The challenge

Mica Hardware faced the challenge of maintaining accurate, up-to-date stock and pricing data on their online store in a dynamic retail environment.

Before implementing Stock2Shop, the Mica team had not yet launched their ecommerce offering. They needed a solution that would allow them to get online efficiently, without significantly adding to their existing operational workload.

The goals

• Maintain online product accuracy at all times: Ensure the presentation of up-to-date stock levels and pricing on the ecommerce website.
• Efficient order processing: Streamline order management processes to eradicate delays and human error when it comes to online order capture in IQ Retail.
• Enhanced customer satisfaction: Provide accurate product availability and pricing information to online customers.

The solutions

Mica partnered with Stock2Shop to implement a robust integration that put their IQ Retail ERP in control of their online store.

Automated updates of online products:

• A checkbox was designated in IQ Retail to mark which products should sync onto the website in “draft” status, where they can be enriched with marketing information before being published.
• Stock2Shop enables Mica Hardware to manage online stock and pricing data from IQ Retail, ensuring that their WooCommerce website always reflects correct inventory.
• If stock is moved out of the allocated ecommerce warehouse at the Mica DC, this reduction in inventory would reflect online, mitigating the risk of overselling.

Seamless order flow:

• Orders placed on WooCommerce automatically generate sales orders in IQ Retail in near real-time.
• Speedy order processing makes it easier to get deliveries out faster.
• Automatic order syncing means there is less chance of human error when capturing sales documents in the ERP.

The results:

• Increased efficiency: The drastic reduction in manual data entry is saving time and resources.
• Accurate inventory: Real-time synchronisation ensured accurate stock levels, minimising the chance of overselling.
• Improved customer experience: Accurate inventory means that customers are rarely disappointed by unexpected stock-outs, and automatic order sync improves the speed and accuracy of order fulfillment.

By leveraging Stock2Shop’s integration capabilities, Mica Hardware seamlessly aligned their online store with the pricing and stock data reflected in IQ Retail. This, combined with order automation, helped them achieve operational efficiency and improve customer satisfaction.