Shortlist UK’s Best ERP for Ecommerce Businesses

What Is ERP for Ecommerce?

ERP for ecommerce is an enterprise resource planning system suited to ecommerce brands that sell online direct-to-consumer. It integrates your ecommerce platform with ERP Software aligns online sales data, like customer information and stock management, with financial, operational, and logistical data to support brand and customer growth.

An ERP system connects your ecommerce platform (Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and others) with core business functions like inventory management, customer service, procurement, and supply chain.

Companies consider implementing ecommerce ERP as customer bases grow and operations become more complex, which results in inventory problems, fulfilment bottlenecks, and siloed customer data. Successful deployment can:

• Increase customer retention
• Generate greater customer satisfaction (CSAT) levels
• Support higher sales volumes across multiple channels
• Increase brand revenue

Best ERP Systems for Ecommerce Businesses

5 Reasons Brands Choose ERP for Ecommerce Operations

1. Gain Real-Time Visibility From Cart to Cash

63% of businesses consider real-time data access the most critical benefit of implementing ERP for ecommerce functions. By syncing order, inventory, customer, and financial data, brands eliminate data silos and make faster, more informed decisions. Before ERP integration, an ecommerce operation looks like this:

1. Orders in Shopify
2. Inventory in spreadsheets or WMS
3. Financials in QuickBooks
4. Procurement tracked in emails

Instead, ERP ecommerce integration brings all this together for one source of truth.

2. Automate Complex Shopping Workflows

Manual tasks drain time and increase the risk of human error. For brands, ecommerce ERP systems automate:

• Order routing and fulfilment
• Stock level triggers and replenishment
• Customer communications like dispatch notifications
• Invoice and payment reconciliation

This results in fewer order errors, faster shipping, and reduced operational overhead.

3. Unify Orders & Fulfilment for All Sales Channels

Ecommerce ERP allows brands to process retail, wholesale, B2B, and dropship orders from a single platform. It also improves delivery accuracy with real-time order tracking and estimated delivery dates, simplifying post-purchase experiences.

4. Enhance Customer Experience and Retention

Customer data across orders, returns, and support is unified, making it easier to:

• Handle service requests efficiently
• Track orders and returns
• Personalise offers and communications

This leads to higher conversion rates, more returning customers, and better overall satisfaction.

5. Drive Customer Growth and Online Scalability

Ultimately, the use of ERP for ecommerce enables brands to operate smarter, not harder. Integrated systems help scale with increasing order volumes while reducing manual effort, boosting sales and revenue, and supporting stock optimisation and demand forecasting.

Core ERP Features For Ecommerce Businesses

Procurement/Manufacturing

Automate purchase orders based on inventory thresholds and track supplier pricing and lead times. ERPs manage Bills of Materials for manufacturing and support production scheduling aligned with raw material availability. They also offer supplier performance analytics, which enables efficient procurement, accurate planning, and better supplier management.

Inventory Management

ERP systems provide real-time inventory data across warehouses, stores, and sales channels. They automate stock alerts and reordering, track items by batch, lot, or serial number, and generate reports on stock valuation and turnover.

Product and Catalogue Management

Centralised control of product data including descriptions, variants, and pricing. Ecommerce ERP systems multi-channel product syndication and store digital assets like images and spec sheets. Custom pricing can be set per channel or customer type.

Ecommerce Platform Optimisation

ERP systems enable the real-time synchronisation of inventory, pricing, and orders with ecommerce platforms. They support omnichannel data visibility, automate the publishing of product updates to online stores, and integrate with CMS platforms, marketplaces, or point-of-sale systems.

Customer Acquisition

Support lead tracking and segmentation, linking campaign performance directly to order data. Enable personalised offers based on purchase history and provide abandoned cart insights when integrated with the eCommerce store.

Sales and Order Management

Automatically generate sales orders from your ecommerce platform and support multi-currency, multi-channel pricing. ERP for ecommerce provides tools for order tracking, holds, and approvals, manage discounts, coupon codes, bundle pricing, and handle credit limits and payment terms.

Order Fulfillment and Shipping (+ Returns)

ERP ecommerce systems manage pick, pack, and ship workflows. They integrate with carriers to provide real-time shipping rates and tracking. They automate the generation of shipping labels and documents, handle returns, and track key fulfilment KPIs such as time to ship, order accuracy, and delivery performance.

