Microsoft Dynamics 365 Integration – Building a better ecommerce experience!
5 min readGiven the incongruence of legacy backend systems like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), it’s challenging for ecommerce businesses to get insights from the data that’s spread across multiple unconnected platforms. Also, given the fierce competition in the industry, these information “silos” can be fatal in today’s online retail environment.
If you too are looking to streamline your ecommerce data through a one-unified business intelligence platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Ecommerce integration is the right solution for you.
Easy and instant access to relevant information is the key to success in today’s ecommerce industry. Instant access to crucial business information isn’t just important for business leaders to make agile decisions, but also important to feed employees with the right data they need to deliver a customized experience to customers. And that’s precisely what Microsoft Dynamics 365 Ecommerce integration is all about. By removing the data silos, it offers a unified and powerful platform to access all necessary data businesses need to regain the competitive edge. There are substantial and instant benefits of the right integrating dynamic 365 ecommerce with the ERP, and CRM platforms.
In this blog, we will be looking at some of the crucial steps involved in setting up the right integration for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Ecommerce with existing systems. Remember, the right integration is the key to achieve the full potential of the Dynamics ecommerce integration and achieve the desired results.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Integration – Building a better ecommerce experience!
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for ecommerce is a powerful unified solution that assists in the end-to-end integration process across various retail channels. The platform enables online stores and employees to improve efficiency by accessing data from the cloud and working smarter. Microsoft Dynamics 365 brings in various powerful functionalities to automate various business functions and help in creating a streamlined workflow process for enhanced customer experience across all touchpoints. The platform supports various business functions including; merchandising, channel management, inventory, and others.
Steps to Integrate Microsoft Dynamics 365 Ecommerce the Right Way!
– Make a start!
There is a famous Chinese proverb that goes like, “The best time for planting a tree was 20 years back. The next best time is today”.
Well, that says a lot about the importance of taking a start. The key here is that if you aren’t already reaping the benefits of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Ecommerce integration then you are losing to the competitors who have already taken the initiative.
So, if you have lost the best time, the second-best time to implement the integration is now. Start looking out for the appropriate Microsoft ecommerce platform integration options for your key systems and see how these can benefit your business.
– Plan Meticulously
The key to reaping full benefits of the Microsoft ecommerce integration with your existing ERP, and CRM system lies with a streamlined and meticulously planned approach. You need to get it right the very first time to save time and hassle, and thereby, make sure you put lots of effort upfront to achieve it.
While planning for the Microsoft Dynamics ecommerce integration, few important areas to consider include; business continuity, and keeping up with customer service during the transition process.
– Lay a Clean foundation
Remember, the whole idea of Microsoft dynamics ecommerce integration is to streamline your data access and integrity. Fortunately, the integration process is your best opportunity to clean the data coming in from multiple systems.
Also, the effectiveness of your integration process will eventually depend on the quality of data that powers the system and you need to make sure you lay a “clean” and “solid” foundation by inserting the most accurate and relevant information during the integration process.
– KISS
We understand the temptation of businesses to integrate all possible Microsoft dynamics ecommerce features during the integration process. And while integrating more functionalities from the Microsoft dynamics solutions may bring in better and more powerful features, don’t complicate things by choosing solutions that aren’t actually required.
The key is to choose the most crucial functionalities to keep the integration as simple and effective as possible, while also keeping the costs at bay.
– Automate everything possible
Now, while we told you earlier to keep it as simple as possible, that doesn’t mean you should neglect to deploy the automation capabilities of the dynamics magento. The Microsoft dynamics 365 comes with various automated features and capabilities including workflow processes, task management, and artificial intelligence that delivers the power of automation you need to improve efficiency, productivity, and gain a competitive advantage. You can automate
– Leverage analytics
By integrating your existing systems with Microsoft dynamics 365 ecommerce, you get access to some of the most advanced and powerful data analytics features. All of these features are meant to enable ecommerce businesses to access key data across the entire business operations in real-time, as well as, to have the performance insights required to make agile decisions.
Thereby, make sure that you are able to leverage the analytical capabilities of the system and utilize them effectively to gain a competitive edge.
– Train your users
Before you’d be able to exploit any benefit out of the Microsoft dynamics 365 integration, you need to train your employees for the effective use of the system.
Remember, getting-used to all the functionalities and features offered by the system may be tricky for employees in the beginning, and thereby, you better be ready to arrange detailed training sessions for employees.
– Choose the right integration partner
Lastly, to ensure successful integration you need a reliable partner that can work with you to identify your business requirements and recommend the best possible solutions for your integration needs. It’s important to choose an integration partner that has the expertise and experience of successful implementation of Microsoft dynamics 365 ecommerce integration projects, to ensure business continuity during the integration and higher ROIs post-integration.
Ideally, lookout for integration partners that have experience in implementing integration projects similar to your business needs. Also, make sure that the partner agency is a certified partner with Microsoft for integration projects.
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