E-commerce
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      1. EBMS Knowledge Base
      2. E-commerce

      E-commerce Overview

      Connect your website to existing business operations.

      In this article:

      Getting Started | Video Walkthrough | Features Included 

      Getting Started

      Increasingly more people are shopping on the internet and locating stores or specific product online. The E-commerce Module within EBMS allows you to start a store online using your existing EBMS inventory system.

      eCommerce Site 

      The E-commerce module of EBMS allows the user to create product lists, pictures, pricing, and details for a website, directly from the EBMS inventory system. The user reduces redundant information by only maintaining one product and price list.

      The module includes a full featured shopping cart that includes terms, shipping options, and pricing uploaded from the EBMS software. This optional EBMS module facilitates these processes:

      1. Uploading product information, customer information, and product page design from the EBMS Software.
      2. Managing an online shopping cart.
      3. Downloading and processing orders from the eCommerce website to EBMS.

      The EBMS E-commerce module gives the user the following advantages:

      • Add, remove, and control the content of your entire E-commerce website from the EBMS software. Product pricing, availability, and details are derived from the EBMS inventory database. Review Creating Listing Products on the Website for details.

      • Add entire inventory product groups in minutes. Products within the EBMS inventory catalog can easily be added or removed from the E-commerce store.  Review Creating Website Product Categories for instructions on adding product groups.

      • Product information, pricing, and availability details are synchronized with the website. Products may be removed or marked as out-of-stock based on inventory levels.

      • Reduces redundant information. The user is not required to maintain two separate product lists, because EBMS and the online inventory are linked.

      • Dynamic product information is automatically created. New product lists, customer pricing, and out of stock notation details are created directly from the information within EBMS.

      • User-specific pricing, terms, and shipping options are displayed based on the user name and password created within EBMS. A customer's price level, special pricing, terms, and shipping information are derived directly the EBMS software. The customer name and password are entered within the customer record of EBMS.  Review E-commerce Customer Groups for steps to create customer specific product listings.

      • Receive orders directly into your order entry system. E-commerce orders are synced into EBMS as a sales order.  Review Sync Web Data using the EBMS Data Synchronization Service for the technical details of download orders and uploading the catalog.  

      • Verify credit card information on-line through a common gateway. Credit card processing is integrated into the EBMS software. The card is validated online, but an optional setting will delay the debit of the card until the invoice is processed. This feature minimizes the number of credits and billing charges at the time the order is shipped.  Review Customer Portal Payment Methods for payment details.

      • Upload information such as product information, customer information, pricing, and availability. The data is synchronized between the EBMS data on the company computer to the data center that hosts the E-commerce site.

        The EBMS update procedure requires a high-speed connection to the internet since the synchronization tool is constantly copying graphics and text to the website. A digital connect of 128K upload speed or higher is required. 256K or higher is recommended. The upload process is no longer a process step that must be launched by the user. Allow a few minutes for changes to be reflected on the website. Contact an EBMS support technician for any issues regarding the synchronization tool.  

      Plan the Website and Web Pages

      Review the Planning your Website section for more details on entering product information.

      Review the Product Group Website Template Settings and Listing Products on the Website sections for details on group appearance options.

      Review the Editing Web Page Information for details on changing informational (non-product) pages.


      Manage the Shopping Cart

      Review Creating a Generic E-commerce Customer for details on general website shopping versus requiring a customer login.

      Review Shopping Cart for configuration details for the online shopping cart.

      Review E-commerce Payment Options and E-commerce Shipping Options to configure shopping cart options.

      Review E-commerce Abandoned Cart Orders for tool details on recovering abandoned carts.


      Processing Orders from the E-commerce website

      Review Displaying and Printing New Online Orders for details on viewing orders.

      Note: E-commerce and the customer portal settings may be hidden if the EBMS data synchronization tool is not configured.  Review the Sync Web Data using the EBMS Data Synchronization Service article for setup instructions and details. 

      Some options are disabled if the EBMS E-commerce tools are interfaced with a 3rd party shopping cart.  Review Integrate with Other E-commerce Solutions for more information.  

      Customer Portal

      Customer accounts can be created to identify the customer and customer information. Price levels, terms, default shipping method, saved credit cards and other settings are managed within the customer. Customer accounts can be created within EBMS or from the website.  Review the following sections for details:

      1. Online payment options: Review E-commerce Payment Options for payment methods, saved payment cards, and other details.

      2. Sales history:  Review Customer Portal Payment and Order History to view orders, payment, and reorder the same product as earlier orders.  

      3. Online user-managed accounts:  Review Web Users Create Customer Accounts for EBMS settings to configure online user-managed accounts.

      Review Customer Portal Overview for details on this convenient web access tool for customers.  

      Video Walkthrough

      Features Included

      There are three E-commerce feature sets available: Essentials, Select, and Premium.

      Essentials

      The Essentials package is designed for companies doing 500K or less in online sales. What's included:

      • Annual online sales
      • Customer portal (account management, order history, and bill pay)
      • Product catalog
      • Payment card processing
      • Data sync tool
      • Web CMS and SEO tools
      • Smart search
      • Freight calculation and shipping

      Select

      The Select package is designed for companies doing between 500K - 1M in online sales.

      Includes everything in Essentials, as well as:

      • PayPal payment processing
      • Gift cards
      • Multiple units of measure
      • New and seasonal items
      • Promotional and bracketed pricing
      • Product review
      • Product attributes and filters
      • Product accessories
      • Made-to-order and optional components
      • Serialized items
      • Maintenance and support for limited custom features
      • Quick order by uploading a .csv or excel file

      Premium

      The Premium package is designed for companies doing above 1M in online sales.

      Includes everything in Essentials and Select, as well as:

      • Quote management
      • Attached documents
      • Easy reorder page
      • Barcode scanning to add to shopping cart
      • Product application guide (year/make/model)
      • Maintenance and support for custom features
      • Multiple websites