Häufig gestellte Fragen
What does an e-commerce ERP cost?
Realistic implementation costs for an e-commerce ERP in the mid-market range between 60,000 and 450,000 euros over the first 3-5 years, depending on user numbers and depth of customising. The multichannel connection of shop, eBay, Amazon and further marketplaces is a major cost factor, as each additional channel causes setup and mapping effort. Added to this are annual maintenance and update fees of around 18-22 percent of the licence sum for on-premise models, or a cloud subscription that is usually billed per user per month. More in our guide ERP costs.
At what point does an online shop need an ERP instead of Excel?
There is no legal threshold, but in practice a merchandise management or ERP system becomes worthwhile at the latest when the daily order volume exceeds the manual workload - roughly 30 to 50 orders per day are often cited as a guideline. Another clear signal is when you have to log in to several systems every day, such as the shop backend, Amazon Seller Central, eBay and the shipping provider's portal. If cancellations due to overselling also occur regularly because stock levels are not synchronised between channels, centralised inventory management via an ERP is usually more economical than error-prone manual maintenance. Our guide ERP selection in 7 steps supports a structured selection.
Which shops and marketplaces can be connected to an ERP?
Established e-commerce ERPs come with connectors for the common shop systems such as Shopware, Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento as well as for marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Otto, Kaufland and Zalando, with Zalando usually connected via the invitation-based partner programme or certified integrators such as Tradebyte. Via these interfaces, article data, prices, stock levels, orders and customers are synchronised cyclically or in real time, so all channels remain consistent. Cross-channel stock synchronisation is particularly important because it prevents overselling and thus protects seller ratings and account health on marketplaces. With Amazon FBA, the ERP should also manage FBA and FBM stock separately and automatically prepare the settlement reports for accounting.
Cloud or on-premise for e-commerce?
Both operating models are widespread in online retail; the choice depends on customisation and scaling needs. Cloud solutions are often the first choice for smaller and mid-sized retailers because they can be scaled flexibly for seasonal load peaks such as the Christmas or Black Friday business and require no in-house server infrastructure. On-premise remains relevant above all when highly individual processes or deep in-house adaptation of the software are required. A comparison of the advantages and disadvantages can be found at Cloud vs On-Premise.
How does an ERP support OSS, IOSS and returns?
Since 1 July 2021, a uniform EU-wide distance selling threshold of 10,000 euros net has applied, counted as total turnover across all EU destination countries combined; if it is exceeded, VAT is due in the respective destination country and is reported centrally via the One-Stop-Shop procedure (OSS). For goods imported from third countries up to an intrinsic value of 150 euros, the Import One-Stop-Shop (IOSS) applies in addition. An e-commerce ERP supports these obligations by recording deliveries per destination country with the correct tax rate and providing the necessary evaluations for the OSS/IOSS report. In returns management, the ERP digitalises the entire process from incoming goods inspection through restocking to the credit note - this is particularly relevant in returns-heavy segments such as fashion, where return rates of often 26 to 50 percent are well above the cross-industry average of around 6 to 10 percent.
How long does it take to implement an e-commerce ERP?
In the e-commerce sector, mid-market ERP implementations typically take 4 to 10 months, while larger multi-site or corporate-group projects can run considerably longer. The high-revenue season around Black Friday and Christmas should be avoided - roll-outs ideally start in January or in summer, because warehouse and shipping processes must remain stable during the transition. A considerable part of the project duration goes to conceptual design, customising and data migration, with the rest going to testing, training and go-live. Our ERP implementation checklist offers step-by-step help.