OpSuite Fusion: Maximising operational efficiency for Omnichannel Retailers

The retail landscape has experienced a colossal shift towards omnichannel in the last 24 months as the Covid-19 pandemic saw high street retailers close for large portions of 2020 and 2021. For many bricks and mortar businesses, this necessitated a move towards an omnichannel bricks and clicks model.

Not only did online shopping become a necessity, it became a habit for consumers. Retailers who have not yet made the leap to omnichannel, may find that while the return to the high street will undoubtedly bring a welcome boost to business, it may not be as fruitful as it once was. The high street may be making a comeback, but for the ambitious retailer, eCommerce has become a necessity.

Components of Omnichannel Retail

Nowadays eCommerce websites can be relatively easy to build, even for the novice, with platforms such as WooCommerce, Shopify and Magento offering a “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) style platform with pre-built themes. With many such eCommerce sites available on a monthly subscription basis, they are an economical yet scalable solution and can grow alongside your business.

Omnichannel retail doesn’t just mean having an eCommerce website, third party marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, have seen a surge in popularity, with eBay sales up by 22% and Amazon up by an incredible 44% in 2020. These platforms offer a trusted experience for consumers, along with an element of protection against poor quality products and service. Marketplaces are an efficient way to acquire new customers online but, with fees to pay on each sale made, the most profitable strategy is to swiftly move newly acquired customers to your eCommerce website for their future purchases.

Any omnichannel strategy requires the digitisation of processes. The EPoS industry has evolved from the humble cash register to fully integrated systems including accounts, inventory management, shipping and more, not only driven by developments in technology, but also changes in legislation such as Making Tax Digital. Any retailer trying to stave off the digitisation of their business, risks falling foul of such legislation. So not only is it important operationally to embrace these developments, it’s also a legal imperative to adopt certain changes.

More than just software

OpSuite is a cloud-based retail management solution, which not only enables retailers to manage their business from anywhere in the world, but also facilitates the effective management of an ambitious omnichannel strategy. Providing powerful management reports, OpSuite gives retailers a competitive advantage, assisting informed decision making and robust business planning. Set user-level security permissions, manage stock, promotions, marketplaces, webstores and more with OpSuite’s comprehensive functionality.

Of course, the digitisation of any retail business isn’t just about selling online, there are many other aspects to business management, such as stock control and accounts to consider. OpSuite Fusion seamlessly connects OpSuite to your chosen marketplaces, eCommerce webstores and your accounting or ERP software, so there is no need to change your existing systems.

• List products across multiple platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Big Commerce and Visualsoft) at the click of a button.
• Manage stock across multiple selling locations (including your bricks and mortar premises), synchronising your inventory in real time to avoid over and underselling.
• Unify your sales reporting to allow a complete analysis of business performance.
• Manage returns and automatically update returned stock.

OpSuite and OpSuite Fusion offer the customer a seamless retail experience and make purchasing a breeze, no matter how, when or where they choose to buy.  Customer offers will keep customers coming back time and time again and combined with mobile POS, queue busting and off-site in-person payments (for example at festivals or shows) retailers can take their business anywhere.

OpSuite with OpSuite Fusion, offers retailers a true omnichannel solution. For more information on our range of products and services, speak to our Sales Team on 0800 138 0050 or get in touch to book a discovery call with our team.