Selecting an enterprise eCommerce platform

Are you choosing an enterprise eCommerce platform for your business? MagnoStack is here to help you!

An enterprise eCommerce platform is a software system (either self-hosted or on-premise) that provides the complex needs of large scale business. These systems are scaled to your brand size and growth roadmap. An efficient platform should be able to not only meet your requirements now but also grow with your future sales volumes.

These platforms also usually have exceptional features and functionality and can be customized to your business.

Choosing the efficient one depends on various factors related to –

• What are the actual business goals?
• What business needs to be extraordinary? 
• What challenges or issues with the existing system you’re hoping to resolve? 

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What do we mean by the enterprise eCommerce platform?

Enterprise eCommerce platforms let enterprise businesses sell their items online. That’s not to say small scale organizations can’t use these platforms. 

Still, enterprise-grade software usually has different characteristics than standard, off-the-shelf eCommerce solutions that are exceptional for enterprise-level brands.

While some enterprise eCommerce platforms have software packages, today’s main platforms are cloud-based – simplifying, or even eliminating, the software installation and upgrade needs.

The procedure of selecting a platform should also be a team effort – it’s very essential not to just leave this work to your tech and eCommerce trading teams; everyone, from marketing to consumer service should weigh in as it’s a trade-level decision. 

In a lot of cases, it’s very important to bring in consultants from outside the company so you can get objective feedback on what your company requirements.

There are lots of factors that should be considered in this procedure, way beyond just native capabilities of a medium.

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eCommerce platform requirements gathering

Understanding your requirements is the most crucial step, and this must be done way in advance of the discovery procedure before you start searching for individual platforms. 

Here are some of the prime questions that need to be asked to each department –

• What are the main business goals behind the re-platforming?
• What are the essential existing features that your department needs?
• What are the key restrictions in the current eCommerce platform?
• What are the new critical features required?
• What are the crucial systems integrations required for launch?
• What are the future systems integrations needed for phase two?

These are some examples – there’ll be lots of others spanning across the following:

• Integrations
• Design & UX
• Content management
• Promotions
• Catalog management & setup
• Marketing
• Payments
• Data imports

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Cloud Platforms vs On-Premise

Today many modern eCommerce platforms are cloud-based, decreasing the overhead for merchants around platform maintenance, security and server management. 

These solutions do differ, with some operating systems, where the entire platform is given to the merchant and fully handled by them and others just give a cloud-based version where it’s hosted by the platform.

There are some advantages to using a SaaS eCommerce platform, such as –

• Clearer pricing
• Reduced maintenance overhead
• Less security concerns
• Built to scale

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Headless eCommerce / Decoupling the front-end

The term headless is strongly referring to ‘de-coupling’ the front-end of the store from the eCommerce platform and utilizing alternative solutions to provide content. 

You’re essentially ending up with a presentation layer and a functional layer and retailers usually utilize additional methods as part of these kinds of setups too, such as a PIM for managing product data.

This headless approach has become very popular in eCommerce over the last number of years, with lots of retailers choosing a commerce platform to serve a better front-end customer experience.

You would essentially develop the front-end through requesting various components/endpoints via API, which allows for a much smoother and flexible experience.

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Customer-focused platform requirements

Customer requirements are a big part of selecting your platform – ensuring that you’re able to take control of the experience you’re serving and also make use of the needed functionality.

Things like AI, machine learning across all item listings, content personalization, customer segmentation, latest search, advanced content management, etc. may be do-able. Still, you need to look at how much effort is required to achieve it.

• Platform technical requirements

It’s quite essential that you figure out the technical requirements for the project, as this will contribute exceptionally to the decision making procedure. 

This is where you’ll need to be vigilant with features and crucial specifications as it’ll impact the scope of the project and the price dramatically.

• Platform process requirements

Another consideration is how well the various platforms will support your existing processes – for example, for the more enterprise-level platforms, such as Magento Commerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, have approval layers, which can impact the speed at which your experts can work. 

Some platforms are more agile than others, and if you have lots of work for the year ahead, you may want to ensure that the platform can fulfill your timescale needs.

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How could customer acquisition activity be impacted by the new platform?

You need to know how buyers are finding their way into your stores, so you can determine how you can maintain your existing presence and build on it in the long period of time.

A good example of a requirement that may be mentioned by customer acquisition marketing could be CMS capabilities, as paid search performance is usually mentioned by a merchant’s ability to make strong landing pages quickly and efficiently.

