Why Choosing the Right Technology is Crucial for Your Online Store

One of the most important steps for a retailer or brand in 2024 is having an online presence. To get you started on this, Shopify recently released a Step-by-Step Guide of How to Start an Online Store. As a supply chain technology platform that integrates with Shopify along with 440+ other preset integrations, we wanted to share our top tips for choosing the right e-commerce Platform for your business needs and goals. 

Choosing the best  platform isn’t always an easy task for your omnichannel needs. To help, Osa will walk you through the benefits of online websites, back-end supply chain technology support,and the importance of designing your brand through white-labeling technology.

Table of Contents

What’s the Best Online Website Building Platform for Ecommerce?

Why is a Backend Supply Chain Technology Platform so Important?

Why White-Labeling Critical to Define Your Brand Identity?

What’s the Best Supply Chain Platform for Your Brand?

How will the Osa Collaborative Visibility Platform Enhance Your Business?

What’s the Best Online Website Building Platform for Ecommerce?

Choosing the right online platform to build your website is pivotal for the success of any online store. Different e-commerce website builders offer varying benefits and challenges, particularly in what supply chain platforms and logistics technologies it can integrate with. Here’s a look at how some popular website-building tools measure up.

Shopify

Shopify is renowned for its user-friendly interface and robust e-commerce tools. It excels in providing seamless integrations with various supply chain management (SCM) technologies, which streamline inventory management and order fulfillment. This ensures that businesses can maintain efficient operations and keep customer satisfaction high. However, Shopify's advanced features come at a steeper cost, which might be a barrier for smaller businesses just starting out.

Adobe Commerce (Magento)

Adobe Commerce, formerly Magento, offers a highly customizable platform suitable for large enterprises. It supports complex supply chain needs with capabilities to integrate with sophisticated inventory and order management systems. This flexibility allows businesses to scale and adapt their operations. On the downside, Adobe Commerce requires significant technical expertise to set up and manage, making it less accessible for small businesses without dedicated IT resources.

SquareSpace

SquareSpace is primarily known for its stunning design templates, making it a favorite for visually-driven brands. However, its supply chain capabilities are somewhat limited compared to other platforms. While it handles basic inventory and order management well, it may not support more complex supply chain requirements, potentially limiting its appeal to larger e-commerce operations.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a powerful platform that balances ease of use with advanced features. It offers robust integrations for SCM, which help in optimizing logistics and inventory control. BigCommerce also supports multichannel and omnichannel selling, allowing businesses to manage supply chains across different sales platforms. The primary drawback is its higher cost structure, which might be a consideration for startups.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy is known for its domain registration and web hosting services but also offers e-commerce solutions. It provides basic supply chain assistance tools that are adequate for small to medium-sized businesses. However, its SCM features are not as comprehensive as those of dedicated e-commerce platforms, which could limit scalability as your business grows.

Wix

Wix offers a highly user-friendly platform with drag-and-drop website-building capabilities. For e-commerce, it includes essential supply chain features such as inventory management and order processing. While Wix is excellent for small businesses and startups due to its extreme ease of use, its supply chain tools may not suffice for larger enterprises with more complex needs.

The choice of an e-commerce website builder significantly impacts your ability to master supply chain efficiency. Businesses must weigh the benefits and limitations of each platform against their specific needs and resources to ensure smooth operations and sustained growth.

Why is a Backend Supply Chain Technology Platform so Important?

A well-integrated supply chain requires collaboration with a number of logistics and partners. This requires a supply chain management  platform that can significantly enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. Let's explore some key supply chain software and  systems that are essential for modern online retailers and brands to succeed.

Integration Management System

Integration management systems are the backbone of a cohesive supply chain. They ensure that various functions such as procurement, inventory management, and logistics work seamlessly together. By integrating these processes, businesses can gain real-time visibility into their operations, enabling them to make data-driven decisions and respond quickly to market changes. This level of integration is essential for maintaining smooth operations and minimizing disruptions.

Warehouse Management System

A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a critical component for managing inventory and optimizing warehouse operations. WMS solutions streamline tasks such as fulfillment, shipping, and receiving, making the warehouse more efficient and reducing the chances of errors. This technology provides visibility into inventory levels, which helps in maintaining optimal stock levels and improving order accuracy. Efficient warehouse management directly impacts the speed and reliability of order fulfillment, crucial for customer satisfaction.

Order Management System

Order Management Systems (OMS) are essential for tracking and managing orders from multiple sales channels for complete omnichannel or ecommerce strategies. OMS solutions provide a centralized platform to monitor order status, manage returns, and ensure accurate inventory levels across different platforms. This centralized management helps businesses streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve customer service by providing accurate and timely order information.

