Master the challenges of all marketplaces with headless commerce
Amazon, ebay or Zalando – according to the German E-Commerce and Mail Order Association (behv), online trade will exceed the 70 billion euro mark in 2019, with the leading marketplaces accounting for around 50 percent. E-commerce is growing steadily and is becoming more and more relevant. Nevertheless, many retailers still shy away from selling through channels such as Amazon. Obstacles for retailers are the effort involved in implementation and adaptation – or cost and time – as well as the increasing complexity of the infrastructure. The disadvantage of some dealers compared to their competitors is enormous: Entire sales areas are omitted or not used. The success of the leading marketplaces almost cries out for their use, as an additional channel in addition to their own online shops and stationary branches. Headless Commerce is the solution: It simplifies the technical infrastructure and enables all current and future channels to be seamlessly linked.
A central main system for managing all processes in the retail chain has not been enough for a long time. The key to a limitless customer journey is a well thought-out IT infrastructure with a high level of interface competence, through which all processes of different systems interact optimally and, above all, smoothly. The data from the various sales channels, existing systems such as ERP and financial accounting, stock levels, payment methods, shipping and return options as well as customer inquiries are homogenized and processed centrally. So working "headless" means standardization and maximum automation. "Only innovative e-commerce platforms, such as those from ROQQIO, enable true omnichannel trade - i.e. the successful linking of all sales channels, touchpoints, logistics and return options. Because only through them do all processes and systems run channel-independent and customer-centric," says Martin Öztürk, Sales Consultant at ROQQIO.
For the time being, retailers can overcome daunting obstacles with solutions like ROQQIO's - without having to replace the entire IT infrastructure. If retailers work without headless commerce, outdated, common IT architectures have to master both organizational and structural challenges, since these are usually not yet designed for highly automated e-commerce. An excessive number of interfaces and complex in-house development only make the entire system landscape even more complex, error-prone and difficult to maintain. In addition, they cannot be updated - a major shortcoming in a world in which fast-moving e-commerce is constantly evolving.
In order for e-commerce to function successfully and seamlessly, many technical and organizational components in the infrastructure must be coordinated. The prerequisite for the limitless customer journey is that the customer is not aware of these complex structures when making a purchase - the entire interaction should run smoothly in the background. However, the reality is often poor performance - in extreme cases, the results are the blocking or poor rating of the merchant account on marketplaces such as Amazon or the buyer switching to a competitor.
With headless commerce, retailers can counteract this downward spiral. You have a flexible and holistic view of all your sales channels as well as your data and processes, creating a control center for modern retail. "With modular omnichannel solutions from ROQQIO, retailers have the opportunity to sell their goods on the desired marketplaces - without having to replace the entire IT infrastructure. In addition, dealers are future-proof if new sales channels are added,” explains Öztürk. The modular engine of the ROQQIO solution adapts individually to existing systems - such as third-party solutions - and links them with each other. "In this way, every retailer can get involved in online trading with little technical, organizational and personnel effort and a faster time-to-market," says Öztürk. The result: A smooth, uniform shopping experience - even if the number of touchpoints continues to increase in the future.
About ROQQIO
ROQQIO offers software solutions and concepts for the implementation of the customer journey in omnichannel retail. The portfolio includes systems for merchandise control, POS and the enterprise SaaS application ROQQIO Commerce Cloud. This manages different sales channels and controls complex backend processes, including order management, payment and logistics. The combination of these stationary and online technologies enables a seamless omnichannel experience. Processes such as Click & Collect or the exchange of goods bought online in the branch work smoothly. More than 1,500 companies already trust in the services and solutions of the commerce experts from ROQQIO.
