitioning workflows.
Essential Components in Detail
The selected components of your eBusiness solution can work together in some form to ensure the smooth running of your business as a whole. Find out more about the software that enables this all-important process.
ERP
Your Sage 300, Sage X3, Microsoft 365 Business Central Enterprise System
The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system serves as the central repository and authoritative source for crucial business data concerning customers, sales, purchase orders, invoices, items, pricing, and stock availability, forming the backbone of commercebuild webstores.
Whether deployed on-premises or in the cloud, ERPs like Sage 300, Sage X3, or Microsoft Business Central play a pivotal role in providing essential functionalities. For commercebuild webstores to operate seamlessly, a compatible ERP is necessary, and specifically one equipped with ‘Accounts Receivable’, ‘Sales Order Processing’, and ‘Inventory Control’ modules.
However, other than the Pimics Product Information Management (PIM) system, all other integral components of commercebuild webstores operate independently and are ERP-agnostic. This independence allows these components, except for Pimics, to function without specific dependencies on any particular ERP system, offering flexibility and adaptability in their integration with diverse ERP solutions while maintaining their essential functionalities.
Vendor Portal
Vendor portals serve as integral platforms for streamlined communication and collaboration between businesses and their vendors. These portals enable vendors to actively engage in the procurement process by responding to Requests for Quotations (RFQs) and sharing crucial product, pricing, and supply information.
By allowing online submission of purchasing needs, businesses invite vendors to bid for their requirements, fostering a competitive environment. Upon awarding bids, the vendor portal might facilitate the creation of Purchase Orders (POs) within the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, streamlining the procurement process.
These portals also provide transparency by allowing vendors to track order fulfillment progress and submitted invoices, streamlining the payment process. Additionally, vendor portals may mandate the submission of comprehensive product data, including specifications, attributes, images, and PDFs.
Optionally, integrating supplier product data with a Product Information Management (PIM) system ensures top-quality data from the outset, eliminating manual administration and ensuring completeness before the item data is considered ready for inclusion in the webstore.
ProcurePort (ERP agnostic)
ProcurePort’s cloud-based web application and portals establish connections between buyers and suppliers, employing an array of strategic sourcing tools that capitalize on real-time technology. The utilization of these tools has significantly simplified strategic sourcing processes, offering unparalleled ease.
PIM
Product Information Management (PIM) systems are robust platforms designed to efficiently manage product data and simplify the handling of product-related PDFs. These systems serve as centralized repositories, allowing businesses to collect and maintain comprehensive product data sourced from suppliers and manufacturers.
Custom PIM fields enable tailored categorization and organization of product attributes, while completeness factors track the readiness of attribute sets for webstore, ERP integration, or PDF creation.
Assigning completeness groups to specific PIM users streamlines data management responsibilities. PIMs, often equipped with Digital Asset Management (DAM) features, store PDFs and other digital assets related to products, and some systems even generate on-the-fly PDF documents such as specifications, safety sheets, or instruction manuals.
Certain PIMs utilize inheritance functionality to facilitate efficient management of product attributes. This feature permits the definition of shared attributes at a parent level, which can be inherited by child products. Child products can have specific attributes that supersede those inherited from the parent, allowing for both consistency and customization in product data.
In the context of eCommerce, PIM systems serve a crucial role as a modern tool for handling product information. They act as a Single Point Of Truth (SPOT) for all product-related data, ensuring consistency across various sales and marketing channels.
PIMs empower businesses to manage large volumes of product data effortlessly, update multiple sales channels simultaneously, and provide rich and consistent product information crucial for converting online customers. The unique features of PIM systems specifically cater to the demands of eCommerce, offering unparalleled support for managing product data and optimizing the online shopping experience.
Systems like Plytix, Pimics, and Dynamic Web PIM are examples of PIMs leveraging these functionalities to enhance data management and support eCommerce operations effectively.
Plytix
Plytix PIM software is ERP-agnostic and is built for seamless team collaboration so you can get your products in front of your customers faster with accurate and complete information.
Pimics
PIMICS enables you to have an ERP and PIM in one system. The benefit is that any changes made to your product data in Business Central can be automatically populated into your sales and marketing channels.
