Custom Magento development services for manufacturing Industry

Are you still stuck in the past, relying on outdated methods like phone or email orders and paper catalogues?

 If, like many other manufacturers, you're still using these methods and missing out on numerous business opportunities, it might be time to embrace new technologies and stay competitive in the digital age.

Magento is a flexible and scalable commerce platform that can revolutionise the way you connect with customers and drive sales. It stands out as a powerful ecommerce solution for manufacturing due to its adaptability and robust feature set. 

Perhaps a lesser-known fact is that Magento is used by major brands such as Nestle, Ford, Nike, and Samsung.

To take full advantage of Magento's potential, custom Magento development services are often necessary. 

Its open-source nature allows for extensive customization, perfectly aligning with unique business requirements. We're here to help you set up your online store, and with the Magento ecommerce platform, getting started can be easier than you think.

Whether you need a new ecommerce store, an update to your existing platform, or help with migration, our ecommerce cost calculator can give you insights and guide you toward the right solution for your business. Feel free to reach out to us for any questions or additional support!

Now that you're convinced that e-commerce is the logical next step for your manufacturing business, there are a few more things to consider. It's crucial to ensure that your existing software can be seamlessly integrated. 

If you don't connect your Magento and ERP systems - and therefore your shop floor operations and customer interactions - you risk making costly mistakes due to human errors.

Imagine a salesperson incorrectly transferring order details from Magento to the ERP system, or your online store not reflecting accurate stock levels because Magento isn't linked to your inventory data. 

To avoid these problems, integrating ecommerce with your ERP system is essential and should be a top priority as you begin planning your Magento implementation.

Several of our manufacturing customers, including Arvid Nilsson, have inquired about integrating their Magento website with ERP and PIM systems. However, such integrations typically involve customization and sometimes operational changes to align the unique functionalities of these systems.

But before we dive into the complexities of integrating Magento with ERP and PIM systems, let’s explore its core capabilities. Understanding why Magento is a popular choice for manufacturers is crucial to seeing how it can effectively work with your existing systems.

Effectively managing vast product, customer, and order data is crucial in manufacturing, and Magento excels in this area. Seamless integration with ERP and PIM systems optimises operations and provides valuable insights. 

For example, when PIM and Magento have real-time updates, everything is connected, allowing work to be done faster and eliminating the need to operate in multiple systems. This means customer data is consistently updated as customers are created in Magento from ERP, while SKU-based product mapping streamlines inventory management. 

Personalised pricing and promotions are handled in real time, and orders are instantly synced with ERP. Another key advantage of Magento is scalability. It accommodates businesses of all sizes without compromising performance.

When it comes to B2B-specific needs, we get excited about all of Magento's features. We could write chapters on this, but here are our top picks: customer segmentation, tiered pricing, and approval workflows. 

As a manufacturer, you'd be surprised by the possibilities of these features that help you create tailored experiences for different customer groups and maintain control over the purchasing process. Unlike custom-built solutions that can become outdated, Magento follows industry standards and best practices, making it easier to maintain and evolve over time.

As a large system maintained by Adobe, Magento gets regular updates with each new version, which improves its features and performance. In contrast, custom solutions not only require audits but also end up costing more due to the additional development hours needed.

However, integrating e-commerce platforms into complex manufacturing environments presents significant challenges. Concerns about project scope, cost, and resource allocation often hinder progress. While it’s tempting to stick with what works, resisting change could mean you miss out on valuable opportunities for growth and efficiency.

Effective online store management requires seamless integration between your eCommerce platform, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, and Product Information Management (PIM) solution. Unfortunately, these systems often operate in silos, requiring manual data entry in multiple places, leading to inefficiencies, data inconsistencies, and delayed time-to-market. 

To overcome these obstacles, a strategic approach is essential. We’ve navigated this process multiple times, and our goal is not just to spend your money on a solution that works, but to ensure it is cost-effective. That’s why we always implement an MVP to validate the concept and ensure it meets your needs efficiently. You can read more about our MVP approach here. 

By implementing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) strategy and breaking down the integration process into manageable phases, manufacturers can achieve greater efficiency, accuracy, and scalability while delivering immediate value. 

