Online retail comes with endless possibilities for making a sale. World-famous marketplaces, social media platforms, and various other sales channels are great examples. Combine this with different payment options, and you have an accurate picture of the environment in which today’s online sellers operate. But this abundance comes with a host of complexities at every step. With too many cogs in the online retail machine, it\u2019s easy to get overwhelmed and negatively impact your financials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, your business model should work for you, not against you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why today, we want to introduce you to a joint venture of Synder and Cin7 Core, which is tailor-made to address the challenges of multichannel ecommerce by automating it almost entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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1. What multichannel selling looks like<\/a><\/p>\n 2. What are the most common problems that the multichannel model generates?<\/a><\/p>\n 3. How do Synder and Cin7 Core solve multichannel ecommerce problems?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s first set the stage for the complexity of the multichannel model. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine two gigantic rooms partitioned by a door. A door that symbolizes a sale. On the inside, before a sale is made, there are your products, moving through a supply chain, acquiring various costs, and traveling between the suppliers and your warehouses. On the outside of this door, products are being shipped to your customers, payments and fees are made, and sales are recorded and reconciled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For you as a seller, that\u2019s a very complex journey that starts way before the customer arrives at your store and long after they receive their product. For your customers, it\u2019s just a simple process of choosing the product they like and paying for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what you need to focus on is attracting more customers, in other words, increasing sales. Every other bit that can be automated\u2014should be automated<\/em>. But often it isn\u2019t, and here\u2019s where our story begins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Multichannel online sellers face much more complex issues than other sellers in terms of managing the products, orders, sales, and accounting. Let\u2019s have a look at what these common issues are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping stock levels synchronized across multiple channels like ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, and even physical locations such as warehouses, and brick-and-mortar stores is complicated. Inaccurate stock levels<\/strong> can lead to stockouts or overselling, which can easily damage your business’s reputation with customers or decrease sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s not only the stock levels that you should account for but the costs associated with the products<\/strong> too. Without proper COGS (the direct costs of goods sold) or landed costs (the money it takes to get your products to your customers\u2019 doors) you can never really know whether your business is profitable or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In ecommerce, nothing is certain but fees. You’ll encounter them in every service you use, whether it’s for selling or managing payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Service providers automatically deduct fees from your balance, but it’s your responsibility to account for these costs in your books<\/strong>. The same is true for withheld tax, or what is also known as marketplace facilitator tax. While this type of tax is collected and remitted on your behalf by some platforms, you need to adequately record it in your books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many businesses go through the platform statements and add the fees and withheld taxes manually. It\u2019s a time-consuming and increasingly costly task, as you try to keep up with your growing business. What\u2019s more, each platform, payment processor, or marketplace has its own way of sharing this information with the users, making it challenging to gather all the necessary numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Managing order fulfillment efficiently is problematic especially when volumes are coming from multiple channels. Smooth order fulfillment has become a staple for a successful ecommerce business. There are even businesses that won the market by offering swift delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, issues that cause delays or errors in shipping<\/strong> negatively impact customer satisfaction. The same goes for insufficient tracking information<\/strong>. If customers can\u2019t reliably track the progress of their orders, including shipping, it can lead to frustration, anxiety, and even negative reviews. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And we\u2019ve all seen businesses losing money over a string of bad reviews regarding poor order fulfillment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reconciliation in ecommerce can be challenging because the money deposited into your bank account from sales isn’t your total sales revenue, but rather your net revenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Every marketplace or payment processor deducts numerous fees before sending you a payout. These costs can be directly linked to the transaction, like payment processing fees or they can be indirect, like storage or subscription fees. So understanding which numbers you need to reconcile isn\u2019t an easy task<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since ecommerce reconciliation is best done per payment method, the more payment methods you offer the easier it is for your customers to pay you but harder for you to reconcile. What\u2019s more, when orders originate in one platform and then are paid in another (a usual occurrence in ecommerce) reconciliation becomes a logistical nightmare. This complex data is usually handled by the tireless accountants and bookkeepers who comb through the statements, trying to match the numbers. But this costs you money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As your products move from your suppliers until you make a sale and record it, you want the whole process to be seamless, efficient, and accurate. These numbers are there to support you as you make business decisions. Whether you want to grow or cut costs, you need to trust your numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat multichannel selling looks like<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What are the most common problems that the multichannel model generates?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Not synchronized stock levels and COGS across multiple channels<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
No clear view of fees and withheld taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Order fulfillment mismanagement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Problematic multichannel reconciliation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do Synder and Cin7 Core solve multichannel ecommerce problems?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n