3 Ways To Enhance E-Commerce Experience And Operations
In today's fast news cycles and noisy customer acquisition and retention landscape, tools that help brands offer innovative solutions to increase retention, streamline operations, and create cost savings are invaluable. Several resources are making significant strides in this quest, backed by industry research and expert insights.
Optimizing E-Commerce Operations with Pipe17
Starting from what’s typically hidden behind the scenes, Pipe17 aims to revolutionize e-commerce order operations. Founded with the mission to unify and structure data while automating order flows, Pipe17 addresses the complexities that online merchants face in managing multiple sales channels, fulfillment centers, and back-office systems. And they do it without the need for enterprise or traditional order management systems (OMS). This is important because legacy solutions often fall short due to their inflexibility, resource-intensive nature and high total cost of ownership. Pipe17 offers a modern alternative by combining order orchestration with built-for-commerce connectivity, enabling businesses to automate their order operations without expensive OMS or integration platforms.
At the core of Pipe17’s technology is its hub-and-spoke architecture, which powers customer journeys by connecting front-end sales channels (e.g., direct-to-consumer, marketplaces, and multi-brand partners) to fulfillment centers and back-office applications seamlessly. Additionally, Pipe17's AI agent, Pippen, assists businesses in enhancing decision-making and eliminating repetitive tasks by leveraging a comprehensive commerce data model and best practices in order operations.
Scott Lux, EVP of Global E-commerce and Technology for Esprit Holdings, emphasizes the importance of such a solution: “This type of technology is business-critical in supporting a modern approach to drive growth and enable commerce across multiple solutions. Pipe17 gives brands a single source of truth across all channels for inventory management, eliminating long-term tech and operational debt that is problematic in today’s e-commerce ecosystems.”
This perspective is supported by research from McKinsey & Company, which highlights that businesses leveraging automation in their order management processes experience a 15-25% reduction in operational costs and a 20-30% improvement in order fulfillment speed, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and retention.
Data-Driven Decision-Making with Corral Data
Complementary to Pipe17’s operational efficiencies, Corral Data supports brands in managing and applying solutions that enable the collection, organization, and analysis of vast amounts of information. By providing tools that streamline data workflows, Corral empowers organizations to make informed decisions, uncover insights, and drive strategic initiatives.
According to Lux, “Corral Data allows a brand to connect to hundreds of data sources without the dependency on data engineers. Retail is in the moment, and having actionable insights in real-time is key to serving cross-functional teams in today’s retail climate.”
Research from Harvard Business Review underscores this, noting that companies that effectively utilize big data analytics are 5-6% more profitable than their competitors and make strategic decisions 19% faster on average. Corral Data's solutions align with this trend by enabling real-time access to critical business intelligence, fostering agility in decision-making.
Enhancing Customer Experience with Hark
Even closer to what a customer actually sees is how they experience a brand. Another foundational platform that Lux identifies as key to success is Hark, which enables brands to become more customer-centric by offering a cost-effective and interactive solution to customer communications and feedback.
Hark's innovative approach integrates voice of the customer (VoC) feedback into the customer journey, moving beyond static surveys and impersonal chatbots. Instead, customers can share their experiences via video, audio, or images, while AI layers in real-time analysis and sentiment structuring. This methodology aligns with findings from Forrester Research, which reports that companies leveraging VoC programs see customer retention rates increase by up to 55%.
Lux notes: “Hark transforms a brand’s connection to its customers at pivotal moments. By modernizing the voice of the customer, brands foster loyalty and build lasting relationships.”
A study from Gartner also supports that modernizing
the voice of the customer fosters brand loyalty, revealing that organizations using VoC insights to drive strategy improve customer satisfaction scores by 25% on average and experience a 10-15% increase in revenue growth compared to competitors who do not.
The Competitive Advantage of Integration
The trifecta of Pipe17, Corral Data, and Hark exemplifies the innovative spirit required to navigate today’s increasingly competitive business environment, where profitability is paramount. By offering solutions that streamline operations, harness the power of data, and enhance customer engagement, these companies empower businesses to operate more efficiently and effectively – all while delivering exceptional customer experiences.
As businesses continue to evolve, the integration of automation, data-driven insights, and VoC strategies will be key to long-term success. With the backing of research and expert endorsements, it’s clear that leveraging these tools isn’t just an option, but rather a necessity for brands looking to thrive in the modern marketplace.
This article was originally published by Forbes on 3/29/25.