As businesses around the world respond to the coronavirus pandemic, one thing is certain: a robust online presence is an absolute requirement. Customers have always enjoyed the convenience of transacting online, whether they were paying the bills or browsing for a new book, shirt or gadget. But now it is for many the only way they can access the goods and services they need.
Which means that every business and service organisation should ensure its online presence is fit for purpose. A good website will help customers to view services, browse stock, make enquiries, pay for goods and services, resolve problems, track deliveries and organise returns or refunds.
Just as importantly, every organisation needs to find ways to provide the personalised services customers have come to expect. You want a system that can manage transaction and order histories, user preferences, mailing lists, service tickets, and seamless transitions between devices and from transaction to customer service.
The key to providing an excellent customer experience (CX) is to combine a dynamic and intuitive front end with a robust and efficient back end. The ability to administer transactions, gather and analyse data, and communicate with customers, suppliers and other partners are just as important as having an attractive and intuitive web interface.
The Eagle360 team has experience with many enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms. However, Microsoft Dynamics Business Central is our ‘go-to’ option.
Business Central offers small and medium-sized businesses the ability to streamline and automate processes including finance, manufacturing, project management, sales, services, shipping and more. It’s fast to deploy, easy to use and, best of all, it’s interoperable with many third-party business platforms and applications.
Physical problems, digital solutions
It’s no secret that brick-and-mortar retail businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic. And while re-opening with limited hours and customer numbers has helped, taking your business online will create new opportunities. You will be able to reach your existing customers as well as new customers who’d never have been able to visit your shopfront.
One of the most popular e-commerce platforms is Shopify, and for good reasons – it’s secure, stable and feature-rich. Many businesses use Shopify for their front end and an ERP system for their back end. But such systems often require data to be entered separately into each, creating opportunities for error and inaccuracy.
To solve this problem, Eagle360 has created a Shopify connector for Microsoft Dynamics Business Central that eliminates such double-handling. The connector saves time, simplifies management and removes a significant source of error.
Better still, Eagle360 has created custom-built modules for integration with Business Central. These include:
- Order synchronisation
- Website stock updates
- Payment integration
- Item synchronisation
- Notify customers of deliveries
- Returns and refunds
By linking your e-commerce back-end with a powerful ERP solution like Business Central, you get the best of both worlds: a fast and efficient front end, with a back end that plugs into a powerful ERP and database system.
The benefits are many. For example, you can streamline operations, automate ordering, manage stock levels, optimise collections and delivery, facilitate in-store pick-ups and more. It’s a simple solution that improves service, eliminates potential errors and can significantly improve operations and, ultimately, profitability.
We’d love to tell you all about it – contact us today if you’d like to learn more.