For B2B SaaS vendors like product catalog software, PIM, warehouse management, etc. it is crucial to come up with innovative ideas to remain viable in the eCommerce ecosystem.
One primary requirement that they need to fulfill is the integration of their solutions with several eCommerce platforms to import products. This type of data allows such systems to create product listings, keep track of inventories, create reports, etc.
In this article, we will tell you why a unified API is the most logical method of integration with various shopping platforms and marketplace and how B2B SaaS systems can import products and other store data easily and fast.
Challenges of In-House Integration Development with eCommerce Platforms
Integrating with different eCommerce platforms is important for B2B Saas systems to keep track of inventory, orders, customer details, product descriptions, etc. However, connecting individually to every platform is an uphill task that requires a lot of expertise. Here are the major challenges that may happen with B2B SaaS companies if they decide to integrate with eCommerce platforms manually:
- Complex Process
Each shopping cart has its specific architecture and logic that require time and competence to learn. Setting up a connection with each endpoint is a unique tedious process, as every integration offers new challenges.
- Expensive and Time-Consuming Maintenance
Suppose you somehow establish working connections individually with every eCommerce platform's API. However, even then, the possibility of bugs and technical issues cannot be ruled out.
The surveillance, maintaining, and upgrading of such complex connections will require loads of time, expertise, and investment. In a field in which there is a dearth of experts, finding and hiring one would be a very expensive affair.
- Security Challenges
Security risks have always been associated with B2B SaaS services. However, when you use conventional methods to integrate your solutions with the APIs of different platforms, you are simply inviting security threats. It is because loose connections and poor integrations are nothing short of a gift for those intending to breach data privacy.
Even the most sophisticated methods are getting compromised these days. So, offering your clients an outdated integration strategy will straightaway lead to rejection.
What is the Role of a Unified API?
As mentioned above, developing and supporting integration with each eCommerce Platform’s API is quite difficult. A unified API is a much better solution. It allows connections between different eCommerce platforms at once. Key benefits of unified APIs are:
Stable and Agile Integration
The biggest advantage of a Unified API is that it is a single API that guarantees stable connections with all leading eCommerce services. It can be regarded as a central place where information from different platforms keeps flowing in automatically, without having to establish an end-to-end connection with each of them separately.
Therefore, by using a unified API, you can import products, access orders, and customer details from different platforms at once.
Saves time and money
Developing just one integration with an eCommerce platform may cost up to $4,000 or even more. There are the costs associated with hiring, training, employing, and paying advanced developers, setting up infrastructure, and overseeing upgrades and maintenance throughout the lifecycle. Moreover, it takes 4-12 weeks for integration development.
By using a unified API integration solution, you will have to develop integration once, and never worry about further integration challenges. The service you choose to work with, will constantly add the support of new shopping platforms.
How to Easily Import Products from Shopping Platforms?
Now that you know how a unified API can revolutionize your SaaS services, it's time to learn how to import products using it. The unified API provided by API2Cart allows you to connect your software to more than 40 platforms seamlessly.
You will be able to get access to all relevant store information with which you can implement your software functionality and offer it to your clients. API2Cart provides a possibility for you to import products with all its related info from all popular platforms like Shopify, Amazon, Magento, etc.
We provide the following API methods:
- product.list method
The product.list method can be executed to import product lists from client's online stores based on more than 40+ eCommerce platforms and marketplaces.
- product.info method
The product.info method will help you get all information about products like attributes, prices, names, descriptions etc.
Conclusion
So, if you are a SaaS vendor looking to exploit the rising demand for your SaaS services in the eCommerce market, you need to have a solid plan for cross-platform integration.
Unified API allows smooth integration with more than 40 popular platforms. You can test the working of the API on the service demo stores or on your clients' stores. We provide a 30-day trial period for you to see if it fits your needs.
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