What is a Marketplace?

A Marketplace is a multivendor platform where retailers can come together to sell their products or services to a curated customer base. Some examples of a marketplace are eBay, Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, Mercado Livre, etc.

Marketplace Definition at eCRM 

• There are three platforms in eManage CRM that are considered Marketplace, these are Shopify, Walmart, and Amazon.
• These Marketplaces can be integrated with eManage CRM using the eOne app.
• Through this integration, the sales/orders coming from one of these platforms are imported into CRM, in order to be fulfilled.
  Thus, eManage CRM is used to: provide products inventory for the three platforms (Amazon, Walmart, and Shopify) manage order fulfilment coming from one of the three platforms (Amazon, Walmart, and Shopify).

Which is the goal behind the Marketplace Management feature?

Marketplaces were designed with one focus in mind:

1. To bring to final customers a better insight into the offer they are about to purchase at Walmart/Amazon/Shopify by providing those customers with stock/inventory quantity information at hand, displaying them on the user interface page.
2. Also, it makes it possible to determine whether the fulfilment will be shipped out from one or more warehouses registered inside eCRM.

The eOne app, which is the link between eCRM and Walmart, Amazon, and Shopify, brings orders and their information via API to our system by registering them in it as well as using this data to display at the customer’s page interface the available stock of the item in question in real life.

What’s on the Dashboard page

On the Dashboard page is displayed a summary of the Marketplaces details, as per the below example:

Where the Dashboard section is located?

1. Log into CRM and go to the left-side menu
2. Scroll down and click on Marketplace Management
3. And then on Dashboard.

What is the Marketplaces section about?

In the Marketplaces section, users can set up, for each marketplace (Amazon, Walmart or Shopify), an alert which is triggered every time there are orders in backorder status. Orders with fulfilment status and order status in backorder mean that they have been rejected because of insufficient stock quantity, system failure, etc. Therefore, these alerts can help users to spot any order in this status and check why the fulfilment has been rejected.

Where the Marketplaces section is located?

1. Log into CRM and go to the left-side menu
2. Scroll down and click on Marketplace Management
3. And then on Marketplaces.

How to set Backorders alerts in the Marketplaces section

1. On the Marketplaces page, click on the Settings button

2. From the Marketplace Settings tab, switch to ON the toggle Backorder alert and if needed add the number of minutes that the system should delay sending the order for fulfillment.

3. Once done, click on the Save button

The reason behind the Shipping Delay field is because, by default, the system sends every 15 minutes all new orders to be fulfilled. By setting this field, the system will delay the amount of minutes configured by the user, to send new orders to the Warehouse.

If there is a particular marketplace that requires a specific timeframe within which customers can cancel orders, delaying the fulfillment will help avoid issues.

What is the Marketplace Map section about?

The Marketplace Map section enables users to map all CRM fulfillment chains such as the warehouse, shipping methods, couriers, etc. for each marketplace (Walmart, Amazon and Shopify).

Where the Marketplace Map section is located?

1. Log into CRM and go to the left-side menu
2. Scroll down and click on Marketplace Management
3. And then on Marketplace Map.

How to map a Marketplace

To start setting up the Marketplace, please follow the below instructions.

1. Installation of the eOne app

The eOne app has to be installed in Amazon, Walmart, and Shopify to create the connection between these platforms and an instance of eManage CRM.

For more information about what is the eOne app, please refer to the below Helpdesk documentation: eOne

A crucial point during the installation of the eOne app is that products have to be selected and uploaded on the app so the eOne will constantly sync, between the Walmart / Shopify / Amazon and the eManage CRM instance:

1. Information about the product(s) inventory
2. The sales/ orders made through one of the above three platforms will be imported into CRM and fulfilled using the Marketplace feature.

2. Select the Marketplace

1. Select a Marketplace from the drop-down menu as per the below example:

2.Select the Warehouse(s)

Pick an option from the drop-down menu that provides all warehouses configured and available in CRM:

3. Configure the fulfilment chain of the selected warehouse

To configure the shipping methods, shipping modes and couriers used by the marketplace should be the same as the ones available on each platform (Amazon, Shopify and Walmart).

For example, Amazon provides documentation explaining which ones are the Shipping Methods they offer to their customers (see below example taken from Amazon MSW Documentation)

It is also important to highlight that in CRM, each warehouse, has its own catalogue of shipping methods and the names and type of those shipping methods may vary according to the Warehouse rules. These rules are set at the Warehouse level, for each one of them in CRM ( see the below example)

For instance, offering a delivery service of 2 business days can be called Expedite in one Warehouse and Express in another one, even though they refer to the same shipping method.