Most enterprise-level platforms are usually quite feeble with content management, as they’re generally the best in providing powerful eCommerce features, rather than content.

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What channels or devices do your consumers utilize when browsing and purchasing your products?

You not only have to figure out what consumers are purchasing, but how they’re purchasing them. You might also want to enhance the way that your website is integrated with your in-store experience, which would be achievable with all of the platforms.

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Mobile optimisation and the PWA trend in eCommerce

Many enterprise retailers are now focusing on things like progressive web apps and more flexible front-end frameworks to serve an optimal mobile experience. 

A progressive web app (or PWA) works in-line with how an app would, in terms of being able to work offline and serve push notifications etc, but still works in the browser.

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How do they want their orders to be fulfilled and managed?

This is a specific essential question if you’re running a multi-channel business and you perform things like shipping from stores, click & collection, endless aisle etc. Things like fulfillment options and links will need to be considered.

Most renowned retail websites are likely to need to integrate with a number of systems, such as an order management system (OMS), warehouse management system (WMS or systems from 3PLs), a PIM (product information management), an ERP, etc.

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Do they want or need special shopping features?

Depending on your trade, you may need attractive buying features to enrich the experience of your consumers. 

Example: for some retailers, holding flash sales or private buying events is an essential part of their business. For others, features like gift registries and advanced wish lists are important.

• Personalisation in eCommerce

It is the ability to serve more tailored experiences for consumers either in real-time or based on them fulfilling set criteria. Salesforce Commerce Cloud, for example, supports both tailoring content to many consumers and personalisation via Einstein.

Generally, most retailers focusing on personalisation in an advanced way would look to utilize a specialist third party anyway – for example:

• NOSTO
• Rich Relevance
• Monetate
• Adobe experience manager/AEM
• Amplience
• Bloomreach

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How do customers communicate with your brand?

Identify all the mediums through which buyers can communicate with your existing website and also the things that you’d like to develop into an updated version. 

These could include phone, email, live chat, and in-person interactions. See to it that your medium supports all these methods, so you can keep communication open between your organization and clients.

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Assess your existing systems and solutions

Think about the solutions and already existing systems. These include your email marketing program, payment gateway, your point-of-sale system, etc. 

Make a note of all the programs that you’re utilizing that are related to eCommerce and then check if and how they’ll work with your new eCommerce platform. 

In some cases, you can integrate the platform with your existing solutions. Still, sometimes, you’ll either need to switch to a program that works more efficiently with your eCommerce software or work with your provider’s built-in solution.

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Set a budget for the project

It is another very essential fact to consider, especially with the variety of cost structures that accompany an eCommerce platform. When budgeting for an eCommerce solution, you should not look only at the surface like most of the other organizations do. 

While development agencies worry about things such as licensing and hosting fees, set-up, and development costs, they do not notice the maintenance cost or the costs that come with development contingency or other integrations. 

Also, it is essential that the price for your enterprise eCommerce solution also includes indirect costs and a strategy for a post-launch roadmap.

Here are a few things you should consider:-

• Costs of the platform

Costs between different platforms vary exceptionally. Some solutions have set licensing fees, while others include fees depending on your revenue and traffic. 

There are also eCommerce platforms that provide different editions or deployment forms, so pricing will depend on the particular solution that you opt for. 

For example, Magento has both on-premise and Cloud versions of the platform and they also still offer the open source option.

• Design, development & integration costs

The design and development costs are the highest expenditures for the project – most enterprise-level eCommerce builds cost between £100,000 and £5,000,000. 

Other Considerations

• Integrations and/or bespoke solutions

Focus on the integrations or bespoke solutions that you’ll need. Naturally, existing integrations or modules will cost less than building tailored solutions, so you’ll be required to factor in such prices when comparing different platforms.

If you’re focusing on implementing new ways as part of the project, such as a new ERP or warehousing system, you may need an additional contractor / consultant to help with this too.

• Additional migration costs

Also consider the money and time it’ll take to adopt a new eCommerce system. Chances are you’re going to have extra money around running two platforms in parallel, running additional test servers etc, an extra resource for manual work, consultants around services like SEO etc.

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Enterprise eCommerce platform comparison

There are an increasingly large number of enterprise eCommerce platforms in the industry. Some emerging platforms are Magento, SAP CX (Hybris), Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Shopify Plus, Oracle Commerce Cloud, Spryker, Workarea and Intershop. 