Dynamic Web PIM
The integration of Dynamic Web with Business Central offers distinct features catering to varied user needs. Dynamic Web’s standout attribute lies in its workflow capabilities, strategically directing data maintenance tasks to specific end users while ensuring timely completion.
Additionally, Dynamic Web excels in dynamically generating on-the-fly PDFs.
Punchout
Punchout integration serves as a vital bridge between your commercebuild webstore and over 120 eProcurement systems, facilitating seamless connectivity and establishing your business as a preferred supplier.
This integration enables Purchasing Operatives using various ERP or eProcurement systems to directly access your webstore, creating Purchase Requests and submitting Purchase Orders effortlessly. Additionally, advanced shipping notices and sales invoices generated in your ERP are transmitted via the punchout system and automatically received into your customer’s ERP or eProcurement system, eliminating data entry delays and human error, and potentially reducing the time to pay.
Greenwing
Greenwing Technology‘s Punchout Catalogs establish connections with all Punchout-compatible marketplaces. The company offers support for various protocols including cXML, XML, xCBL, and OCI (Open Catalog Interface), ensuring seamless integration and compatibility across diverse marketplace environments.
Sales and Usage Tax
Navigating sales and usage tax calculations in the United States can be a grueling task, requiring a robust online tax calculation solution such as SureTax to streamline and manage complexities efficiently. Accurately computing sales taxes dynamically is pivotal in delivering a seamless online shopping experience.
While certain companies might find the native ERP sales tax functionality suitable, others engaged in nationwide trading across the USA require the comprehensive capabilities of SureTax. This solution, integrated with commercebuild webstores and ERPs, provides indispensable support for precise tax calculations and in-depth analysis.
SureTax’s functionality extends beyond basic tax calculation by offering comprehensive insights and analysis, ensuring businesses comply with intricate tax regulations and optimize their tax management strategies.
Its capacity to handle the intricacies of sales and usage tax calculations empowers companies to navigate the multifaceted landscape of taxation in the US, guaranteeing accuracy and compliance in both their commercebuild webstore operations and ERP systems.
Wrapping Up an End-to-End eBusiness with commercebuild
commercebuild stands out as the superior choice for creating an end-to-end eBusiness strategy due to its holistic and integrated approach that covers the key aspects of online business operations. Offering a robust suite of functionalities, commercebuild streamlines processes from start to finish, encompassing integrations with various ERP systems, comprehensive vendor portal management, efficient Punchout integrations, and optimized Product Information Management (PIM) solutions.
Additionally, commercebuild’s incorporation of advanced tax calculation solutions like SureTax ensures accurate and compliant sales tax calculations across the diverse landscape of the United States.
commercebuild’s vision is to provide solutions that can synchronize and manage data between ERPs, vendor portals, PIM systems, and your webstore not only to optimize operations, but also to ensure a cohesive and efficient eBusiness ecosystem.
Overall, commercebuild’s comprehensive functionalities and integrations, coupled with industry-leading expertise from knowledgeable implementation and support teams, make it the preeminent choice for businesses seeking a unified, efficient, and streamlined end-to-end eBusiness solution. Ready to take the leap with commercebuild’s robust eCommerce platform? Book a demo with one of our leading eCommerce experts today!
About commercebuild
commercebuild is the missing piece in transforming your ERP data into a truly personalized eCommerce experience. Flexible and frictionless, our turnkey eCommerce solution delivers 24/7 revenue opportunities to you and your customers. Quick to deploy and easy-to-use, we eliminate the need for middleware between the storefront and ERP data to enable seamless online buying and selling.
Our solutions can be live in 30-days and offer complete eCommerce capabilities at a price B2B and B2C businesses can afford.
Drive revenue growth for you, and your customers, while enjoying rapid ROI for both. Go head-to-head with the online retail giants of the world, and win. Experience a solution that integrates with your ERP data and provides automagical cross-sell and upsell opportunities to every customer on your site.
At the height of ecommerce growth, commercebuild offers scalable, reliable, and robust eCommerce solutions for everyone.
