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When it comes to B2B commerce integration, many businesses face a critical choice: build integrations in-house or partner with a specialized software provider.
This decision can significantly impact a company’s efficiency, scalability, and overall success. However, several myths and misconceptions often cloud this decision-making process. Let’s debunk some of these myths and set the record straight.
Myth 1: I’m in too deep with what I’ve built
Reality: We can build on what you’ve already created
Many organizations worry that once they’ve started building integrations in-house, they can’t switch to an external provider without losing all their progress. This is far from true. A reputable integration partner can build on your existing infrastructure to enhance and optimize what you’ve already started. This approach allows you to maintain the value of your initial investment while benefiting from enhancements that increase operational efficiency, including the ability to quickly develop custom requests that might otherwise take a long time or never be accomplished, setting a strong foundation for future growth.
Myth 2: I won’t have control
Reality: A true partner will continually collaborate with you
Concerns about losing control over technical aspects and customer relationships are common. Partnering with an integration expert doesn’t mean relinquishing control; it means gaining a collaborator who works with you closely every step of the way. A good partner ensures you maintain technical control, allowing you to steer the project according to your business needs. They also respect your customer relationships, even offering to work behind the scenes to enhance the customer experience without taking over.
Myth 3: It’s more expensive to outsource
Reality: The hidden costs of in-house integrations quickly add up
At first glance, outsourcing may seem more expensive than building in-house. However, it’s important to consider the fully-loaded hidden costs of building and maintaining integrations, in addition to costs related to fixing errors:
- How many highly valuable technical resources are tied up in building and maintaining integrations?
- How many accounts receivable or sales resources are chasing down documents?
- How many hours are spent manually inputting information?
- What is the fully loaded cost of employees and technology?
- What are the opportunity costs of deploying expertise on this endeavor versus other CX improvements?
Considering that each eCommerce system and eProcurement solution has its own unique requirements, it can quickly become overwhelming and overshadow the value you get from it.
Outsourcing can free up these resources, allowing your team to focus on strategic and revenue-generating activities. In the long run, partnering with an expert often proves to be more cost-effective. In fact, independent research shows that on average, businesses who partner with TradeCentric pay back the cost of their investment in 3.3 months and generate a 5-7X ROI in 3 years.
Myth 4: My technical team is worried that bringing in a partner will eliminate the need for their jobs
Reality: A credible partner can augment your team’s capabilities
Another common myth is that partnering with an integration expert will make your technical team redundant. On the contrary, an expert team enhances your team’s capabilities by upscaling and adding specialized resources to keep pace with the ever-changing Connected Commerce environment. They handle the complexities of integration, relieving your IT team from wearing multiple hats and reducing the fight for prioritization. This partnership not only preserves jobs but also empowers your team to focus on innovation and growth initiatives, ensuring that custom requests are developed swiftly and effectively.
Additional benefits of partnering with an integration expert
Partnering with an integration expert offers several strategic advantages that extend beyond technical implementation alone. These partnerships provide access to a range of tools and services that may not be readily available in-house, further enhancing the value and efficiency of your operations. These include:
- Strategy Sessions: Expert-led strategy sessions that align your integration approach with your business goals to ensure efficient implementation and long-term growth
- Trading Partner Analysis: Detailed analysis of trading partners to identify opportunities and optimize your supply chain interactions
- Best Practices for Buyer Adoption: Insights and guidelines on best practices to drive buyer adoption, ensuring a smooth transition and maximizing user engagement
- Sales Buy-In Tips: Strategies and tips to secure buy-in from sales teams, facilitating smoother internal adoption and alignment across departments
Conclusion
Choosing between in-house integrations and partnering with an expert can be daunting, but it’s crucial to separate myth from reality. Partnering with an integration expert like TradeCentric offers numerous advantages that all empower your business to make informed and strategic decisions.
Ready to make your integration process less complex? Contact us to get started.
