The Power of Ecommerce

I can hear you thinking, "With a headline like that, what’s next… is he going to tell us about the power of the Internet and the magic of jet airplanes?"

Actually, the headline is only half the story. The other half is, “…when connected to underlying business applications.” Imagine ecommerce as part and core of your ERP, CRM and even supply chain management applications and processes. Imagine being able to see the full customer lifecycle and ecommerce seamlessly triggering order and fulfillment, driving your inventory replenishment and updating your financials.

Ecommerce was the original “killer app” at the turn of the century, but today is ecommerce is poised for new phase of greater efficiency, productivity and business opportunity. Consider that manufacturing companies, distribution companies and e-businesses of all sorts are not only selling things on the web, but managing and integrating their entire business with a full lifecycle view of the customer—from initial contact to acquisition to sale, then add-on sales of products and services, to maintenance, service and replacement of products. All while delivering tangible value to customers, partners and suppliers, and of course to the business’s own stakeholders— employees, management and investors.

The promise of this seamless collaboration has existed for a long time but like the Three Stooges, no amount of “good intentions” can make it work. What’s needed is a robust, flexible and scalable solution, ready today, handling warehouse inventory, manufacturing planning and sales forecasts while engaging with customers, partners and suppliers anywhere and anytime, through any channel.

Commerce as a Service is here and it is changing how business is done.

-Roman Bukary

GM, Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution Industries

 

Comments

[John-Scott Dixon]

Actually, I think people need to be reminded of the power of ecommerce - so your Headline worked for me. What I find amazing is the contrast in owner presence from a physical, bricks and mortar storefront to an ecommerce storefront. In a physical store, the owner becomes keenly aware of any issues that might disrupt the purchase process - they intuitively get it from a conversion perspective (visitors into buyers), but in an online store, that seems to disappear! The beauty of NetSuite is you can leverage other, typically siloed business systems to improve conversion. That responsibility falls directly on the shoulders of the NetSuite user/client. The other point I want to make is the power of an ecommerce store to attract qualified visitors. NetSuite provides wonderful tools for SEO, Email Marketing - and can be augmented for Social Media marketing as well. I'm working on a simple guide for email marketing with NetSuite - focused on establishing sequences based on transaction history/triggers. I'll let you know when it's complete. I'm also planning one for equipping a NetSuite site with social media - but most importantly what strategies to employ. For now, here is a simple guide to NetSuite SEO to help users get their stores discovered.