Moreover, it should be stressed that if users don’t set/map the Marketplace shipping methods with each warehouse shipping method, CRM will use the default shipping method that has been configured for the Warehouse on the Warehouse setting page.

Being said that, to correctly match the Amazon, Shopify, or Walmart shipping methods with the correct one in each Warehouse, it was implemented a feature in the UI, with which users can easily make those changes directly on the CRM Marketplace page.

In the next few topics are listed the steps to configure the shipping methods, shipping modes and couriers for the marketplace.

3.1 Set up the Marketplace Carriers

1. Click on the + Marketplace Carriers button
2. On the Marketplace Carriers tab type the courier name in the Marketplace Carrier field
3. Click on the Save button

3.2 Set up the Shipping Mode

1. Click on the + Shipping Modes button
2. On the Marketplace Carriers tab type the courier name in the Marketplace Shipping Modes field
3. Click on the Save button

3.3 Set up the Shipping Method

1. Click on the + Shipping Methods button
2. On the Marketplace Carriers tab type the courier name in the Marketplace Carrier field
3. Click on the Save button

3.4 The + New Map button

Once all the above options have been configured, click on the + New Map button to confirm all choices made.

The Buffer Quantity button

The Buffer Quantity is an amount of the stock reserved, at the Warehouse, to guarantee the fulfilment of orders coming from the Marketplaces.

To set up the buffer quantity in CRM, just follow the below steps:

1. By clicking on the Buffer Quantity button, users can set up for the whole warehouse a default buffer quantity for the specific marketplace
2. From the tab type the buffer quantity
3. Click on the Save button

The Mapping shipping methods Marketplace x Warehouse button

By clicking on the Mapping shipping methods Marketplace x Warehouse button

users can check what shipping methods have been configured for each warehouse used in the marketplace (see the below example)

How to Edit a Marketplace

1. Select the Marketplace and the Warehouse
2. To edit the Marketplace Carriers or the Shipping Mode, or the Shipping Method just follow the below steps.

Edit the Marketplace Carriers

1. Click on the + Marketplace Carriers button
2. On the tab click on the Edit button and then made the changes
3. Make the updates by using the tolls at the top of the tab
4. Click on the Save button

Edit the Shipping Mode

1. Click on the + Shipping Modes button
2. On the tab click on the Edit button and then made the changes
3. Make the updates by using the tolls at the top of the tab
4. Click on the Save button

Edit the Shipping Method

1. Click on the + Shipping Methods button
2. On the tab click on the Edit button and then made the changes
3. Make the updates by using the tolls at the top of the tab
4. Click on the Save button

How to enable orders fulfilment in the Marketplace of eCRM

To activate the order fulfilment of a warehouse in the Marketplace just turn ON the toggle Order Fulfillment

How to enable the Inventory sync between the eCRM and the Marketplace

To enable the inventory synchronization between CRM and the marketplace, just turn ON the toggle Inventory Sync

This synchronization between the Warehouses in eManage CRM and one Marketplace is possible thanks to the eOne app, which is the bridge that connects the two platforms, CRM and Walmart, Amazon or Shopify.

Please note that even if the Warehouse has been set as active in the Marketplace, but in its Page Settings it’s not - no inventory will be synced in that case

How the Inventory is calculated

The formula to calculate the inventory for one of the Marketplaces is based on the product inventory available at the Warehouse, and the result of the below rule:

The Marketplace Stock Available:

[(Product Quantity Available) - (The Buffer Quantity) - (The Quantity Reserved for Prepaid Orders) + (The Product Leaving - The Products Arriving)]

For example:

• The product 30319 is sold in Walmart Marketplace
• In the Marketplace section, in CRM, a Warehouse has been activated to be fulfilled orders coming from Walmart

• On the Products section, in the Warehouse Settings page the user can check the stock availability of the products fulfilled by the Warehouse (the Product Quantity Available and the Buffer Quantity):

• below this table, it can be verified the number of products that are arriving:

• and the ones that are already been packed so they can be shipped:

Therefore, by filling the formula with the above stock data, the system calculated and provide the Live Inventory Total Amount on the Marketplace.

The Marketplace has been fully configured

Once the marketplace has been configured in the Marketplace Map section, the system will process as described in the below points.

• The orders coming from the selected marketplace to eCRM will be fulfilled by the warehouse you have selected and activated from it;
• In case two or more warehouses have been chosen, warehouse priority and proximity delivering rules will be applied. In other words, the system will follow the rules already set as default for each Warehouse in eCRM;
• The live inventory of the selected warehouses will be displayed on the page where customers are about to acquire their items from, just like you can see at Amazon for example (see the image example below):

The live inventory will be displayed on the landing page, but the warehouse name where the item comes from won’t.

