When retailers make the decision to integrate their brick and mortar business with their ecommerce sister store, they expect a fully functioning, secure ecommerce to POS integration that will support every aspect of their business activity. Retail Dimensions’ RD-Ice integration platform provides that, and much more. By digging into the current needs of our clients’ businesses and applying a forward-thinking approach to our custom designed platforms, we are able to provide the flexibility a modern retail business requires now, and in the future.
The Issues Retailers Face
The Retail Dimensions team understands the business of retail shopping is based on the idea that big, new things are always on the horizon. This is as true with the back-end business activity as it is with the changing trends seen in product lines. Designing an integration tool that can address current needs, while staying flexible enough to change and grow as demand requires is key to successful integration. With an RD-Ice integration platform, our engineering team will work collaboratively with each client to understand their business’s unique needs today, as well as the changes they see affecting how their business model will continue to develop in the months and years to come.
This need for forethought was illustrated recently during the sudden, dramatic shift to online shopping as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to an integration, a retailer is faced with the daunting task of updating two systems every time an action is taken that affects the data. Whether it’s a small transaction, or the introduction of a new product line; the information in both their POS system and their ecommerce platform must match in order for an accurate representation of the company’s business. This opens the door to mistakes that are time consuming and costly, leaving the customer dissatisfied and business activity in jeopardy.
Retail Dimensions’ RD-Ice
With a unified commerce engine like RD-Ice, a modern retailer will be ready to respond quickly to the constantly changing requirements inherent in both their POS system and their ecommerce platform. From inventory updates, through the multiple phases of fulfillment, and all the way to the customer’s choice of delivery; they will be ready with real-time information to make sure they meet the customer’s expectations appropriately every time a transaction occurs, with a seamless transition of data in a secure platform.
RD-Ice is customized designed to simplify the process according to each retailer’s unique needs. Are special delivery instructions required? RD-Ice can be adjusted to match them. Need special oversight in inventory? No problem—your RD-Ice integration will be able to show you automatically updated information whenever you need it from anywhere in your company. Our integrations include the tools that will keep your current business activity running smoothly with less effort, while offering the flexibility to adjust to an ever-evolving marketplace.
The Benefits of a Customized Integration
An ecommerce to POS system integration platform should address the entire fulfillment process, and that is why we work hand in hand with each retailer to customize a solution from the very start of an RD-Ice project. This collaborative approach empowers us with the ability to better predict any problems that may come along in the future, as well as providing for the current needs of the retailer.
An RD-Ice eCommerce to POS integration will help retailers
Eliminate manual data entry
Save time and reduce the opportunity for errors with RD-Ice. Our integration platform requires a single point data entry process to update all systems throughout the entire business. The information is available in both the POS system and the ecommerce platform as soon it is entered so your team will have access to real-time information and update everyone else in the fulfillment process whenever a change occurs.
Provide up to date, accurate inventory levels
Two stores pulling from one shared inventory without complete, real time oversight could mean thousands of dollars of lost profit for the retailer and missed opportunities to promote popular or lesser known items through promotions and specials. Ensuring that you have the inventory your customers want is your tool to keeping your inventory in top form. When your entire inventory is compiled in one database, you’ll know exactly what you have every moment of the day.
Flexibility to handle growth
The online retail landscape continues to change and grow as new sales channels become available through apps, over mobile devices, smart watches, and more. As shoppers become more connected, retailers must meet them where they shop. That means POS to ecommerce integration must be flexible enough to handle these emerging channels so the retail business can grow and change as new options come onto the market. RD-Ice grows with the business, with the ability to make changes to the platform built right in.
Share customer data between the ecommerce platform and the POS system
Nothing is more important to a retailer than his or her relationship with their customers, and that relationship begins with reliable customer data. Updated customer information will provide insights into buying habits, changes in shipping and payment information, and much more.
Additionally, customers have come to expect perks from their favorite retailers. Loyalty programs, special offers, birthday and holiday discounts, and previews of upcoming product releases are great tools that will keep your customers coming back to shop at your store before looking elsewhere. An RD-Ice integration shares customer data throughout the entire company so you can offer these perks to your customers from any department and at any time you choose.
Automatic notification to customers when orders have shipped
Order confirmations, shipping information, updates, and marketing campaigns! Effective communication can take up a lot of time when it’s created manually. Bringing all your business together under one “roof” simplifies the task. Generate an automatic message for your entire customer base or a select demographic from the information you’ve collected in your POS system and ecommerce platform, so you can free up your employees’ time to interact with your customers.
Allow customers more options
Shopping habits are changing rapidly. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many shoppers came to rely heavily on the convenience and reliability of online shopping when stay at home mandates were in place or when products were difficult to find in stores. This change to virtual shopping follows a general trend that has been occurring over the last decade and alludes to the fact that shopping over the internet is becoming a new standard for many people. Providing them with more options, such as curbside pick-up or delivery, proves you are dedicated to the same level of customer service online that you’ve provide at your streetside businesses.
What a Successful Integration Means to the Retailer
Creating an intelligent integration tool to connect your ecommerce sales activity with your POS system will empower your entire business with the agility and security to serve your customers better.
Retail Dimensions’ RD-Ice integration platform is built with a hands-on understanding of a retailer’s needs, as well as the technical adaptability needed to address the shifting requirements that are inherit in an ever-evolving business environment. With RD-Ice, retailers can move forward into the future with confidence, knowing their integration tool has the flexibility to stay ahead of shopping trends and position themselves at the forefront of the virtual shopping experience, while at the same time maintaining the great service offer at their stores.