Integration is key to unified commerce

Retailers could be forgiven for thinking that unified commerce is just another name for omnichannel retail. So what exactly is the difference?

To the customer, of course, there should not be any difference at all. Call it omnichannel or call it unified commerce, the end result should be the same for the customer: a frictionless experience that allows them to interact with the retailer in the way they choose, using multiple channels and via various touchpoints.

An omnichannel retail platform such as Openbravo Commerce Cloud allows retailers to do that by connecting  the online and offline worlds so that data on products, customers and inventory are available in real time to any touchpoint.

Equally important, there has to be only one “version of the truth”. If a consumer chooses Click and Collect and then goes to her local store,  she is going to be disappointed  if she is then told the system “made a mistake” and the item is actually out of stock.

Totally integrated environment

This is where a unified commerce approach can help retailers. Unified commerce extends the omnichannel experience further by creating a single integrated environment from various front and back office systems.

These disparate systems could include payment systems, eCommerce engines, order management systems, inventory management, CRM solutions, and collaborative commerce systems that link suppliers and partners.

The key to making this integration work is to ensure that the different platforms and systems have been developed with open interfaces that facilitate the flow of information. At technical level, this is accomplished using standardized connectors that avoid the need for bespoke integration.

Fortunately, integration is one of the strong points of Openbravo Commerce Cloud and we are particularly proud to have teamed up with leading payments provider Adyen and VTEX, a specialist in collaborative commerce, to  make it easy to integrate solutions in these areas.

👉🏼To create a unified commerce environment,  Openbravo Commerce Cloud lets you leverage existing connectors or build completely new ones easier and faster thanks to the advanced integration capabilities. To find out more, visit our website.