Integrating WooCommerce with an External ERP

As your ecommerce business starts to scale, growth brings both excitement and new operational challenges such as increased manual data entry, inventory inconsistencies, and bottlenecks in fulfillment. 

Many growing businesses implement an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform to serve as the central hub for back-office functions including managing inventory, accounting, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Businesses looking to drive the most value from their ERP look to integrate this backend platform with their WooCommerce frontend ecommerce platform. 

This article explains the necessity of connecting your store, outlines the core components of a successful WooCommerce-ERP integration, and details best practices for achieving a seamless, automated workflow.

Pressable’s managed WordPress hosting provides the speed, scalability, and reliability that WooCommerce integrations require.

Scaling Up: Why WooCommerce Needs an ERP Platform

Several key business functions benefit significantly from a WooCommerce-ERP integration.

• Eliminate Manual Data Entry (Cost and Error Reduction): Time consuming processes that are prone to human error, including copying orders, customer details, and shipping information can be curtailed and possibly eliminated.
• Real-Time Inventory Synchronization: Syncing these two systems keeps them aligned, preventing overselling and stockout, and ensures consistent inventory data across platforms.
• Centralized Customer Data: Having all of your customer data in one location allows you to improve your customer service and marketing efforts.
• Automated Accounting and Invoicing: Instant reconciliation becomes a reality when WooCommerce is able to seamlessly share order financials directly to the general ledger in the ERP.
• Streamlined Fulfillment: Automatically trigger pick lists, packing slips, and shipping labels directly from the ERP when the WooCommerce order is processed.

Key Steps to a Successful WooCommerce ERP Integration

1. Select the best  integration method to connect WooCommerce and your ERP system.
   • Direct API Connection: Build a customized solution using the WooCommerce Representation State Transfer (REST) API to connect directly to the ERP’s API. This option requires a great deal of customization by a developer and also has the highest cost and requires ongoing maintenance.
   • Middleware Solutions (SaaS): A dedicated integration service such as Zapier, eBridge Connections, or Celigo can provide a bridge between your WooCommerce and ERP platforms. This option is best for non-developers and requires little maintenance.
   • Pre-Built Plugins: A commercial plugin that is specifically built for your ERP, such as NetSuite or Microsoft Dynamics, offers another option. These plugins are the easiest to set up but offer limited flexibility.
2. Define the two-way sync of your data flow.
   • Order Sync (WooCommerce to ERP): With this setup, new orders, customer details, taxes, and shipping data flow instantly to the ERP.
   • Inventory Sync (ERP to WooCommerce): This arrangement allows stock levels, pricing updates, and product attributes to flow from the ERP to the store.
   • Fulfillment Sync (ERP to WooCommerce): On the backend of an order the tracking numbers and order status updates flow back to WooCommerce to notify  the customer.
3. Set up data mapping and standardization.
4. This is a crucial step in the WooCommerce-ERP integration process. Ensure identical field mapping across systems — for example, the WooCommerce “SKU” field should match the ERP’s “Item Code.” Some ways to improve your data mapping efforts include standardizing product categories, tax rates, and currency formats.
5. Plan how you will handle edge cases.
6. A few hiccups can be expected as you fine-tune your WooCommerce-ERP integration.  Plan ahead on how you will manage failed payments, returns/refunds, abandoned carts, data conflicts, and other disruptions to your integration.

WooCommerce-ERP Integration Best Practices

• Define the scope of your integration: Clearly outline what data will sync, when, and how often.
• Test the integration in a staging environment before going live: Never connect live production environments immediately. A WooCommerce staging site allows for vigorous testing of potential scenarios and a risk-free environment to troubleshoot issues.
• Prioritize developing an effective inventory sync: Focus on making stock level sync instantaneous to prevent overselling.
• Avoid over-syncing: Limit synchronization to mission-critical data in order to maintain a fast and reliable process.
• Plan for maintenance: Be sure to budget for ongoing monitoring and updates, especially when either the WooCommerce platform or the ERP system is updated because this can introduce disruptions to your integration.

Set the Stage to Scale Your Ecommerce Business

An effective WooCommerce-ERP integration eliminates scalability bottlenecks by automating back-office processes, reducing manual work, and improving efficiency across your entire order workflow.

While the integration encompasses a complex process, the resulting efficiencies, greater accuracy, and improved customer experience justify the investment. Bridging your front-end and back-end systems will take your ecommerce operation to the next level of growth. 

Get started today by assessing your manual workloads and begin researching the right WooCommerce-ERP solution that best meets your unique business needs. 

Pressable Understands WooCommerce

When it comes to WooCommerce support, Pressable’s managed WordPress hosting is a good fit for your online business. Flexible, fast, low-maintenance, secure, we meet your ecommerce needs so you can focus on growing your business instead of managing the infrastructure. Leave that to our experts who understand WordPress.

Pressable, part of the Automattic family that also includes WordPress.com, WordPress VIP, and WooCommerce, is staffed by WordPress experts with the skills and knowledge to effectively manage your WordPress site. If you’re thinking about switching to managed WordPress hosting, schedule a demo to see how Pressable can support your continued optimization and growth.

Nox Dineen-Porter

Nox possesses a unique blend of industry and academic expertise, seamlessly integrating her knowledge of communication, software development, and research. Her journey with WordPress began in 2003, first as an avid blogger and later as a skilled software developer. Her fascination with WordPress led her to join the Pressable support team, where she effectively combines her passion for technology with her love of problem-solving and her deep understanding of user behavior. As a PhD candidate, Nox is poised to make a significant impact on the field, bringing together her expertise in research, communications, and software development to provide context and clarity about health science and devices to the public. When she's not at her computer she enjoys hiking, running, yoga, and street photography.