Industry 4.0 or the 4th industrial revolution, is happening today, as we are in the middle of a transformation regarding the way we manufacture products. Things are changing due to the digitization of manufacturing. The first industrial revolution brought us mechanization through steam and water power. Since then, we have come a long way to production assembly lines running on electricity. Industry 4.0 will take what we started in the 3rd revolution and enhance it with autonomous and smart systems that are fueled by data and machine learning.
Industry 4.0
The main asset of the latest industrial revolution is – data. The revolution implies the use of data analytics, the Internet of things, and cloud computing, which all rely on data. With large companies aggressively adopting AI, the smaller players will have to be fast adopters if they want to survive in today’s cutting-edge market. Those who don’t should feel the risk of becoming obsolete.
All that, thanks to AI which feeds on data lakes – unstructured collections of data that allow these systems to make use of the data (depending on the situation) and bring actionable insights. As for e-commerce, the market brought in almost $2 trillion, and the number is expected to climb above $4 trillion by 2020. That means that it’s still gaining momentum, so e-commerce retailers (especially franchisors and multi-shop owners, because they operate with more complex data sets) will need to collect, own, and manage their data better to identify new opportunities and develop strategies to target new audiences and keep them satisfied. All of that begins with effective data management.
The Challenges of Running a Multi-Shop Store
Reporting and analytics
Inventory can get complicated when you’re selling products through multiple shops. With several websites feeding out of one inventory system, it is challenging to manage product orders, as well as keeping returns, fulfillment, drop shipping, and customer care in check.
Pricing
Products you’re selling in one country may be priced differently than in other countries, and your retail customers are not privy to certain discounts that your business partners enjoy. You need to identify your ideal customer in each market and align your prices to appeal to them.
Multiple locations
E-commerce business owners who manage websites in multiple locations (countries) often have to deal with different currencies and languages. They cannot just translate the entire site verbatim, and currencies shift throughout the day, so they go for a native multi-language and multi-currency solution.
Structuring product data
When you sell products to a variety of customers (B2B, B2C, or in countries other than yours) you need to structure product data differently. Different customers require different information.
Certain challenges can be overcome by utilizing a centralized e-commerce system. It is the most common solution that enables you to have all your shops on the map. However, what if the shops have different prices and products? What if you own shops in North America, Europe, and Australia? How can you manage the endless databases created from different websites? In the event that you end up with segregated databases, you cannot be as fast as you should in customer segmentation, targeting, communication, and personalization.
DG1 is a platform that can help you enter the Industry 4.0, just like any other major e-commerce retailer. Our software can bring you the capabilities of a business enterprise by enabling you to build many e-commerce shops and websites – all connected to your admin account. That way, you will be collecting performance and user data in one place and avoid data segregation. Get started now by clicking here.
Tags: industry 4.0, multi-shop, multiple locations, Structuring product data, centralized e-commerce system
