VAI connects Acme Tools with Amazon Seller Central to expand selling experience
VAI, a leading ERP software developer, announced it has completed a custom project for Acme Tools, a premier online retailer of hand and power tools, which can now sell on Amazon through an application programming interface (API) connecting to VAI’s ERP software, S2K Enterprise. With this automation, Acme Tools experiences less manual intervention and more real-time data for products available in the Amazon store.
The integration is offered through Amazon Seller Central; a web interface used by brands and merchants to market and sell their products directly to Amazon’s customers. Amazon Seller Central is available for any VAI S2K Enterprise Retail customer who wants to sell on Amazon. Anyone with a Seller Central account is considered a marketplace or third-party seller. As a marketplace seller, there are two options for fulfilling orders received from Amazon’s customers — the seller can handle the shipping, customer service, and returns for each order or, they can allow Amazon to handle this by enrolling the seller’s products in the Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) program.
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For Acme Tools, the direct integration with Amazon would replace an existing Amazon Merchant Transport Utility (AMTU) process. The essential part of integration is the security API and an approval process from Amazon, after which a user can access the rest of the APIs. With this integration, Acme Tools has automated 90% of its workload with the Refund/Cancellation APIs still on the roadmap through VAI’s ERP solution, S2K Enterprise. Pricing and inventory updates automatically, and order processing and fulfillment notifications are in place.
“When we first expanded into marketplaces, we implemented batch processes which were slow, and most marketplaces restricted the size of the file as well as frequency of updates,” said Dean Spicer, Chief Technology Officer at Acme Tools. “As Acme continues to grow there are huge demands on accurate inventory and pricing especially due to the current supply chain issues. Based on our organic website growth and the expansion into multiple marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, Walmart, etc..) we needed to find a way to receive orders and update our inventory levels rapidly as most marketplaces do not like back orders.”
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Marketplaces continually evaluate Acme Tools’ performance. Product selection, pricing, and order fulfillment are key pieces used to measure for recommendations on where to buy. With the Amazon APIs in place, Acme keeps its inventory current, helping the company’s product selection and order fulfillment updates occur as orders are shipped. The results help to increase customer services, as updated shipping information is delivered to customers in real-time.
“Our integration with Amazon Seller Central will make automation seamless for our customers,” said Debajyoti Das, VP, Mobile Development, VAI. “We helped Acme Tools bridge their VAI S2K ERP with Amazon by pulling orders from Amazon into our system, along with timely updates to product availability, pricing, and order fulfillment. With this integration, companies like Acme Tools can now overcome the challenges of listing products on Amazon and achieve key metrics necessary for ranking higher.”