Let's dig into the specific challenges manufacturers face when integrating e-commerce platforms like Magento with PIM and ERP systems.

The world of e-commerce is a complex ecosystem, where the smooth operation of various systems is crucial for success. 

At the heart of this ecosystem is Product Information Management (PIM), a software solution designed to improve the accuracy and consistency of product data and simplify the process of updating and distributing that data through various channels.

If your integration isn't seamless, your day-to-day process might involve manually transferring product information, entering prices and descriptions across multiple systems, and essentially doing the same job twice. 

This approach is time-consuming and prone to errors, especially in the fast-paced world of e-commerce where product information frequently changes.

A similar situation was faced by Arvid Nilsson. They needed a better way to manage product information, so they opted for a modern PIM solution that could integrate with their existing Magento platform. By connecting these systems, product information can be instantly updated across all sales channels, including the online store, marketplaces, and other platforms.

This integration brought significant improvements: a custom module was developed to automatically recognize and remap new product attributes in Magento, ensuring data accuracy and reliability. 

Orders placed in Magento are instantly synced with the ERP system, enabling real-time order management and reducing delays. 

Additionally, we at Zendev managed the integration process, ensuring a smooth integration process and allowing Arvid Nilsson to concentrate on sales and business operations rather than technical challenges.

If you’re considering a PIM system after reading this, we suggest going with one that has pre-built Magento integrations. This can help make the setup smoother and more efficient. Our expertise in B2B ecommerce development allows us to create tailored solutions that address the specific needs of manufacturing businesses.

Below, we will describe in detail how we solved this problem and implemented a PIM solution that optimised our client’s business processes. 

When we started the Magento PIM integration project for Arvid Nilsson, we quickly realised the scale of the challenge. 

There were about 40.000 products of complicated categorization. The first task was the migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2, after which our cooperation continued in the direction of integrating their PIM with Magento. 

Data mapping and attribute management

The integration of Arvid Nilsson's PIM system with the Magento platform faced numerous challenges, primarily due to the lack of clearly defined processes and insufficient communication between all parties involved.

The process of aligning product attributes between the PIM and Magento was complex, especially given the dynamic nature of product information. While Arvid Nilsson's previous PIM system could send regular events, it lacked the necessary integration to trigger automatic system responses upon changes.

There was a need for further development to enable automatic recognition of changes in product data. 

Through API mapping, our team developed a module that automatically recognizes new product attributes and adds them to the Magento system, thus ensuring complete data synchronization.

Now any changes to product information are immediately reflected in the system, ensuring that information is always accurate and up-to-date, thanks to the real-time capabilities of their PIM C4 system.

According to our experience, a dedicated project lead is crucial for outlining the precise steps and identifying key elements required for a successful integration with Magento.

A key decision point in your case may be whether to adopt a third-party PIM or leverage Magento's built-in PIM capabilities. The optimal choice depends largely on the product catalog size and complexity. For smaller catalogs, Magento's PIM might suffice, but for extensive catalogs, a dedicated PIM often proves more effective. 

The integration method also played a crucial role. PIM systems can be divided into two basic categories according to the method of data synchronization: 

1. PIM systems with real-time synchronization

These systems ensure instant synchronization of data between PIM and other related systems, such as a web store (eg. Magento). This means that every change made in PIM, whether it is adding a new product, updating the price or changing the image, is immediately reflected on the online store.

2. PIM systems with daily synchronization

These systems synchronize data between PIM and other systems once a day, at a specific time. This means that changes made during the day will not be visible on the online store until the next synchronization.

Real-time synchronization offers instant updates, a better user experience and more flexibility, but requires more resources. Daily synchronization is simpler and more economical, but the data is not always the latest.

Depending on your needs, we can implement both options and provide additional solutions or detailed explanations as required. Feel free to reach out to us, either over a cup of coffee if you’re near Gothenburg or through an online meeting.

Chances are, you use a major eCommerce system like Magento, Shopify, or BigCommerce to manage your sales and customer information. You have customer data, orders and other sales information in one place.

