Businesses need a robust and versatile platform to manage their operations effectively to compete in today’s uber-competitive automotive eCommerce landscape. Acumatica Cloud ERP is one of the leading back-office systems that offers unparalleled flexibility and the ability to be configured to fit specific industry needs. This blog post will explore the benefits of configuring Acumatica for automotive eCommerce businesses, the challenges you might face, and a case study showcasing successful configuration.
Key Benefits to Configuring Acumatica for Automotive eCommerce
1. Integration with Online Storefronts
Acumatica’s flexible platform can be seamlessly integrated with popular online storefronts like Shopify and BigCommerce. These are native integrations that Acumatica created themselves to ensure the smoothest flow of information between your eCommerce site and your ERP system, eliminating data silos, reducing inefficiencies, and enabling your team to be more productive with automations.
2. Managing Complex Product Catalogs
Automotive eCommerce shops often deal with complex product catalogs that include a wide range of thousands of parts and accessories. With a system like Acumatica, your team is able to spend more time revolutionizing your business or providing excellent service to customers because they will not be spending time thumbing through page after page in a catalog to find the right part. Acumatica allows you to manage these catalogs efficiently, ensuring that all inventory data is accurate and up to date.
3. Enhanced Customer Experience
Personalized marketing campaigns can significantly improve your prospects’ experiences. With Acumatica, you can segment your customer base and tailor your marketing efforts to meet specific needs and preferences, ensuring higher engagement and satisfaction. For products with a short lifespan, like a filter, you can set up automations where after a client purchases one, they receive an email in 6-12 months asking if they would like to order a new one. This ensures your inventory is always rotating and your customers are using products in peak condition.
4. AutoFitmentPlus Add-On
PC Bennett’s proprietary AutoFitmentPlus add-on for Acumatica is a game-changer for automotive eCommerce stores. It enables year, make, model, and more dropdowns within your Acumatica site, allowing your people to easily find the right part for the right vehicle every time. AutoFitmentPlus plays a crucial role in reducing returns and increasing customer satisfaction. Additionally, for your back-office, there is also VIN identification and validation which enables your team to have a log of previous work done on a vehicle based on the vehicle’s VIN number.
Challenges Acumatica Solves For
1. Complex Inventory Management
Without Acumatica, managing those lengthy and complex catalogs of inventory can be a daunting task. Your team could spend days upon days validating information and sifting through the endless number of pages in a physical catalog. Acumatica makes it so much easier to ensure all items are correctly listed on your eCommerce site.
2. Fitment Data Management
Adding fitment data to an eCommerce site is challenging and can feel impossible without the necessary technological framework. This is crucial because without fitment data, a client could purchase a part for a 2024 Chevrolet Malibu when they really needed something for a 2011 Malibu. This creates poor customer satisfaction, increases your costs, and reduces trust between you and your client. Using an add-on like PC Bennett’s AutoFitmentPlus provides the parts only applicable to the vehicle the customer has, providing accurate and easy-to-navigate fitment data for customers that pulls directly from the Auto Care Association’s own database.
3. Integration Issues
Having an eCommerce site that isn’t connected to an ERP system can lead to a multitude of issues. From missed orders to incorrect fulfillment or even a lack of accurate tracking of your most important KPIs, it is crucial that all your technologies are integrated. Connected systems that are configured to interact seamlessly can eliminate these risks and ensure that your teams are performing at the highest level possible.
Case Study: Van Café
Van Cafe, a client of PC Bennett, needed to completely revamp their dated eCommerce site while also integrating it with Acumatica Cloud ERP. Their previous platform, Volusion, didn’t offer the necessary ERP integration, prompting them to seek alternatives.
After evaluating different eCommerce platforms, they chose BigCommerce. PC Bennett guided them through the transition, integrating BigCommerce with Acumatica seamlessly. The project went live in January 2022.
Since the integration, all activities from the Van Cafe website—including customer data, inventory, products, and third-party apps—are synchronized with Acumatica, providing a single source of truth for the entire organization. They have since experienced a 24% increase in orders, a 77% increase in average order volume, and a 119% increase in their revenue. These impressive metrics highlight the tangible benefits of integrating eCommerce solutions with your ERP and the importance of configuring them to your specific industry.
Conclusion
Configuring Acumatica for automotive eCommerce can provide significant advantages to your business, from improved inventory management to enhanced customer experiences. While challenges exist if you do not configure your ERP to your specific industry, the benefits far outweigh them, as evidenced by the success of Van Cafe.
Is your automotive business ready to take the leap? With Acumatica and the right configuration, you can streamline operations, boost customer satisfaction, and drive revenue growth.
Ready to get started? Contact us today to learn how we can help you configure Acumatica for your automotive eCommerce needs.
