Have I got the right ecommerce infrastructure?
Often eCommerce technology conversations are focussed on the web platform, however today we need to look at the whole infrastructure of technology that supports it. This comprises systems to support:
- Payment, be it a payment gateway, credit payments, Paypal or foreign currency
- Product. The database of products and their features is often integrated with in store data.
- Hosting. The application needs performant hosting to support its many facets.
- Fulfilment. These systems can be purely linked to delivery or to more complex post order services
- Marketplaces. Often the product data set need integration with eBay or Amazon in a way that fulfils orders.
- Web tools and plug ins. These can be testimonial engines, merchandising or search tools.
- Customer service. Which people and contact points need to know about a customers order?
- In store. Are there Click and Collect, Click and Reserve, Order in store connections that have to be made?
In short the considerations are about the performance of the whole infrastructure rather than just what web platform you are on.
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