Fulfillment Management System

Fulfillment management systems play a vital role in ensuring that orders are processed and delivered on time. These systems handle everything from order processing to packaging and shipping. By automating these processes, businesses can reduce manual errors, speed up order processing times, and provide customers with accurate delivery timelines. This automation is particularly beneficial during peak seasons when order volumes surge.

Last-Mile Management System

Last-mile delivery is the final step in the supply chain and is often the most challenging. Last-mile management systems optimize this crucial phase by coordinating the delivery process to ensure that products reach customers quickly and efficiently. These systems can include route optimization, real-time tracking, and delivery notifications, which enhance the customer experience by providing transparency and reliability. Efficient last-mile delivery is key to meeting customer expectations and building brand loyalty.

Why White-Labeling Critical to Define Your Brand Identity?

Among the various technologies available, systems that include white-labeling capabilities empower businesses to design and personalize their brand identity. By integrating white-labeling into the backend of your supply chain management systems, you can create a cohesive and professional brand image for vendors, employees, and other stakeholders, which is crucial for the success of your online store.

White-labeling enables businesses to brand products and services, creating a unified experience in supply chain management. Customizing these systems helps maintain a consistent brand image—enhancing credibility and trust among stakeholders. This fosters a strong brand identity that resonates with customers and partners, building a sense of reliability and professionalism essential for sustained success. Additionally, a personalized platform streamlines operations, making tasks more efficient and intuitive, which boosts productivity and morale among employees. Partners or vendors engaging with a branded platform enjoy better business relationships and smoother collaborations. The clear representation of your brand in backend systems communicates stability and commitment to high standards, strengthening relationships with all stakeholders by assuring them of your business’s organization and reliability.

Choosing the right supply chain technology, particularly white-labeling technology, is vital for the growth and sustainability of your online store. It allows you to design and personalize your brand for partners, employees, and other stakeholders, enhancing brand identity, user experience, and stakeholder relationships. By investing in white-labeling solutions, you ensure that your supply chain management systems not only operate efficiently but also reflect the core values and aesthetics of your brand.

What’s the Best Supply Chain Platform for Your Brand?

Choosing the right supply chain technology is essential to streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and drive growth. Unified commerce technology emerges as a comprehensive solution that addresses various challenges faced by online retailers across warehouse management, payment gateways, connected point-of-sale (POS) systems, order management, frontend, and backend website operations.

The Benefits of Unified Commerce for Your E-Commerce Brand

Unified commerce technology integrates all aspects of the supply chain into a single, cohesive platform. From warehouse management to order processing and fulfillment, it provides end-to-end visibility and control over inventory and operations. This ensures accurate stock levels, reduces order processing times, and minimizes errors, leading to improved efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Unified commerce helps to seamlessly integrate payment gateways, allowing your online store to accept various payment methods securely, eliminating any payment gateway issues. This enhances the checkout experience for customers, leading to higher conversion rates and reduced cart abandonment. In addition, connected POS systems enable real-time syncing of sales data between physical and online stores, providing a unified view of inventory and sales performance and opening up the opportunity for multi-channel or omnichannel selling strategies.

Unified commerce platforms offer critical order management capabilities, enabling retailers to efficiently manage orders, track shipments, and handle returns. This streamlines order fulfillment processes and ensures timely delivery, fostering customer loyalty and positive brand perception. It not only optimizes warehouse management, payment processing, and order fulfillment but also enhances customer experience and drives business growth. By investing in unified commerce technology, online retailers can stay ahead in the competitive e-commerce landscape and meet the evolving needs of their customers effectively.

Creating visibility on one platform for your brand and its supply chain allows you to detect inefficiencies, errors, delays, inventory levels, etc. all with user ease, all of this ensures that you don’t miss anything.

How will the Osa Collaborative Visibility Platform Enhance Your Business?

The next question is, which unified commerce platform is the right one to employ? The answer just might be under your nose. The Osa Commerce Collaborative Visibility Platform helps brands, retailers, and their logistics partners be One Step Ahead 

Here we have combined every possible solution you would need in order to run your online store supply chain operations smoothly. Withover 440 preset integrations, tech-agnostic integrations, white-labeling functionality, and end-to-end transparency for your entire supply chain, you are set to adapt to any need you may have. This allows you to choose any website-building platform that works best for your business while being able to continuously maintain branding and operate efficiently on both front and backend elements. 

Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important aspect for any business planning e-commerce or omnichannel technology needs for the future. The capabilities of the next-generation of AI-powered technology will be  incorporated into every element of collaborative visibility technology. Regardless of what supply chain management technology suits your online store the best, it’s imperative that your business has a full-scope supply chain operational system that is compatible with e-commerce processes and workflows. 

We hope this sets you up to have a successful venture into the world of online selling. Reach out to one of Osa’s experts if you have any questions or to book a demo.