Finance and Reporting

Real-time profit and loss statements, cash flow insights, and balance sheets. Systems automate invoice generation from ecommerce orders, reconcile payments and fees from providers like Stripe or PayPal, ensure tax compliance across VAT and cross-border rules, and offer custom dashboards by product, sales channel, or region.

Customer Service

Centralise customer records, including orders, returns, and communications. Systems support self-service through customer portals, manage support cases or tickets, and track return statuses in real time. Integrate with loyalty programmes to enhance customer engagement and post-purchase experiences.

How ERP Systems Compare to Standalone Ecommerce Platforms

How to Integrate Ecommerce Platforms With ERP

ERP ecommerce integration connect your ecommerce platform and online store with your ERP system. This enables data to flow seamlessly between sales, inventory, finance, and fulfilment.

As an example, to integrate Shopify with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central via a native integration, you would follow these six steps:

1. Install the Shopify connector app from within Dynamics 365 Business Central.
2. Configure the connection by entering your store credentials and setting permissions.
3. Map key data entities such as products, inventory levels, customers, and orders between the two systems.
4. Set up automatic synchronisation rules (e.g., sync inventory every hour, push new orders in real time).
5. Test the data flow by placing an order and confirming it appears in Business Central with accurate line items, tax, and customer details.
6. Review and adjust settings based on business logic, such as assigning warehouses, tax codes, or payment terms.

The example above is seamless due to the use of a native integration connector. Native integration means most of the heavy lifting – authentication, data mapping, and error handling – is built into the ERP system. This reduces the need for third-party tools or custom development.

Risks of ERP Ecommerce Integration

While ERP for ecommerce delivers huge operational gains, it comes with notable risks that brands must manage carefully.

• Integration complexity: especially if your ERP lacks a native connector for platforms like Shopify or Magento. Without a ready-made integration (and native connector), brands face costly and time-consuming custom builds involving APIs, middleware, or third-party tools.
• Data migration: Ecommerce businesses manage vast volumes of product, customer, and transaction data across multiple systems. Migrating this data into an ERP can lead to errors, data loss, or incorrect mapping, which can disrupt operations and customer experience. Ensure to review and clean your data before implementation.
• Compatibility issues: Legacy ERP systems and modern cloud-based ecommerce platforms can create bottlenecks, particularly around synchronised pricing, inventory, and fulfilment data.
• Data and customer security: The recent Marks & Spencer (M&S) data breach, where personal data was inadvertently exposed during a system integration, highlights the consequence of poorly managed data handling during rollouts.

Ecommerce ERP FAQs

How Much Does an Ecommerce ERP System Cost?

Cloud-based ERP ecommerce systems range from £50 to £500 per month per user, while more customised enterprise solutions can exceed £150,000 per year. These prices vary depending on required features, number of users, platform integrations, implementation complexities, training, and more.

What Ecommerce Businesses Are Best Suited For Implementing ERP?

ERP Software is most suitable for companies with high sales volumes that operate across multiple channels with international exposure. While smaller online retailers benefit from ecommerce ERP systems, they can manage their operations on ecommerce platforms.

Can ERP Systems Integrate Directly With Ecommerce Platforms Like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento?

Yes, leading ERP solutions provide pre-built connectors and APIs to link directly to ecommerce platforms.

What Are the Types of ERP Ecommerce Integration Methods?

• Point-to-point: A direct link between systems, suitable for small-scale setups.
• Pre-built connectors: Ready-made apps that sync popular platforms like Shopify with ERPs such as NetSuite or Dynamics 365.
• Add-ons: ERP extensions designed for ecommerce use cases.
• Middleware/iPaaS (e.g. Celigo, Patchworks): Centralised platforms that manage data between multiple systems.
• Custom-built integrations: Tailored solutions using APIs or scripts.
• Native integrations: Built-in features provided by the ERP or ecommerce platform.

What Online Sellers Benefit Most From ERP Ecommerce Integration?

ERP ecommerce integration is best suited for brands with complex operations, multi-channel sales, and high-volume order processing. This makes it essential for:

• Brands selling D2C
• Brands selling on multiple channels (D2C, Amazon, eBay, etc.)
• Wholesalers and B2B distributors
• Dropshipping marketers
• Manufacturers selling D2C
• Brands selling internationally