Technology has changed the face of business like never before. This is the era of bold new changes and disruptive hybrid solutions. From manufacturing to operations to sales and marketing, every aspect of business has become more efficient thanks to advanced technology and specialized cutting-edge solutions.
What’s even more interesting is that commerce, as we see it today, is no longer linear. The buyer journeys have become complex and multi-channel. Fast-growing brands can no longer rely on decades-old monolithic digital commerce solutions which lack the agility and speed needed to match pace with rapidly-evolving market dynamics.
To fill in the gaps in current processes and available applications, brands need the flexibility to choose and integrate the best-in-breed software and services. Building tailored enterprise solutions from scratch are passe.
Modern brands need flexible, agile, and rapidly replaceable digital commerce solutions.
And the game changer for such enterprise brands is – integrated business services!
Integrated Business Services: How they are changing the digital commerce landscape
Integrated business services refer to an ecosystem where the most innovative digital commerce solutions can be designed by bringing together different high-end software or services. For example, an enterprise B2C brand selling multiple products on its online marketplace can integrate a high-end order and inventory management system, the most secure payment solutions to make checkouts frictionless, add multiple support software, chatbots, CRM, etc. for 24×7 support and partner with the top fulfillment partners to streamline deliveries.
This kind of composable or modular commerce infrastructure has many advantages like:
● Brands can quickly add or remove any software or service of their choice
● Make changes to one part of the business processes without affecting the others
● Experiment with multiple software packages and choose the best suitable one
● Get battle-tested solutions that have been tested under real-world conditions
● Independently scale different components
● Go for continuous improvement, fault isolation, and rapid release of new flows/processes
● Get the best enterprise solution in place with a lower cost of ownership, maintenance, and upgrade
Using their distinct blend of applications, software, and other tech systems brands are building buyer journeys that keep them ahead of their competitors. And most importantly modular commerce saves hugely on the cost to digitize the sales channels, operations, distribution, support et al for enterprise brands.
Top Tech Trends For Integrated Business Services
The amazing speed of technological changes has helped accelerate the way online and offline markets are changing and merging. Enterprise brands are looking for smarter and faster ways to do business without compromising on the overall quality of their processes or operations.
Here is how new-age enterprise brands are using integrated business services to their advantage:
Adoption of SaaS Platforms
SaaS has given brands the assurance and the freedom to literally “do whatever they want to do”. The flexibility and convenience of time and cost-saving SaaS-based tech solutions have made it easier for brands to get started in record time. To top it all, SaaS eCommerce platforms are inherently scalable, taking care of business growth to any number of products, vendors, customers, geolocations, etc.
Also, SaaS security is robust and reliable. SaaS is maintenance-free as the upgrades, updates, etc. are taken care of by the service providers. What’s the most amazing thing about SaaS solutions is that they are designed to integrate easily with diverse other SaaS solutions making it easier for brands to build the most innovative tech ecosystem for their brand.
DIY Solutions That Promote Experimentation
While brands love the freedom offered by SaaS solutions, they also need the creative freedom to explore and experiment. After all, each brand has its own goals and marketing strategies that need constant changes.
Enterprise brands are keen on DIY solutions that give them room for experimentation. From eCommerce platforms (that allow brands to create their dynamic pages, backend entities, and frontend changes) to DIY marketing and analytics tools, brands are investing heavily in modern tech solutions that do away with dependencies and give creative control back to enterprise businesses.
Introduce Automation for Repetitive Tasks
Globally, the average time people spend on duplicate/ repeat manual tasks is 4 hours and 38 minutes/ week, which amounts to about 10% of people’s time at work. Calculate the cost in terms of an enterprise brand with 500+ people and you arrive at the magnitude of the problem and the cost the company bears.
Naturally, enterprise brands are looking for solutions that help them minimize the efforts and time in doing such manual, repetitive tasks. Automating everyday tasks is on the priority list of enterprise brands and tech solutions that enable brands to do so are most sought after. From automating their manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain to automating regular office work, enterprise brands are using a host of integrated business services and software solutions that do away with repeat manual tasks.
Unified Platform For Different Business Models
Businesses no longer rely on just one business model to sustain their growth. The most efficient way to break the growth plateau for enterprises is to pivot to new or hybrid business models that have the potential to unlock growth in new segments or territories. While this idea sounds amazing, implementing a new or hybrid business model can be arduous and resource-intensive if brands do not have the right tech platform at their disposal.
To negotiate the challenge of running different business models or experimenting with hybrid business models brands need future-ready eCommerce platforms that come with built-in capabilities to handle multiple business models from one unified platform.
Brands are increasingly opting for a one-stop solution that enables them to run different business models from one centralized platform, say having two different storefronts for their B2B and D2C clients or merging the multi-vendor marketplace model with a location-based multi-store model to create a hyperlocal business model.
Streamlined and Efficient Processes
An enterprise business planning to create a niche for its brand needs to automate, standardize and modernize its processes. Streamlined and efficient processes are needed not only to keep the customers engaged and informed but also to keep various teams and departments synced with each other. When different departments work in tandem and have full transparency and access to a unified, updated, and synced database, many of the operational and organizational issues are taken care of automatically.
To centralize their core business processes and get real-time visibility enterprise brands are integrating with the best ERP and CRM software. While traditionally ERP systems were used by larger brands with big operations and larger budgets, now even small and medium enterprises can explore and use a variety of ERP systems designed for their requirements.
While ERP centralizes business processes, CRM centralizes all customer interactions making it a must-have tool for modern brands. With the right CRM system brands can engage and retain their customers better and also use the software to boost sales and get detailed insights into their customers’ behavior and expectations.
Integrated Payment and Fulfilment Solutions
No business is complete without frictionless checkout and streamlined fulfillment solutions. Enterprise payment processing requires a complex system that has support for global multi-currency payments, wire transfers, mobile payments, digital wallets, offline payments, store credits, credit bills, etc. Developing a secure and streamlined enterprise payment can be cumbersome if brands relied on one or two payment solutions providers.
For building a highly-sophisticated and multi-channel enterprise payment solution brands are now using the integrated business services of multiple payment solution providers. Having multiple payment solutions ensures brands have the capabilities to give the best checkout and payout options to their clients and merchant sellers.
Once checkout is done smoothly, it is time to ensure smooth deliveries of the orders. Enterprise orders usually have bulk volume. Streamlined fulfillment of large bulk orders requires the services of trusted logistics partners that have the experience and expertise of handling such orders across the globe. Enterprise brands are increasingly integrating with multiple last-mile and international logistics providers to streamline their deliveries and grow their reach.
Conclusion
We have entered the era of commerce where disruption is the new normal. Brands are going with ways, strategies, technologies, and solutions to build businesses that fill the demand-supply gap in a way never thought of earlier. To power such disruptive business models, brands need agile, easily scalable, and replaceable solutions. Integrated business services are offering this very combination to enterprise brands.
With integrated business services enterprises can cope with the uncertain challenges of business and ever-evolving markets. Brands can rely on the best-fit integrated software and services to tackle the changes in consumer and market requirements. Enterprise businesses planning to unlock growth can set up their brand for success by partnering with the best-in-breed solutions and service providers that keep them ahead of the competition.