Shopify now powers millions of businesses across the globe with its subscription-based e-commerce platform, including the likes of Heinz, Gymshark and Allbirds.
In October 2021, the platform announced that, for the first time, it would be directly partnering with ERP providers as part of a brand new Global Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Program, known as the Shopify Global ERP Program.
The Shopify ERP program was big news in the commerce world, and a handful of leading providers jumped at the chance to join the program — including Brightpearl.
But what exactly is Shopify’s Global ERP Program? And how can it benefit businesses like yours?
What is the Global ERP Program?
Shopify’s Global ERP Program allows selected ERP partners to build direct integrations into the Shopify App Store.
More than 10,000 merchants use Shopify Plus to manage their volume and complexity. Shopify’s Global ERP Program will give them a centralized system that connects their commerce platform to key business data. This includes financials and inventory so retailers can optimize operations and processes.
Why has the program been created?
Shopify recognizes that: ‘to remain resilient and prepare for the future of commerce, leaders of growing businesses need real-time insights from connected data’ – and a centralized ERP that connects all business processes, including finance, manufacturing, supply chain, sales and procurement, is the key to achieving it.
Who’s the program for?
The Shopify Global ERP Program is aimed at ‘enterprise’ merchants running complex large-scale, high-volume retail businesses that want to adapt faster to an ever-evolving marketplace, iron out inefficiencies and get better results.
How does it work?
Through the Global ERP Program, merchants can access a suite of certified apps directly integrated with Shopify, without needing to rely on third-party implementations to connect their ERP to Shopify. As an extension of the Shopify Plus Certified App Partner Program, the Global ERP Program provides partners with support from the Shopify Partner Solutions Engineering Team in building their apps, while also giving merchants confidence that their apps meet a high standard of performance and user experience.
What are the benefits?
1.Make data-informed decisions
By integrating their ERP systems with their commerce operations, merchants get accurate, up-to-date data on their inventory, products, orders, and customer information. If you have a Shopify integration with your ERP (or ROS), you’ll be able to make smarter decisions about the future of your business, and enables them to offer more positive commerce experiences to customers—not just on Shopify, but across all your channels.
2. More control over data
By installing apps that are certified and recognized by the Global ERP Program, merchants can ensure proprietary data will seamlessly and securely flow directly between their Shopify admin and their ERP, without the need to connect with a third-party.
3. Save time and money
By integrating directly with Shopify’s certified ERP partners, merchants can avoid the time-consuming and expensive process of managing customized implementations. With less applications needed to run their businesses, merchants can introduce more automation, making their operations more efficient.
Is Shopify considered an ERP?
No, Shopify is not an ERP system. An ERP is a software tool or system that connects all your business processes, including supply chain, sales, manufacturing, procurement, accounting, and more. They enable information to flow between different departments and tools, collecting the data and centralizing it in one place.
Although Shopify has a number of tools to help businesses with things like website setup, marketing, inventory management, and shipping, it is first and foremost an e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems.
Shopify’s integration with ERP partners gives businesses the best of all worlds, as they can ensure seamless data flow between their Shopify store and their other processes without needing to rely on third-party implementations.
While Shopify itself is not an ERP system, the Global ERP Program gives all Shopify merchants the opportunity to access advanced ERP tools.
The next question you might ask is: what is the best ERP for Shopify? Read on to find out!
Why choose Brightpearl?
At Brightpearl, we’re proud to have been selected as one of Shopify’s ERP partners. We’re also proud to be different from the other ERPs in the program. Brightpearl is more than an ERP, it’s a purpose-built Retail Operating System (ROS).
While most ERPs were built for the 1990s (and have struggled to evolve since), Brightpearl is a cutting-edge platform built by retail experts, exclusively for retail and wholesale brands. It’s packed with dedicated functionality, including a powerful Automation Engine, market-leading Inventory Planner, a huge library of Plug & Play integrations (to Shopify, of course, but also to lots of other popular apps and tech tools), plus advanced reporting, integrated accounting, warehouse and supplier management and lots more.
While ERPs are notoriously slow, taking an average of 420 days to go live (and ending up costing up to four times more than quoted, while still failing in 75% of cases), Brightpearl has an industry-leading 97% implementation success rate and goes live in 120 days for the average customer.
Brightpearl is built to help larger brands grow fearlessly – and we’ve got an unrivaled track record for doing exactly that.
Here are three examples…
- Shopify Plus-powered socks brand, Jimmy Lion, went live on Brightpearl in 120 days and now handles all its operations THREE times faster.
Co-founder Alvaro Gomis said: “We needed more than an ERP – we needed a ‘brain’ that could bring everything together. We instantly saw the value in Brightpearl because it’s purpose built for retail businesses, offering real-time insight into day-to-day operations which enables smart decision making. Brightpearl is truly one of the best platforms around today.”
- Omnichannel nightwear brand CyberJammies, run on Shopify Plus, implemented Brightpearl in 120 days and promptly TREBLED its revenue.
Brand Director, Mark Tweed, said: “Brightpearl undoubtedly adds value for us. In fact, from a business perspective, it’s almost immeasurable how much of an improvement it’s made in how we operate. Absolutely everything has improved significantly since we signed up.”
- Shopify Plus customer and luxury pet brand Lords & Labradors processes 80% of its orders automatically and has saved more than 35 hours a month since joining the Brightpearl family.
Buying and Supply Chain Manager, Alexandra Clements, said: “I used to spend almost all my time printing orders, dealing with stocks-outs, printing labels, manually arranging shipping and entering data on spreadsheets. It was a full time job! Now, thanks to Brightpearl, it’s all automated – and it’s totally evolved the role I play in the business so that I can get on with more important jobs, like driving further growth.”
