How can automating back-end processes improve my ecommerce operation?
Research company Forrester predicts online retail sales in Europe will reach $145.8bn (£95.7bn) by 2016, and the importance of offering the right product to the right customer through the right channel is becoming increasingly paramount.
Ecommerce is flourishing but retailers are under a lot of pressure to work more efficiently and cut costs while increasing revenues.
Alex Jones, head of business automation strategy at software supplier Automic, says: “Unlike traditional bricks-and-mortar retailing, the ecommerce environment has created many obstacles and multiple potential points of failure.
From the moment an order is placed online to when it is selected, packed and despatched, every step in the process must be handled efficiently and, most importantly, cost-effectively.”
Many retailers have ended up with disparate pieces of software and equipment, and aligning these can be time-consuming. Jones says: “If a retailer is spending time and resource on administering processes and technology that aren’t aligned, they are not spending time on innovation and strategy.”
He says automation can help by reducing time-consuming administration and routine maintenance tasks.
“Automation provides the tools, technologies and infrastructure to manage complex business processes end-to-end that will directly help increase competitive advantage and enhance a retailer’s ecommerce presence as their
business grows.”
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