As online stores become more polarized, e-commerce and marketplace partners, also known as “sellers,” are looking for ways to innovate and optimize customer service. Among the options on the market are HUB platforms and ERP systems.
According to a survey by Loures, 7.3 million people shopped online for the first time in 2020.
Sales grew 47%, with revenue of R$ 38 billion. According to the same survey, the segment posted its strongest growth in 20 years.
There is no denying that online shopping will remain a trend, as 93.4% of Brazilians plan to buy something online in the coming months.
With this kind of reach, small stores have the opportunity to showcase their products on Brazil's largest marketplaces and grow their business.
In this landscape, integration platforms play a key role in helping these entrepreneurs deliver great customer service. So what are the differences between a HUB and an ERP, and which should you adopt?
To answer these questions, we have put together a complete guide. Read on to learn more!
What is an ERP system?
Short for Enterprise Resource Planning, an ERP is a system that enables holistic management of the entire company.
With highly refined features, an ERP manages areas such as purchasing and sales, accounting, finance, logistics and inventory control.
While it is a highly efficient tool for retailers, an ERP system only handles the company's administrative side, improving productivity and internal management.
What is a HUB platform?
Another integration option is a HUB platform. In general, it connects retailers with the leading e-commerce sites, marketplaces and sales channels in one place.
Imagine, for example, a small shoe store that decides to venture online. It lists its products on the country's leading marketplaces to reach more people and, in turn, boost sales.
However, the owner faces a challenge: to track order status and customer requests, they have to log in to each system and check.
This process eats up valuable team time, creates bottlenecks and can even hurt the store's rating if an order is not fulfilled as expected.
Here, the HUB centralizes all this information, bringing every request into a single place and making it easier for the team to manage and respond.
So which platform is the best option?
The first thing to understand when choosing an integration system is how it will be used. As we have seen, ERP and HUB serve different parts of an online store, so adopting one does not eliminate the need for the other.
With that in mind, choosing the best platform starts with understanding your current needs. If you are struggling with customer service or sales control, an ERP may not fully address those gaps.
If that sounds familiar, a HUB platform is a highly effective solution. In practice, it brings different marketplace accounts into a single tool, letting you manage your business simultaneously.
Key advantages include:
- Optimized admin dashboards for post-sale tracking;
- Automated operations;
- A customized approach;
- Faster customer service.
Discover our Service Hub
Backed by industry experience and a specialized technical team, we offer our clients the Service Hub, a HUB platform that centralizes requests from multiple channels.
With advanced features, easy integration with other systems and high availability, the platform helps you meet e-commerce SLA targets, optimizing team time and increasing post-sale customer satisfaction.
The result for your business: higher productivity, faster service and greater operational efficiency.
Want to learn how the Service Hub can help your online store achieve better results? Get in touch with our team today!