Meanwhile, you probably use an ERP system to record internal information, like inventory, accounting, and other core business functions. An ERP system, such as SAP or Monitor (popular in Sweden), represents the central point of business process management, including inventory, order, customer and financial management. 

The thing is, that these 2 systems usually have overlapping data. And different information on different platforms can lead to missed orders, incorrect shipping information, inaccurate pricing, outdated inventory, and other problems.

This is where ERP-eCommerce integration becomes essential. By connecting it to your eCommerce platform, you create a powerful system where product information, customer data, and orders flow seamlessly.

Updating existing systems can be costly and disruptive, often discouraging entrepreneurs from integrating their transactional platform with an ERP. Yet, the benefits in terms of efficiency and customer satisfaction make the investment worthwhile.

Arvid's PIM integration project with Magento opened the door to discuss another key aspect of e-commerce: Magento ERP integration. 

Essentially, Magento ERP integration can help businesses:

• Prevent out of stock issues with real-time inventory updates.
• Enable personalized offers and recommendations based on customer data.
• Automate order processing and reduce manual errors.

Customer management becomes centralized within the ERP, with customer creation, segmentation based on customer ID, and personalized pricing strategies managed from there. Product information is linked between the two systems through unique identifiers such as SKUs, ensuring consistent data on inventory levels, pricing, and product attributes.

Picture this: your pricing adjusts in real time based on customer segments, order quantities, and active promotions. Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it? But with ERP integration, it becomes a reality. Magento will show accurate stock levels from your ERP, preventing out-of-stock problems. 

Plus, order processing is automated, with Magento sending order details to the ERP for fulfillment, invoicing, and shipping. This integration not only improves efficiency and increases customer satisfaction, but also takes your operations to the next level.

In addition to these core ERP integration benefits, we developed a custom customer hierarchy solution specifically tailored to Arvid Nilsson's business needs. The main person in the hierarchy has the greatest authority, while subordinates have defined permissions. This enables granular control over user activities and spending. This solution was not available in Magento and was fully adapted to the specific needs of our client.

By now, you realize that the benefits of ERP integration are immense. It establishes a single source of truth for product, customer, and order information, minimizing errors and ensuring customer satisfaction. Automation of manual tasks like data entry saves time and reduces human error. Data accuracy is enhanced, leading to better inventory management and reduced costs.

Each product has unique details like attributes and variations that must align with your ERP system. Given the diversity of ERP systems, understanding the specifics of yours is crucial for a successful integration. Additionally, there are many other factors to consider.

Should information flow between both systems or only in one direction? How often should data be updated – hourly, daily, or in real-time? Equally important is deciding what data to share, such as customer information, prices or inventory levels. 

For this reason, aligning your business goals, ERP system specifics, and integration scope is crucial for a successful implementation. By considering factors like data flow, update frequency, and shared information, you can maximize the return on your investment.

It's no secret that the manufacturing industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by a variety of technological innovations. To stay competitive, you need to optimize operations and improve efficiency.

We can help you do just that. Our certified Magento developers create custom eCommerce solutions for manufacturing businesses. We have a proven track record of meeting the unique needs of B2B clients. If you're interested, you can explore further our customer cases here.

After considering the benefits of eCommerce integration with third-party systems, it's natural to wonder about the complexity and investment required. You may think it takes too much time, money and effort? 

We understand your concerns and are here to make the process as smooth as possible. Through our established processes and pre-built modules, we can significantly speed up development time compared to starting from scratch. 

This means we don’t have to develop from scratch but simply adjust the modules to fit your needs, which takes less time and resources. Without this specialized knowledge and resources, the integration process could take two to three times longer. 

Not only will we take care of the technical implementation, but we will also support you in all other aspects, from design and user experience to marketing and search engine optimization. With us, you will have a reliable partner who will guide you through the entire process, step by step.

While your competitors may be struggling with outdated systems, you can stay ahead by working with us.

We handle the technical details, allowing you to focus on growing your business. And most importantly, you will have our constant support along the way. Whether it's emergency or routine maintenance, we're here to help.

Ready to take the next step? 

Contact us today to discuss your specific needs and explore how we can help you achieve your goals.