I work with companies every day who struggle with siloed software and information. They might have the right software for their needs, but is it talking to their other applications? Too often, the answer is ‘No’. Below are some of the common integrations we deliver and how they help businesses do more, with less.
ECommerce businesses need to work with different software solutions, CRMs, accounting software, and reporting tools daily. Integrating an eCommerce website with backend systems can create a valuable flow of information between all of them. When users need to enter data, they only have to do it once to make it available, in real-time, across an entire platform, and from any device. Third-party integrations not only benefit store admins; they also streamline processes for shoppers because they automate and simplify various tasks, so teams can process products faster, transparently, and without error.
For example, the integration of Magento with ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems has drastically increased efficiency for eCommerce. By leveraging our Integrations as a Service solution, you can develop and manage diverse systems and applications without the need to maintain often incompatible programs. For example, B2B and B2C merchants can easily consolidate inventory, orders, shipping details, and customer data between crucial business systems. This simplified setup changes the way you deal with tedious tasks with high error rates, such as uploading product details and manually typing addresses and tracking codes. Integrating Magento services has also resulted in more timely and accurate information and an overall better customer experience.
One of our supported platforms, that provides complete integration for B2B and B2C businesses, is Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Integrating Salesforce Commerce with existing legacy and modern systems can provide you with the ability to deliver consistent product content across stores, promotions, inventory and pricing.
WooCommerce supports an extensive collection of integrations that make product content marketing straightforward for eCommerce businesses. It integrates with WordPress, and we might integrate with WoodWing Studio to simplify your product content marketing operations. Amongst popular WooCommerce integrations are personalised email orders, targeted campaigns, quick invoices, and the ability to follow up orders. We often see WooCommerce implemented in conjunction with Salesforce to add leads every time a WooCommerce store generates a new order. These orders can also be integrated with MailChimp lists and Quickbooks.
Leveraging Integrations as a Service for eCommerce can help you synchronise data between systems, decrease data redundancy and errors, and streamline multi-step business processes.
Integration as a Service can also enhance workflow platforms to automate and improve processes and make them more flexible and less prone to human error. For example, we have helped content creators integrate different workflow tools to manage articles from the creation of a brief to the final publication. This ability to combine workflows allows them to leverage each platform's best features and provide a complete process.
One such integration we support is that of Wrike and WoodWing, two tools leveraged by publishers and marketing teams. Wrike acts as a work collaboration hub where teams can plan, approve, and share assets as well as allocate resources and schedules. WoodWing is a multi-channel publishing system that focuses on content workflow automation and content editing collaboration.
The content planning kicks in with Wrike, where an editor or manager creates a project. This project will usually include a brief; essential tasks (such as images and copy); and milestones for approval. Once the planning is completed in Wrike, it is WoodWing Studio's turn to create a dossier for the content creation. The two tools then establish a bi-directional flow between them to move through the steps and complete the article. This synchronised process allows people to dynamically work on the content creation environment in which they spend more time and for managers to see progress of the work towards deadlines.
One of the main advantages of Integrations as a Service in this scenario is the ability to handle multiple stakeholders, complex approval processes, and large volumes of digital assets. For example, a manager can request a specific type of image for a campaign and automatically send the request to the designer, who then links it to Wrike. Both can then leave feedback and comments without having to log into different tools.
Integrated workflow automation tools can also connect with digital publishing applications, websites and databases. This allows processes to be shared across different tools with a smooth transfer of data and autoconversion of images and video to suit the channel. You do not need to worry about software or hardware updates, as these are handled by the integration service provider. By getting different IT systems to ‘talk to each other’, these services help streamline workflows.
Businesses often leverage several systems, including cloud applications and legacy infrastructure, that might hold a large amount of customer data. In addition to user interactions, demographics and preferences, this data usually also includes touchpoints from different tools and apps.
For it to be beneficial, the information needs to be organised correctly and be accessible from multiple departments. One of the best ways in which we integrate data in a central location is by leveraging a CRM platform.
Salesforce Sales Cloud is a CRM platform that helps sales reps get a complete overview of their deals. The platform provides a view of the customers, including history, communications, and internal account discussions. Its dashboards offer real-time reports that can be accessed from mobile devices while supporting visual workflows to design and automate approval processes such as expenses and deal discounts.
Another powerful CRM tool we work with is Microsoft Dynamics 365, which gives solutions for sales, marketing, finance, operations, HR, and commerce, among others. This set of interconnected, modular SaaS applications and services combines CRM and ERP capabilities to integrate data, business logic, and processes. For example, marketing teams can create personalised customer journeys and turn insights into action using AI-driven recommendations and analytics. Microsoft Dynamics 365 can also automate operations to simplify manufacturing and supply chain management.
Instead of working with segmented data silos, our CRM system integrations can consolidate data from different applications, departments and providers. This creates a single place where product information can be collected, managed, and distributed to your sales and eCommerce channels. For example, purchase data can be linked back to the Salesforce CRM, providing a 360 degree view of the customer. The integration of eCommerce and business systems, such as CRM and product information systems (PIM), can create many benefits for your organisation. Our integration services can reduce costs, increase performance, operational scalability and productivity, and allow your team to complete tasks faster and more effectively while improving overall customer experience.
Integrations as a Service can provide numerous business benefits, including low cost of entry, fast and effective delivery and ongoing managed integrations by specialists without the need for your own developer.
Creative Folks specialise in System Integration, whether it is point-to-point or multiple data flows. We provide a three-step solution that includes complete management and maintenance of your solution. Take a look at our Integrations as a Service page to learn more about what we can do for your business.