Whether they are maintained internally or by a third-party service company, e-commerce systems are being used extensively to support additional channels such as stores and catalogs, according to a new survey of 160 merchants by Internet Retailer.
For instance, 62.9% of retail companies in the survey have integrated all of their e-commerce applications with a centralized inventory management system. Among store-based merchants, 42.4% also link their web operations with their store point-of-sale systems, thus giving store employees more access to SKU levels and other inventory and stocking information.
Survey recipients clearly see a need for integrated e-commerce technology that supports multiple channels, beginning with better access to inventory management and fulfillment data. The survey finds that 75% of all retailers already have their e-commerce, fulfillment and inventory management systems linked and sharing data across channels. Just over half – 51% – also have linked their e-commerce systems to their call centers.
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