What is ERP?
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a type of software that companies use for managing and integrating the important parts of their ecommerce business. It helps the companies to manage their daily Magento store activities like accounting, procurement, project management, risk management, compliance, and supply chain operations. It is a sort of business software that is developed to record and manage your company’s data. It automates the core business processes to help the company focus on effectiveness and simplified success.
There are a lot of ERP products and extensions which can make it easy to integrate with your Magento ecommerce store and Magento 2 storefront. ERPs eliminates the duplication of data and provides integrity in data with a single source of truth. A complete ERP also comprises of enterprise performance management, which helps in planning, budgeting, predicting, and reporting on an organization’s financial results.
Things to consider before choosing an ERP solution for your business
After knowing the underlying benefits of integrating ERP software to your Magento business, you must have thoughts about which ERP software you should adopt. There are several questions that arise, such as:
- Which ERP solution should I choose, Cloud or On-premise?
- Why is Cloud ERP better than on-premise ERP?
- What factor do I need to consider before choosing an ERP solution?
Henceforth, we have mentioned the criterion of choosing an ERP software solution for Magento 2 stores.
Long-term reliability
Success speaks itself by a strong track record. Apart from the great customer service, robust software expectation, great customer service, you can definitely assume a reliable ERP provider is for you with a long haul, with a keen interest in your current and future interest.
Industry Specialization
Every industry domain has its own obstacles, and every business is unique. By joining ERP, who is having nice in your industry, it provides you industry-focused solutions while encompassing and accommodating your uniqueness. You will definitely get benefits from the experience and insights who understand your business benefits.
Successful Implementation
The technology works well when properly implemented. The ERP supplier must have experience & knowledge to stick with best project management practices with all controls & objectives to meet your expectations. Check reviews & ratings from other customers to make sure you are choosing the proper ERP supplier delivers. The eCommerce platfrom you are choosing should be compatible with ERP integration.
Post-implementation Support & Maintenance Services
To make use of the ERP system to the fullest, it is vital that your team has adequate support and training. Also, the service provider should provide easy-to-access online training materials and tutorials. It doesn’t end their services to just implementation but also provide post-implementation services. The most popular choice among ecommerce business is to use Magento 2 for ecommerce store as it is one of the most popular ecommerce platform as per statistics
Underlying technology & Future Scalability
Initially, the underlying technology of an ERP system wasn’t a major concern. The software functionality was the primary concern while choosing a new system. But technology evolves continuously, in fact, the cost of changing the ERP software is much more than the price of the software itself. Hence, you should look for a system that is based on newer technology and can give longevity in the long run for a better investment.
Top ERP Systems to Integrate With Your Magento Store
NetSuite Integration with Magento eCommerce Website
NetSuite ERP systems provide you with real-time data and reporting. It is designed to scale with your business as it grows. It streamlines processes and allows you to focus on your needs of activities and future business opportunities. There are effective solutions for financial management, order management, procurement, supply chain management, and others. Integrating your Magento ecommerce store with NetSuite ERP provides you the right tools for accelerating your business.
The main features of NetSuite ERP are:
- Supply Chain Intelligence
- Flexible Payment Acceptance
- Integrated Process Workflow
- Gross Requirements Inquiry
- Incentive Compensation Management
SAP Integration with Magento 2 Online Store
SAP ERP solutions are mostly useful for large and medium level businesses. With SAP, you can predict & anticipate your business outcomes using analysis driven decisions. It will help you in every field of your business, whether it is accounting, supply chain management, CRM, and purchasing. It is amongst the best ERP solution to integrate with your Magento store. The key features that SAP offer are:
- Cloud Deployment
- Integrated BI
- Fast Deployment
- ML and Predictive Analysis
- Native integrations
- Export order feature Magento e-commerce to SAP
- Inventory, Catalogue, and promotion pricing import into Magento
Microsoft Dynamics Integration with Magento 2
Microsoft Dynamics AX is best suited for HR and finance-related queries that a business face on a regular basis. There is also operation management by which you can engage customers globally along with making smart decisions. The prominent features of the Microsoft Dynamics are:
- Automation of warehouse processes
- Budget plan worksheets
- Demand forecasting
- Payroll analytics and human resource updates
- Data Management
Epicor Integration with Magento 2 Store
It is another futuristic ERP solution that you can integrate with your Magento store. It provides you flexibility, choice & quickness to make your business decisions and eradicate waste.
The key points of Magento Epicor integration include:
- Sales order and Cash receipts in Epicor
- Shipment creates, customer & inventory update, product update.
