Businesses Need to Improve Their Interface with Online Marketplaces

June 16, 2014

Businesses Need to Improve Their Interface with Online Marketplaces

 

If you have an ecommerce business in today’s competitive world, then you already know just how difficult it can be to stay ahead of, or even on par with, your contemporaries. One of the issues that online sellers have is trying to handle all of the different marketplaces through which they sell. They are dealing with a variety of marketplaces and they try to keep their sales and inventory straight through all of them using separate accounts and separate pieces of software. This can be mind-numbingly frustrating and nearly impossible to do without a veritable army of people helping.

 

You can put those troubles behind you though. With the right tools and software, it is actually possible to stay on top of every aspect of your sales operation. While each of the large and popular online marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, and Buy.com have options and onsite software that your business can use, they are not always as robust or as helpful as you might want. One of the other disadvantages to using this type of proprietary software that deals only with one particular marketplace is that, well, it deals with just one.

 

Having a piece of software capable of handling all of your marketplaces through a single interface offers you a substantial number of benefits. By having all of your marketplaces handled through a single software interface, you will be able to save a substantial amount of time. Additionally, you and your employees will not have to go through the learning curve of trying to understand several different pieces of software. Ultimately, the right software can help to streamline your business and make everything run smoothly.

 

What Should the Software Handle?

 

Ideally, you want a piece of software that will work across all of your largest marketplaces. MOST® sellers today are working with sites such as Amazon, eBay, and Buy.com or Rakuten, as mentioned earlier. Your software should be capable of handling and integrating all of these platforms into a single user interface. When you are examining your software options, check to see just what operational tasks it is capable of helping you with for your business.

 

First, you want a piece of software that is able to help you with your order management across channels. Whenever people place an order, no matter which marketplace they are using, the software should be able to funnel those orders to you so you can proceed to the fulfillment and shipping part of the process.

 

Second, your customers need to know what items are in stock and available. Inventory control becomes very important. This is especially true when you are selling through a number of different channels. You can go through your inventory far more quickly than you might realize, and before you know it, you could be out of a very popular item. This can send your customers to a competitor if you aren’t careful. Software that offers inventory management will ensure that you know when you need to increase your inventory of various products so you are never caught off guard or under stocked.

 

Additionally, quality operations management software should have the capability to help you in a number of different areas, as well. It should be able to help with warehouse management, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, and more.

 

Take the time to learn everything that you can about the different options available with the software. Check testimonials and reviews of the product to get a better idea of how it can help your business to perform better. The right software really can make a huge difference in your operations management and overall workflow.

Resource: https://webstore.amazon.com/Small-Business-Business-Size-Solutions/b/9437360011

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