E-Commerce Solutions
An online store is only as good as the information behind it. We build and connect commerce platforms so product data, stock levels, payments and orders behave consistently, whether a sale starts on your website, in store or through a marketplace.
Who it helps
Where e-commerce solutions tends to fit
If more than one of these sounds familiar, the solution is likely worth a conversation.
- Retailers selling through a website and physical locations who need one version of stock.
- Wholesalers and distributors managing large catalogues, tiers of pricing and trade accounts.
- Businesses whose order processing depends on staff copying details between systems.
- Organisations adding online sales to an existing operation without replacing their core systems.
Business problems
The problems this is usually brought in to solve
Stock figures disagree
The website, counter system and stock spreadsheet all show different numbers, so overselling and missed sales happen.
Orders are processed by hand
Someone reads each order and retypes it into the finance or fulfilment system, which slows despatch and introduces errors.
Product data lives in several places
Descriptions, specifications and images are maintained separately for each sales channel and drift apart.
Services and capabilities
Core capabilities and optional additions
Core capabilities are part of a typical build. Optional additions are included only when the agreed scope calls for them. What you receive in the end depends on the scope we agree together, so treat this as the menu rather than the order.
Core capabilities
- Storefronts designed around how customers actually shop your range
- Product catalogues with variants, pricing tiers and trade groups
- Supplier feeds and bulk import for large or frequently changing ranges
- Inventory synchronisation between the website, counter and warehouse systems
- Checkout with delivery, click and collect, and account options
- Payment gateway integration for cards and account payments
- Order management covering status, fulfilment and part despatch
- Shipping and courier integrations for rates, labels and tracking
- Marketplace connections where the platform supports them
- Sales reporting across channels, products and periods
Optional additions
- Trade customer portals with account pricing and statements
- Subscriptions or repeat order functionality
- Multi currency and multi language for overseas sales
- In store point of sale integration where the platform allows it
Anything listed as optional is quoted separately and only built if you decide it is worth having.
What an engagement can include
How a scoped project is put together
Not every project needs every step. This is the shape a typical engagement takes, and the scope you agree selects the parts that apply.
- 1Discovery covering current sales channels, catalogue size and fulfilment process
- 2Platform recommendation with reasons, whether that is existing software, an extension or a build
- 3Data model and catalogue design, including how products are categorised and priced
- 4Storefront design and checkout implementation
- 5Integration work for stock, payments, shipping and accounting
- 6Migration of the existing catalogue with redirects from any old product URLs
- 7Launch planning, monitoring and post launch reporting
Typical workflows
How it works day to day
These are the workflows this solution usually supports. Yours will be shaped during discovery.
Order to despatch
- 1A customer places an order and payment is authorised
- 2Stock is reserved in the inventory system automatically
- 3The order appears in the despatch queue with the shipping method applied
- 4Tracking is sent to the customer and the sale reaches the accounting system
Catalogue maintenance
- 1Supplier price and availability feeds are imported on a schedule
- 2Changes are reviewed against pricing and margin rules
- 3Updates publish to the storefront and the counter system together
- 4Products with issues are flagged rather than published incorrectly
Integration options
What it can connect to
Every system also has to allow the connection in the first place. Where a platform does not offer a supported way to integrate, we will tell you during discovery rather than work around it quietly.
Accounting and ERP platforms
Sales, invoices, customers and stock movements, where the platform offers a supported interface.
Inventory and point of sale systems
Stock levels and in store transactions, so channels share one quantity.
Payment providers
Card, wallet and account payments, including refunds and reconciliation.
Courier and fulfilment services
Rate quoting, label generation and tracking updates.
Supplier and marketplace feeds
Catalogue, pricing and availability, subject to what each third party makes available.
Delivery and handover
What you receive, and what stays with you
- Written scope covering channels, integrations and what is deferred to a later phase
- Catalogue and content migration plan with redirects agreed for existing product links
- Documentation of integrations, scheduled jobs and administrative tasks
- Training for the staff who will manage products, pricing and orders
Security and operations
Security and operational considerations
These are the controls and habits that come with the solution. The detail is agreed for your environment during scoping.
- Payments handled through a provider so card data does not sit in your systems
- Server side validation of prices, discounts and stock before an order is accepted
- Administrative access restricted by role, with changes to pricing and settings logged
- Order and customer records held under the same privacy rules as the rest of the business
- Monitoring for failed payments, integration errors and stuck orders
Questions
E-Commerce Solutions questions, answered
For most businesses an established platform is the sensible starting point, extended and integrated to fit your process. A custom build is worth considering when your model genuinely does not fit, such as unusual pricing, approvals or fulfilment rules. We will give you a recommendation with reasons.
That depends on what the counter system exposes. Many provide an API or a supported export path. Where none exists we will say so during discovery rather than promise a connection we cannot build.
One system is nominated as the source of truth for quantity, and the others are synchronised from it. That removes the ambiguity of several systems each holding their own count.
Often yes, through the marketplace's own integration or an approved connector. Availability and rules vary by marketplace, so we confirm what is genuinely supported before including it in scope.
We plan redirects from old product and category URLs to their new equivalents as part of the migration, so existing search rankings and customer bookmarks continue to resolve.
Related solutions
Often considered alongside this
- Retail & Inventory SystemsStock visibility, purchasing, barcodes and multi location inventory that keeps counter and online channels in agreement.View solution
- Custom Web ApplicationsCustomer portals, staff systems, dashboards and workflow applications built to match how your organisation actually operates.View solution
- Food Ordering & Delivery PlatformsOnline ordering, kitchen and dispatch workflows, driver tooling and customer tracking for delivery operations.View solution
Next step
Discuss your e-commerce solutions requirements
Tell us about your current systems, the people involved and what you need the outcome to be. We will suggest a scope, flag anything that needs checking first, and explain what the work involves.