- Consolidated invoice, outbound inventory, customer export, outbound product, outbound posed invoice, shipment export, outbound sales order in Epicor ERP.
Along with the above-mentioned best ERP packages, you can also delve into other ERP providers. As Magento is highly versatile, it can easily integrate with these platforms.
- JD Edwards
- Eclipse
- Infor
- IBM AS400
- PersonifyFull Circle
These are some of the best ERP systems to integrate with a Magento 2 store as per the current market trends. If you want to get your own ecommerce website integrated with an ERP software then you should get in touch with our certified Magento 2 developers.
What are the benefits of Integrating ERP Softwares with Magento 2 store?
For companies of all sizes and infrastructures, there are tangible benefits to consolidating their business activities into a unified system. But such unifying is really challenging, as organizations customize their systems using the best software from a variety of vendors. The Magento API allows easy integration of ERP software and can be customized for providing innovative features in a Magento ecommerce website. ERP is really helpful in this. There are various benefits associated with implementing ERP software in your business.
Here are the significant benefits of integrating an ERP solution in your Magento ecommerce store
Competitive Advantage
Yes, it is true that ERP integration requires a huge investment, but if you don’t make this investment, then it is going to cost much more. While some online ecommerce business owners continue to use the traditional methods of the past, others look for new advanced technical solutions. With the advantages of ERPs, users can observe improvements within multiple departments. Using the ERP system within your Magento store will keep you ahead in the race because you no longer make the costly business mistakes, which can put you at the end of the business race. You can’t afford to not employ ERP system while your competitors are investing in it and have started reaping its benefits.
Better Process Efficiency
ERP platforms eliminate the repetition of processes and reduce the requirement of manually entering information. This not only improves the productivity of the Magento ecommerce store but also eliminates the chances of feeding inaccurate data, which can lead to costly business mistakes. It streamlines business processes, which makes the data collection mechanism easier and more efficient. You can think of ERP as an extra hand especially designed to keep your ecommerce business on track.
Proper Forecasting
ERP software gives your users, especially the manager, a range of tools for creating more accurate forecasts. It helps the ecommerce business to think ahead and properly plan what they require from the inventory and sales down to financial and customer service. With accurate forecasting, the business can deplete business costs, which not only saves money but make the business a more proactive unit.
Total Transparency
This is one of the USP of ERPs. It allows access to every vital process in your business by providing access to data from every department and senior management. You can monitor your inventory regularly, along with the future consignments that are yet to deliver and inventory currently in transit.
Reporting and Planning
After transparency, better insights is one of the major advantages of having an ERP system integrated with your Magento store. By having a single source of information, an ERP system can generate useful reports and analytics at any time. You can analyze and compare functions across different departments without the frustration of multiple spreadsheets and emails.
In addition to this, many ERPs also have business intelligence services that allow a business to gain a deeper level of analytical insight. These insights aid in corporate planning by determining operational strengths and areas which require improvement.
Customization
Todays, ERPs come with a high level of customization and can be implemented together as per the business needs. Each application is designed to be able to stand alone or integrate with the larger suite. Hence, you can pick which components are best for your Magento store and which you don’t require.
Another aspect of customization is the way it is implemented. It can be deployed on-premise or through the cloud. In on-premise, you have to purchase and install physical software on company computers, while in a cloud-based system, the software is handled completely off-site by the provider.
Data Security
Data security is one of the foremost features of ERP, as of course, the heart of the ERP concept is data. ERPs maintain quite a high level of data security as they provide a single input system. Gathering and merging information from multiple sources causes conflicts from these sources, but with a single repository of information improves the accuracy, consistency, and security of your business data.
Collaboration
Collaboration is an inevitable part of a thriving business, however, it requires more time and effort. However, ERP makes a collaboration a cakewalk. It streamlines the collaborating process by providing the employees access to the data they require. There is an interdepartmental database, where information from each section is put together to a single centralized location.
It also allows for updating actions in real-time projects and better communication across the organization.
Better Supply Chain Management
Companies that deal with physical inventories, & production, an ERP software reinforce the management of supply chain in many different ways. This helps in shortened lead times, more proper deliveries, and many other perks that contribute to making your business better. Through ERP software, you can make your supply chain better & responsive through forecasting, inventory management, procurement, and more. It also facilitates innovations, reducing overall costs, and develops new products making your business stay ahead in the competition race.
Mobility
ERP systems allow access to a central database by which you can work from the home, office, or wherever you wish from different devices, including laptop, tablet, or cell phone. Hence, if you have time-sensitive projects with hard deadlines, then you can use ERP from your home, as well as even from a party through mobile-friendly solutions.