It took less than four years for Richmond, BC-based Dr. Battery to become the country’s largest aftermarket reseller of batteries and power supplies for digital and electronic devices.
One part of this success is that everything, from order receipt and processing to shipping, is managed online. It’s a feat that took a lot of back end integration to accomplish, says chief financial officer Fan Chun.
“We’re a very lean company that can do amazing stuff,” Chun says. “Everything is integrated. There’s no rekeying. Orders flow through our website to our system which accurately reflects our inventory levels, and then moves seamlessly to our courier system to generate labels and tracking numbers.”
A big part of the company’s distribution strategy has been working with supplier partners in Asia, Chun explains. All inbound shipments from Asia make their way to Dr. Battery’s central warehousing facility, which in turns tests, packages and ships them to customers. For outbound purposes, it works with multiple suppliers depending on the destination.
In order to keep the ecommerce processes moving, Chun says it was essential to have an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system that could be fully integrated with web ordering, inventory and shipping. “Even some larger and more sophisticated retail customers have tied their web ordering directly into our system,” he explains.
In fact with the online model the company has developed, orders can be submitted, received, picked and packed and ready for shipment in as little as 30 seconds. It’s now looking to replicate its logistics model in Hong Kong for expansion into the Indian and Australian markets.
Dr. Battery’s integration skills may be an exception rather than the rule for small to medium sized ecommerce businesses. But there are definitely integration options companies can consider says Derek Monroe, a principal with proVision, a Toronto-based software developer and integrator of warehouse management and transportation management solutions.
“A lot depends on the size of the company and the internal systems they have. Some are large enough to create their own web shopping site and fully integrate that with other systems such as financial, order processing, warehouse management, accounts payable and shipping.”
Companies that aren’t large enough can try creating a website of their own and feeding sales and pricing information through their back end system. “That’s assuming however they have their own little ERP system that tracks revenues, order volumes, etc.,” he says
A better choice may be outsourcing the integration work to a third party. “The benefit of integrating your ecommerce processes is that you can eliminate the need for manual intervention, reduce errors, and save money,” Monroe says.
As technology evolves, there are a growing number of outsourcing options and pricing models available, he adds. “It all depends on how your supply chain was set up in the first place. You could have online orders go to your company which in turn informs the warehouse system to pick and ship it. Or orders can go directly to the warehouse. In some cases you only need to handle your production and sales, and everything else is done for you. It can be very simple or very complex depending on how many entities need to work together.”
