Shopify Integrations

Shopify integrations: maximize the value of your Shopify ecosystem

Are you looking for a tech stack that truly helps you achieve your e-commerce goals? A clever and flexible combination of specialized systems that works seamlessly with your Shopify (Plus) store? Then you cannot do without quality integrations.

In Code’s experience, your systems are only as good as the connections between them. From a PIM and an ERP, to a CDP or a fulfillment connector, we help you develop a highly effective architecture around your Shopify (Plus) store.

Want to learn why integrations are so important, what systems Code can connect to your Shopify store, and what your options are for custom Shopify integrations? Read on.

Why are integrations important for your Shopify store?

An integration between systems enables the exchange of data between those systems. This is of course hugely important for e-commerce businesses, which cannot exist without mountains of data concerning products, orders, shipping, inventory and customers.

When we talk about ‘exchanging data between systems’, what are we talking about exactly? To give a very simple example: if system A labels a certain piece of data as ‘Amount due’, and system B refers to that same piece of data as ‘Price’, the systems can’t sync that piece of data between them. To solve this, you need a connector - which switches the labels back and forth.

E-commerce brands rely heavily on a range of systems to automate practically everything. In addition to Shopify (Plus), they typically use specialized systems to manage their finances, inventory, customer data, and/or product information, to name but a few. All these systems make use of the same data - which needs to be synced between them in real time, to prevent errors.

A well integrated tech stack means optimal business processes, a short TTM, higher ROI, more customer satisfaction and better results. Hence, investing in integrations is absolutely indispensable for e-commerce stores of any size.

What systems can be integrated with your Shopify store?

The short answer is: basically anything with an API.

If we think of an integration as a cable between two ports or sockets, then the cable is the connector and the sockets are the APIs of the systems that are connected. Shopify boasts one of the best APIs in the industry. What is more, since Shopify is so widely used, there are often plug & play connectors available with other popular systems. This makes it easy for developers to connect these systems to the platform.

→ Want to know more about popular systems and their advantages first? Read about ERP, PIM, OMS, WMS and 3PL in this in-depth blog

In all those cases where there is no ready-made connector available, or where the standard connector doesn’t completely cover your requirements, Code can build or customize the integration for you.

In the list below you will find a few systems we regularly integrate with our clients’ Shopify stores, to enable seamless data synchronization. In addition to basic connectors, clients often require custom extensions to these connectors. Hence, we listed the most frequently requested connector extensions too - to give you an idea of what is possible.

Shopify PIM integration

A PIM (Product Information Manager) stores all the information related to a specific product, in all possible variants for all channels, countries and languages: product titles, descriptions, categories, images, prices, etcetera. Via an API and a connector you can sync the data with other systems, such as Shopify.

→ Read more about how to choose the right PIM solution for your business here

In addition to building a PIM x Shopify connector, at Code we often build custom extensions to such a connector for our clients. These have to do with support for meta-objects in Shopify and Shopify ID synchronization, for instance, but most of the time clients need support for their multilingual stores.

Although a PIM has no trouble storing product data in different languages, it struggles when a connected sales channel uses multiple languages - such as a multilingual Shopify Plus store. There are very few PIM connectors that support multilingual stores. Hence, Code enables the translation, in Shopify Plus, of product data imported from the PIM, through a custom connector extension.

At Code we partner closely with Akeneo, Quable and Plytix, which we can fully implement and customize for your Shopify store. For any other PIM, be it Katana PIM, PIMCore, Ergonode, SalesLayer, or INriver, we happily provide a quality integration with Shopify or Shopify Plus.

Shopify ERP integration

An ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system is a suite of modules controlling many different business processes, which constantly share data between them. It is often the ‘single source of truth’ for a company, the digital heart of all its operations. Popular ERPs in e-commerce are Itsperfect, Becosoft, ODOO, Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, Brightpearl and NetSuite.

→ Read about how to choose an ERP system for your Shopify store here

At Code, many clients with an ERP need some customization - especially when it comes to B2B functionality. B2B and wholesale businesses typically require lots of pricing logic, such as customer-specific pricing and discounts, or wholesale vs retail-pricing. This is stored in their ERP and has to be synced to their B2B Shopify store, for which there is no standard solution available. Hence, they ask Code to build it for them.

Shopify WMS integration and OMS integration

A WMS (Warehouse Management System) is used by businesses who store their products in their own warehouse. Its big brother is an OMS (Order Management System), which does the same on a much larger scale, with multiple sales channels and warehouses in various countries. Known WMSs are Picqer, Directify, WICS, PeopleVox and fulfillmenttools.

At Code, we regularly build custom extensions to our clients’ Warehouse Management Systems. Very often, these have to do with optimizing a WMS for multi-warehousing and implementing an order-routing logic that takes multiple locations into account.

Another frequent request from our clients is to optimize their WMS for a multichannel strategy, where customers can use gift cards online as well as in-store, pick up and return online orders in-store, or use their loyalty credits both online and in-store. Some clients use legacy, external systems to manage their gift cards, for instance, which Code can easily connect to Shopify.

Shopify CDP integration

A CDP (Customer Data Platform) collects, organizes and centralizes data points concerning your customers from all your systems, for instance from Shopify, analytics, and marketplaces. These can be used to create highly detailed customer profiles, insights in customer interactions, and product- or order feeds with personalized recommendations. Popular CDP systems are Squeezely, Spotler and Bloomreach.

Integrating a CDP with your Shopify store makes it possible to personalize your customer experience ever further. To give an example: when a customer enters a search word on your site, a connection with your CDP enables you to offer the customer a personalized search result based on earlier interactions.

Shopify 3PL integration (Third-Party Logistics)

Is your stock managed by a third party, or do you use specialized software for your warehouse? Integrating it with Shopify ensures your stock levels are continuously synced with all relevant systems, including your online and offline stores.

Such an integration can be done in various ways, depending on your tech stack and fulfillment partner. Code developed a Fulfillment Service Connector (FSC) that offers a full integration with some major 3PL companies in the Netherlands, among them DSV, Bleckmann, Monta, Active Ants, Promese, and Centraal Boekhuis. It also integrates with Picqer WMS and Itsperfect Fashion ERP.

Custom Shopify integrations with Code

What can you expect from an integration project with Code? As usual, we will look for the most efficient way to go about it. Hence, we ask ourselves these three questions:

Does the connector already exist?

When a client asks us to integrate their Shopify store with another system, our first step is always to check if there is a ready-made connector available in the Shopify Appstore. If there isn’t we can build one ourselves, in close collaboration with our tech partners and the client.

2. Is it any good?

If there is a connector available, of course we want to know if it’s any good: does it actually do what it promises to do? To assess if an app or connector works as it should, we test it. How does it perform when you sync 10 products, 10.000 products, 100.000 products for instance? You would be surprised at how often we find that an app doesn’t deliver on its promise.

3. Does it need any additional custom work?

Even when an app survives our assessment, many times our conclusion is that the app is somewhat useful, but needs some custom extension to get the functionality a client requires. Next, we build that custom bit of middleware using an iPaaS (integration Platform as a Service) like Celigo or Alumio, or we turn to Gadget.dev - Code’s favourite development platform.

Building your e-commerce architecture with Code

Are you looking for a reliable integration partner for your Shopify (Plus) store? With Code at your side, integrating your tech stack with new systems will be easier than ever. We build the customizations you need, optimize your connectors wherever possible, and think along with you on how to streamline your ecommerce architecture ever further. Curious which third-party systems we have partnerships with? Check out Code’s partners.

Want to discuss your wishes with us and hear our take on things? Get in touch!