• Furthermore, when customers place orders on one of the Marketplaces (Amazon, Shopify, or Walmart), the sale/order is automatically synchronized to eManage CRM and sent to be fulfilled in one of the warehouses included in the Marketplace in CRM.

The Marketplace (Amazon, Shopify, or Walmart) orders in eManage CRM

Orders coming from one of these marketplaces (Amazon, Shopify, or Walmart) are at hand in CRM by using the Order section and typing, for instance, the order number

and accessing the order page with all order details.

These orders are easily detectable because they are flagged on the top of the order page with the marketplace logo and on the comment box, under the order details, there is a note informing CRM users where the order was placed (see below example)

Once the order has been fulfilled by one of CRM Warehouses, the fulfillment status, and tracking information are sent back to the marketplace (Amazon, Shopify, or Walmart), which informs the customer by sending a notification email with all the details.

What is the Tracking Number Business Delay section about?

On the Tracking Number Business Delay section, the user can check how many orders have been sent, but the customer is still waiting for the tracking number.

Orders have to be filtered by:

• Marketplace
• Business (day of) Delay
• Warehouses (see below example)

Where is it located?

1. Log into CRM, go to the left side menu
2. Click on Marketplace Management
3. Then click on Tracking Number Business Delay.

How the Tracking Number Business Delay section works

1. Select the Marketplace from the drop-down menu
2. Add the number of Business days. By default, the Business Delay field is already set to 1.
3. Select the warehouse that you specifically would like to check

If no Warehouse is selected, the system will pull a list of all warehouses of the chosen Marketplace that have orders with XX Business days of delay in sending this information to customers

On the table, the user can easily spot the following details:

• Warehouse: the name of the warehouse, by clicking on it, the user is redirected to the warehouse settings page
• Quantity Business Delay Days: the number of business days of delays to provide the tracking number to the customer
• Marketplace: the name of the marketplace, where the sale was made
• Quantity: the number of orders coming from such marketplace and with the XX Business Days of delay
• Is Active: showing f the warehouse is an active one
• Actions: in this column, users have the View Details (eye) button

4. From the list provided, click on the View Details (eye) button on the right side of the page

5. The Pending Fulfillments tab pops up and displays the orders and their fulfilment details

such as:

• Email: the customer’s email address
• Package Shipping Reference
• Sent Date: the day and time that the warehouse has shipped the parcel.
• Warehouse Order Id
• Package Shipping reference
• Shipping Reference.

What does it mean for an order to have a Tracking Number Delay?

An order that has a Tracking Number delay means that the warehouse has packed and shipped the order, but the customer hasn’t received yet the notification email with the tracking number details.

1. While checking how many marketplace orders are in this status, the user can click on the order number and open an order page:
2. On the order page, the user can verify the tracking number delay by going to the right side of the page and clicking on Products & Shipping History
3. From the Shipping History, the user can see that the product has been sent, but the tracking number is not yet available for both: CRM UI and the customer

What is the Back Orders section (Marketplace) about?

On the Back Orders section, the user can check how many marketplace orders are in Backorder status.

Where is it located?

1. Log into CRM, go to the left side menu
2. Click on Marketplace Management
3. Then click on Back Orders.

How the Back Orders section (Marketplace) works

1. Select the Marketplace from the drop-down menu
2. The system will pull information about all orders in Backorder status, of the marketplace that was picked

On the table, the user can easily spot the following details:

• Marketplace: the name of the marketplace where the order was placed.
• Quantity Business Delay Days: the number of business days of delays in which the orders are in Backorders status
• Quantity: the number of orders coming from such marketplace and with the XX Business Days of delay due to the fact they are in Backorders status
• Actions: in this column, users have the View Details (eye) button

3. Click on the View Details (eye) button on the right side of the page

4. The Backorders details tab pops up and displays the orders and their details,

such as:

• Order Id: this is the order number and by clicking on it, the user is redirected to the order page itself.
• Email: the customer’s email address
• Order create date: the day and time that the order was created
• Shipping Reference.

What does it mean for an order to be in Backorder status

An order is in Backorder status, when:

1. The customer places the order and the order is confirmed and registered in CRM
2. Soon after, the order is sent to the warehouse to be fulfilled, but the warehouse doesn’t have the product in stock, so the order from Shipping is going to Backorder status.
3. The order stays in Backorder until the product gets back in stock and the warehouse can fulfil the order.

To check this info, the user can click on the order number

and open an order page and at the top of the order page, the status of the order is displayed (see below example):