This section will give a brief overview of these platforms:-

• Magento Commerce (Cloud & On-Premise)

Magento is the most agile platform out there. It has a wide range of existing parts and integrations for mainstream solutions and prime third parties, reducing the price of extending your website, the requirement for customisation and the time-to-market for new features.

Strengths and weaknesses

Magento is a powerful platform with built-in features and versatility – even with Cloud. Magento also has a large developer community, making it simpler to get support. Magento’s multi-store features are also very efficient as a comparison to its competitors.

The biggest weakness is a customised Magento implementation which becomes difficult to maintain and scale.

Examples:- 

Paul Smith, END Clothing, Helly Hanse, etc.

• Salesforce Commerce Cloud (Demandware)

The Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform solution has always been developed to enable merchants to seamlessly business across digital and physical platforms, without thinking about maintenance, servers, security etc.

Strengths and weaknesses

Salesforce Commerce Cloud’s deep focus on omnichannel makes it an exceptional solution for modern B2C retailers who want a smooth, end-to-end commerce solution. 

Salesforce Commerce Cloud doesn’t have a large professional community, so getting support or development work done with no time can be difficult.

Examples – 

New Balance, Adidas, TATE Modern, Callaway, Brooks Brothers, Jack Wills, Clarins, Converse.

• SAP Hybris

SAP’ Hybris has multi-site, multi-language, and multi-currency features out of the box, making it the best solution for brands who have a strong international presence or are looking to expand overseas.

Strengths and weaknesses

SAP’s built-in multi-site capabilities make it an exceptional solution for brands with various renowned or international stores. 

Price of ownership is generally very huge with the SAP platforms, upgrades, with on-going development, and the licensing costs being very high compared to other platforms like Magento.

Examples –

Benefit, Mulberry, EE, Aldo, GHD, LK Bennett, Rapha, Sainsburys, Barbour, etc.

• Oracle (ATG Web Commerce)

ATG is a renowned powerful platform developed for big retailers. Its flexible architecture allows merchants to execute integrations and minimise expenses, while its multi-site functionality allows brands to manage products, categories and assets between various ecommerce stores. The license price for Oracle Web Commerce is $500,000.

Examples – John Lewis, CVS, Games Workshop, Littlewoods, Autozone, Toms, Lacoste, etc.

• IBM Websphere

IBM Websphere is one of the best choices of renowned retailers. According to Gartner, more than 60% of the platform’s clientbase consist of brands that make north of $100 million in revenue.

IBM WebSphere is a very adaptable platform . In addition to its four product editions, the software is provided in three deployment forms: on-premise, SaaS or cloud implementation. 

IBM WebSphere has great built-in features that allow merchants to run businesses across various channels.

Examples – Topman, Home Depot, IKEA, GAME, Selfridges, Debenhams, etc.

• Shopify Plus

The growth of the Shopify Plus platform has been very transparent, with lots of popular brands migrating from platforms like Magento 1 and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. 

The simplified SaaS nature of the platform provides a cleaner, more efficient way of working which is usually what results in retailers starting to choose Shopify Plus.

Examples – Kylie Cosmetics, Dr. Axe / Ancient Nutrition, (rumoured to be getting profits more than £500m through the Shopify platform), Chubbies, Victoria Beckham, Bulletproof, etc.

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Getting the information you need to make the right decision

Discussing up on eCommerce platforms is just a small move when it comes to evaluating different solutions. To take the right advice regarding what to choose, conversations with solution providers, internal stakeholders, and outside professionals must be conducted. 

If possible, try to get an actual demo of the item so you can see it in action.

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Compare and evaluate ideally with our team and solutions experts

Hopefully, by this point, you’ve gathered ample information for the solutions that you’re considering. 

It’s not always easy to get an adequate comparison, but try to get a side by side view of the various platforms when it comes to general categories such as integrations, out of the box features, customization, costs, etc.

Selecting an eCommerce solution should be teamwork. Make sure that all professionals are part of this step, and if possible, hire MagnoStack’s solutions expert in the process so you can get a complete and well-rounded suggestion regarding what platform would work best for you.

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Need help finding a company or selecting a platform?

If you’re looking for any help in selecting a platform or doing due-diligence on certain ones, MagnoStack has been working in this area for several years, and our experts are more than happy to either support the program or offer advice/guidance.

Our experts worked extensively on platform evaluation and have hands-on experience with most of the platforms. 

But, if you face any trouble in making such decisions, worry no more, for MagnoStack is right here to help you. Contact us right away!