With each passing day, eCommerce businesses struggle to compete and gain a competitive edge over their rivals. The eCommerce stores are undoubtedly convenient, and businesses can manage everything on the go, including sales, marketing, and products. However, it’s important to find the right eCommerce platform for this purpose, and nothing could be better than Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce. So, are you ready to dig into the details?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce – What Is It?
Commerce is a well-known app with various foundation blocks of the Retail app. In addition, it offers an all-in-one platform that integrates eCommerce, back-office, and brick-and-mortar business activities. This application can allow businesses to gain improved staff productivity, create a loyal brand base, innovate supply chain functions, and make the business activities more efficient. Not to forget, it can optimize the sales channels, resulting in higher profits and revenues.
With Commerce, you will have an array of tools designed and developed by Microsoft which helps increase business productivity. Some of the components tailor to a specific business industries, promising precise business functions. In the section below, we are sharing some more benefits of the Commerce app, including the following;
- The cross-channel customer engagement is available that allows customers to have ownership of the bought products since they have the freedom to choose when, where, and how the products or services will be provided
- It helps develop customer loyalty since it creates a centralized platform that has customer-related information. It will understand the business’s needs, cater to them, and develop long-term customer relationships. In addition, the tools are integrated with AI features to help strengthen the brand.
- The collection of apps available are perfect for eCommerce since it provides end-to-end features that scale up to meet the needs.
- It creates friction-free online features, so the customers can have a reliable business experience. This is because the back-office functionalities are fully optimized and integrated with machine learning and artificial intelligence.
- Lastly, Commerce is flexible enough to meet diverse operational requirements to integrate a scalable store. In addition, it can comply with security standards and compliance regulations.
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Things to Know About Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce
Purchasing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce might sound simple, but actually getting started on it requires some work. This is because there are various features that you don’t know about, and multiple factors have to be considered. So, let’s check out important things to know about Commerce before you invest in it;
- Access To LCS & Microsoft Azure
To begin with, LCS is the Lifecycle Services portal designed by Microsoft, and having access to it along with Microsoft Azure will ensure seamless operations. You must ensure that you have access to the Azure subscription, eCommerce system, group ID, moderator group ID, AAD tenant ID, ad rating group ID.
- Unavailability Of Some Features
For people who want to opt for on-site store deployment rather than the cloud, there are chances that you won’t have various features available. This is because the on-site deployment has limited features. For instance, you won’t be able to upload the data to cloud infrastructure (nope, not even on Microsoft Azure).
- Compatibility Issues With Third-Party Apps
When Dynamics 365 app suite is concerned, it comes with a wide range of compatible add-ons and plugins that can be used in collaboration with other Microsoft apps to create a promising eCommerce platform. In addition, it can be integrated with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and Magento, but it doesn’t go with other platforms.
- Pricing Factor
With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce, the pricing might not be affordable for small businesses and medium businesses. This is because it costs around £135.70 monthly for a user, and thousands of dollars need to be paid if you want to use the customer insights feature. In addition, the fraud protection charges will be extra. So, it’s obvious that only big whales can use this app, and since it might include the infrastructural migration of Azure, the migration costs will pile up more.
- Some Common Complaints
Sure, it has loads of benefits to offer, but there are three primary complaints, but Microsoft Dynamics 365 doesn’t seem to fix them. These complaints include the inability to adjust the server codes, requiring technical knowledge, and handling excessive amounts of data. With these complaints, the business processes will be streamlined, and you will require too much learning.
To summarize, it’s a useful and valuable platform if you are running a large-scale enterprise. Even if you already have some computing platforms installed, it will widen the availability of the feature.
Reasons to Implement Dynamics 365 Commerce
- Allows Customizations & Easy Setup
It allows the eCommerce store owners to set up Commerce easily since it has development tools and in-built web-authorization features available. It allows businesses to customize their requirements and scale up to meet the deviating needs.
- Increased Sales & Insights
Commerce comes with a wide range of apps and AI features that help you tap into the Microsoft ecosystem. As a result, you will be able to access customer insights, inventory, store assets, pricing, finance, marketing analysis, sales analysis, and fraud protection. The combination of these insights will help online stores as well as brick-and-mortar stores.
- Improved Customer Experience
When connected with CRM, you can check out the customer’s behavior, acquire new customers, manage the business relationships, and retain the existing customers. In addition, business owners can launch loyalty programs to capture more customers and reward the existing ones. Moreover, you will be able to make informed choices for changing the marketing plan, driving engagement, and improving the sales and leads. Not to forget, it helps deal with one-time purchases and cart abandonment issues with ease.
- Quick Data Access
We have already mentioned that Commerce is a cloud-based app which makes it a centralized platform. That being said, the business owners will have quick access to insights and other data with a few clicks.
- Scales Up
With cloud configuration, businesses no longer need to worry about extensive hardware prerequisites and physical storage whenever a new software needs to be added. As a result, scaling the business will be easier. On top of everything, it takes care of upgrades and data security, updates them, and turns them into valuable outcomes for businesses.
- Trusted Name
It’s always better to work with a reputed brand name instead of experimenting with some brand you hardly know. That being said, Commerce might be a new app, but it’s designed by Microsoft, which has made its mark in the industry so, there will be more valuable outcomes, and businesses can also benefit from the professional insights.
- Omnichannel Configuration
Commerce is designed with omnichannel design across the emerging as well as existing channels to ensure satisfactory interactions with customers.
- Value
With the cloud design, the implementation will be much faster, and the investment requirement will be limited, promising higher value and returns on investment. In addition, it has quick yet regular upgrades, so you can improve the overall functionality and keep adding value to the store.
- Security
Commerce is known for automatic updates, which means it will be able to fix the bugs and maintain the highest encryption and security standards. All the data will remain protected, and only authorized devices will be available to access the system. Besides, it has fraud protection features, so business owners can check online transactions, identify fraudulent activity, and take appropriate measures.
Wrapping It Up
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce was launched to help with the finance and commerce-related tasks. With myriad of features, it’s become an all-in-one solution for businesses. Ranging from higher ROI to convenient setup and security features. It has everything a business needs to move forward and flourish. So, are you getting your hands on Commerce, then?
