Top Tips to Select eCommerce Platforms for Ingram VARs
Table of Content
Introduction
As the eCommerce business is growing rapidly every year, it becomes essential for resellers to obtain the right technology to nurture their strategy. However, with the existence of multiple eCommerce platforms, it becomes strenuous to find out the best eCommerce platform for your Ingram Micro reselling business.
Key Takeaways:
- Ingram Micro resellers who treat eCommerce platform selection as a long-term operations decision, not a low-cost website purchase, avoid painful future migrations and unlock scalable online growth.
- An eCommerce platform that natively integrates with the Ingram Micro catalog for direct FTP/XML imports, real-time pricing, and availability converts a basic storefront into an automated extension of the distributor’s back office.
- Combining Ingram Micro dropshipping with rich content feeds from providers like IceCat and Etilize lets resellers expand SKU count and improve product discovery without taking on warehouse overhead or manual data entry.
- A platform that bundles online store builder, sales quoting with dynamic pricing, and CRM in one environment gives Ingram resellers consistent pricing, faster quote generation, and a 360-degree view of each customer.
- Built-in SEO tools, multiple payment methods, performance-optimized templates, analytics, and 24×7 support turn the chosen eCommerce platform into a growth partner that continually refines UX and conversion, instead of just hosting pages.
Opting for a web developer to get started incurs heavy costs, and prohibits your business from growing rapidly. On the contrary, a well-managed eCommerce platform saves much of your time and money, thereby helping you focus entirely on the significant aspects of your business.
But, it’s challenging to choose an appropriate option from a plethora of options available online. This blog post highlights some of the factors that you need to consider when choosing an eCommerce platform for Ingram Micro Resellers
About Ingram Micro Resellers
Ingram Micro Resellers are the leading distributors of a variety of products like notebooks, storage servers, video consoles, gateways and routers, and much more. These resellers provide an exceptional opportunity for VARs to broaden their product portfolio. Moreover, they take care of all the logistics requirements of the orders fulfilled by the VARs.
Things to Consider When Selecting an eCommerce Platform for Ingram Micro Resellers
Though you might be attracted to some of the affordable eCommerce platforms available in the market, it is essential to conduct thorough research before moving further. Hosting transfer can be easy, but it may be a hassle for you to migrate your website. Therefore, you should consider the following points before selecting an eCommerce platform for Ingram Micro Resellers
World-Class Ingram Micro eCommerce Integration
The first feature that you need to look at in an eCommerce platform is the best in class Ingram Micro Integration This integration will assist you to set up your online store effortlessly and avail of the requisite services offered by Ingram Micro to scale up your reselling business.
Direct Access to the Ingram Micro Catalog
It can become overwhelming to manually select and upload products to your eCommerce store. Hence, you should consider a platform that gives direct access to the Ingram Micro Catalog for transferring the entire catalog to your eCommerce store using FTP.
It minimizes the entire process of selecting and uploading the products manually, thereby saving time to concentrate more on your Ingram Micro reselling business and its important functions.
Instant Dropshipping Functionality
You can do away with inventory storage and packaging-related costs, and get the products shipped to the customers directly from the distributor – Ingram Micro. The distributor offers excellent dropshipping services thereby making it easier to manage your eCommerce business.
Real-Time Availability and Pricing
The eCommerce platform should offer real-time pricing and availability of the Ingram Micro products. It will help you to draw a comparison and make adjustments in your store prices according to the costs in Ingram Micro CatalogThis way, you don’t have to contact the distributor for the updated prices and can maintain accurate stock prices on the eCommerce store.
Pro Tip:
Rich Content for Website
The quality of the content on the website plays an essential role in the eCommerce business. It enhances the user experience of the visitors, thereby offering them accurate information about each product. However, finding a rich content provider is sometimes troublesome. With the help of VARStreet’s eCommerce platform, you get a chance to partner with the leading content providers like IceCat and Etilize for developing rich content for your eCommerce website.
Electronic Order Placement
As the business grows, recording and maintaining heavy loads of orders can become a daunting task. This may lead to errors and redundant entries. Thus, you should look for an eCommerce platform that allows you to place your orders electronically. In simple terms, you can order your products with just a single click. It not only augments the efficiency of your business but also promotes a smooth ordering process.
