In B2B ecommerce, the path to success is often paved with a myriad of front and backend systems working together, each responsible for a critical piece of the operational puzzle—from product management to order fulfillment to shipping logistics and beyond.
For many merchants, integrating these disparate systems together and getting them to work as a unified whole is a major challenge. Advanced online retailers, especially enterprise businesses, find that the solution isn’t as straightforward as adopting pre-built software; it necessitates a custom-tailored integration crafted to meet their business’s unique needs.
In this post, we explore the various backend systems that support B2B ecommerce, common integration challenges, and demonstrate the power of custom solutions through a recent client experience.
The Challenge: Connecting Disparate Backend Systems
Without properly integrated systems, your business can face data silos, operational inefficiencies, and a fragmented customer experience.
Some of the common systems working together to power your ecommerce store may include:
- Product Information Management (PIM)
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Order Management Systems (OMS)
- Warehouse Management System (WMS)
- Shipping and Fulfillment
- Payment Processing Platforms
- Reporting and Analytics
- Much more
Effectively bridging these gaps requires not just technical expertise but a deep understanding of the BigCommerce development ecosystem.
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Client Success Story: A Custom BigCommerce Integration Connecting Multiple Backend Systems
Since 2012, Action Industries, the B2B division of a leading enterprise in the garage door supply industry, has secured a top market position by offering unparalleled service, selection, and manufacturer-direct pricing for B2B clientele.
Relying on ERP (SAP) and PIM (Jasper) for product and order management, the company sought a solution to efficiently manage its data exchange with their ecommerce store.
Our BigCommerce developers performed a comprehensive integration that connected their SAP Business One and Jasper PIM systems directly with BigCommerce, utilizing BigCore Technology, our proprietary middleware for BigCommerce in order to automate previously cumbersome and mostly manual processes.
Key highlights include of their custom ERP and PIM integration with BigCommerce include:
- Seamless Product Flow: SAP → BigCore Middleware → Jasper PIM → BigCommerce
- On-demand Service reacts to all incoming data from SAP
- Filters out unrelated data not meant for BigCommerce stores
- Works to map data to most effective key/value pairs in Jasper PIM
- Tags prices for Direct-to-Consumer, B2B default pricing, and B2B special pricing
- Orders Flow from BigCommerce → BigCore Middleware → SAP
- Order data is extracted, formatted, and sent to SAP
- Smart wait/retry system, understanding that SAP instances can get overloaded
- Order Status and Shipment Updates: SAP → BigCore Middleware → BigCommerce
- Creates shipments when SAP sends an update that includes one or more previously unshipped products
- Associates all products in shipment with the supplied tracking information
- Order can be placed in a partially shipped status if the entire order is not shipped in one update
Need a Custom BigCommerce Integration? Work with Trusted Ecommerce Experts.
A custom integration between your BigCommerce store and other third-party apps or software to ensure all processes and technologies—from sales and marketing to orders and fulfillment— work together to keep your site running optimally.
When pre-built solutions fall short, a custom BigCommerce integration can provide the necessary solution.
Ready to get started? Contact our team with your questions or submit your project requirements here.
Get a Custom Integration for BigCommerce
Say goodbye to technical roadblocks. Experience an ecommerce integration without the headaches.
