Where would we be without our trusty eCommerce platforms?

Back in the early days of the internet, setting up an online store required prodigious coding skills and huge vats of industrial-strength coffee. Don't let anyone tell you it was better back in the day.

Now, with the help of platforms like Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce, it's easy to sell products on the web. The platforms handle the complex stuff – like security, order tracking and app updates – so you can focus on running and promoting your business.

You don't even have to start your own website. You can go straight to an online marketplace such as Amazon or eBay and upload your products with a few clicks.

It's the same story if you choose this route. They're big, well-maintained websites, so all you have to worry about is keeping your products in stock and up to date.

Sure, there might be teething troubles along the way. But without modern eCommerce solutions, the barrier of entry would be much higher.

So far, though, we've only looked at these platforms in isolation. What happens when you introduce an outside process into the mix? Like, say, a third-party logistics (3PL) company?

Just like any other kind of business, 3PLs rely on sophisticated software to coordinate their operations and automate repetitive processes.

If this software doesn't integrate with your eCommerce platform – if the apps don't "talk the same language" – then things can get very complicated, very fast.

This is why it's important to ensure your fulfilment partner offers robust eCommerce platform integration. Get it wrong and you'll be back in those dark days of the early web, quaffing coffee and wrangling code. Nobody wants that.

Get it right, though, and you'll unlock a new world of efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Let's explore how.

Four benefits of integrated fulfilment

1. Everything just works

A solid integration is like an instant translator. It passes information back and forth between your eCommerce platform and fulfilment partner, ensuring that every message is understood and acted upon.

This means the systems stay perfectly synchronised. As soon as orders are placed, the warehouse receives an alert and can start the picking process. When the order is shipped, your 3PL's warehouse management system (WMS) sends a message back to your platform, letting you know it's on its way.

Effectively, the WMS becomes an extension of your eCommerce platform. They talk the same talk, so there's no need for humans to get involved – save for exceptional circumstances.

Just think of the time this saves. Without an integration in place, you'd have to rely on manual updates at every step of the fulfilment journey. Talk about inefficient.

But because everything "just works", the process moves smoothly and staff are free to focus on other, less tedious things. Plus, you remove the potential for human error, which means fewer delays and happier customers.

2. You can automate all sorts of things

We've covered the simple stuff – the essential automations like marking an order as shipped or telling workers which products to pick.

But this is only the start. By harnessing shared data, you can speed up many of the most time-hungry processes and help staff work more efficiently.

Take shipping labels, for instance. It's not like the systems just say "this order's ready to ship, now go look up the address". They share things like addresses, tracking numbers and postage preferences too.

This means labels can be automatically generated for each order, so all staff have to do is peel and stick.

Again, this removes the possibility of human error. As long as the customer has entered their address correctly, you can be confident that their order will end up in the right place.

Of course, there's still the potential for the courier to make an error, but the fact your shipping labels are clear and correct will considerably reduce the chance of this happening.

3. You enjoy complete visibility of the fulfilment process

Transparency is important in any business partnership. When you're working with a fulfilment partner, it's downright critical.

After all, fulfilment is uniquely complicated. There are thousands of variables and operational intricacies involved. If you don't have a clear view of what's happening, it can be easy to feel like you're losing control.

Now, we can't speak for every eCommerce fulfilment company here. But our bespoke WMS provides complete visibility of all aspects of the fulfilment journey.

Log in using any web-enabled device, and you can check stock levels, order statuses and billing information – all updated in real-time.

Plus, you'll get automated reorder alerts when stock is low. This means you can ensure product availability and – ultimately – win more sales.

Of course, you're welcome to contact us if you have any questions. But being able to dip in and monitor KPIs means you'll save time and can be more flexible in your decision making.

At the end of the day, it's about having peace of mind. We want you to feel secure in every aspect of our service, so it's only natural that we'd make it easy to check in on your stock.

What eCommerce platforms can we integrate with?

Nearly all of them.

Seriously. Our WMS is highly flexible, so even if there isn't an integration ready to go, there's a good chance we can make it work.

We'll happily work with any in-house systems you use, too, such as FTP file servers and the like.

Here are just a few of our most popular integrations:

• Amazon
• eBay
• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• Magento

Click the links for more information – or visit our eCommerce integrations page to learn more about what our software can do.