Immediate Customer Support
Your online store is always vulnerable to risks and errors. During that time, it becomes necessary for you to solve the problems of the customers. An ideal eCommerce platform comes with prompt customer support that is operational 24×7. Opting for such a platform for your Ingram Micro eCommerce business induces efficiency in handling the queries of the customers, which in turn, makes your website user-friendly and highly popular.
Best eCommerce Solution
Setting up an online store is not easy as it seems. You need to have expert skills to align the design, content, and functionalities. You should consider an eCommerce platform that offers a complete package of eCommerce solutions. It should include all the tools and techniques to help you build your website from scratch with minimal cost and effort.
Online Store Builder
Select an Ingram Micro eCommerce integrated platform that gives you the freedom of developing an online store with zero technical knowledge. It should provide you with an option to drag and drop components anywhere and wherever you like. You need not hire a techie to design the website. Moreover, it should authorize you to freely handle your online store just like Ingram Micro Distributor.
Multiple Templates Choice
There are some eCommerce platforms like VARStreet that allow you to choose from a variety of templates along with an online store builder. All the templates have unique themes and designs. All you need to do is browse, select, and start creating your online store. Thus, each of the templates is dynamic, offering you an opportunity to add or remove functionalities with ease.
Search Engine Optimization Tool
Search engine optimization plays a pivotal role in making your website stand out from the crowd. Your website’s ranking on the search engine will determine the success of your business. Thus, you should check whether the eCommerce platform provides you with an SEO tool to ace up your ranking game. It will help you to create a firm online presence and also open doors to vast audiences.
Multiple Payment Methods
During the checkout process, every customer wants to make the payment using their preferred method. This makes it necessary for Ingram Micro Distributors to have multiple payment options available on their website. It gives reassurance to customers, thereby leading to more sales. By integrating multiple payment methods, you can inspire customers to make online payments and leverage the benefits of discounts and offers when they select their preferred mode of payment.
Proficient Online Store Experience
A slow and unoptimized website can be annoying for your customers and could move them away from you and towards your competitors. Therefore, you should ensure that you select an eCommerce platform that is quick to load, responsive, and accomplished in every aspect. It should offer the best user experience to the visitors, and make them stay longer on your website to hopefully make a purchase.
Accurate Analytics
Every website needs to keep track of the analytics of its business. Information like the behavior of your customers, their top searches, etc. plays an important role in making your website user-friendly. The right eCommerce platform comes with the best tools to help you record and track data, to improve your website experience according to the preferences of the customers.
Sales Quoting Software
The next feature you need to consider before selecting an eCommerce platform for Ingram Micro Resellers is the sales quoting software. Sales quotation is another essential component of your business, hence you need to take care of it well in advance. You should opt for an eCommerce platform that assists you in making efficient sales quotations by adding products directly from your Ingram Micro Product Catalog that can be delivered to the customers in a given time frame.
Variety of Quotation Templates
Some eCommerce platforms like VARStreet offer a variety of quote templates. A large number of choices will help you create personalized quotes that meet the needs and preferences of the customer. This creates a lasting impression on your customers while making your quotation stand out from the competition.
Dynamic Pricing
When you get a chance to access the Ingram Micro Product Catalog through your selected eCommerce platform, you can easily compare and price your products accordingly. It not only offers the latest and fair pricing to the customers but also helps you to maintain your profit margins.
Customer Relationship Management Solution
Similar to the sales quoting software, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) also plays a major role in any business. It is an essential solution that furnishes the sales reps with customer information so they can extend support whenever required. The CRM solution aids you in capturing new leads, managing contacts, and automating various tasks. The eCommerce platform should allow you to manage everything in one place.
Pro Tip:
Map your entire Ingram-driven quote-to-cash flow on paper and then shortlist only those platforms that can own every step—catalog, storefront, quoting, CRM, dropship routing, and analytics—in a single system, minimizing brittle custom connectors and future rework.
Personalized Services
The eCommerce solution should provide personalized services to handle all the aspects of your Ingram Micro reselling business. It gives you an assurance that you can rely on someone whenever needed. From website design to business marketing, VARStreet offers constant support to its customers.
Conclusion
Those are all the things that you need to consider when choosing an eCommerce platform for Ingram Micro Resellers. VARStreet with Ingram Micro Resellers integration offers a complete range of tools and services to propel your reselling business to higher levels. So, stop waiting and start your Ingram Micro reselling business with VARStreet today!
