Identifying the End-to-End Capabilities of SAP Commerce Cloud

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to identify the end-to-end capabilities of SAP Commerce Cloud.

Increase Profitability with Connected Commerce Journeys

Before we look at some of the capabilities that SAP Commerce Cloud offers when embedded in the broader context of SAP Customer Experience and SAP Business Suite, we need to understand that customer journeys are diverse. For example, someone buying a pair of shoes from a fashion retailer will have very different requirements from a purchaser buying spare parts for an aircraft fleet.

Different industries, different levels of product knowledge, order quantities, product complexities, geographical locations, and countless other details will affect how a customer engages and what the customer expects.

To give you an idea, we will look at a B2C and a B2B example of how SAP Commerce Cloud can help a customer journey. Keep in mind that these examples represent the numerous journeys that the flexibility and agility of SAP Commerce Cloud can accommodate.

Solving Unique Commerce Challenges with Composable Solutions

SAP Commerce Cloud provides B2B companies with the flexibility, customization, and advanced features necessary to enhance the B2B commerce experience. By empowering buyers through a digital portal, offering seamless configuration and purchasing, and ensuring transparent post-purchase excellence, B2B companies can drive customer satisfaction, increase sales, and stay ahead of the competition in the ever-evolving B2B commerce landscape. Together with other SAP and partner solutions, SAP Commerce Cloud can pave the way to great customer experiences, no matter what journey customer may embark upon.

Here are some more examples of how SAP Commerce Cloud can fit into end-to-end processes with other solutions:

The image displays SAP solutions that streamline the buying process across three stages: discovery, purchasing, and post-purchase. In the Empower buyers through discovery on digital portal stage, tools like Emarsys Customer Engagement, SAP Commerce Cloud, CIAM for B2B, BTP, Coveo, and CDP are featured. The Offer seamless hassle-free configuration and purchasing experience section highlights solutions including SAP Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, SAP CPQ, SAP Order Management Foundation, Digital Core, CDP, Commerce Cloud, and 3D Visualization. The final stage, Transparent, profitable postpurchase excellence, showcases SAP Contract Management, SAP Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP Subscription Billing, SAP Entitlement Management, CIAM for B2B, SAP Visual Spares & Service, Qualtrics, BTP, 3D Visualization, and Digital Core. Solutions are color-coded, with SAP CX Solutions in blue, SAP Business Technology Platform in green, SAP Solutions in green, and Partner Solutions in purple, demonstrating their integration for an optimal digital buyer experience.
  1. EMPOWER BUYERS THROUGH DISCOVERY ON DIGITAL PORTAL
    • Personalized and relevant product recommendations with comprehensive information.
    • Streamlined and intuitive user experience with flexible and customizable search and navigation.
    • Comprehensive customer data and insights.
  2. OFFER SEAMLESS HASSLE-FREE CONFIGURATION AND PURCHASING EXPERIENCE
    • Detailed product information, configuration, and quoting.
    • Customizable, personalized product catalog and ordering to meet the needs of the customer.
    • Flexible payment processing and comprehensive order management.
    • Comprehensive customer and sales support and assistance throughout the purchasing process.
  3. TRANSPARENT, PROFITABLE POSTPURCHASE EXCELLENCE
    • Easy up and cross-sell and repurchasing through 3D visualized install base to easily find the right parts.
    • Real-time order tracking and management as well as streamlined returns and refunds.
    • Comprehensive analytics and reporting and full visibility in contracts, and entitlements.
    • Personalized customer support and assistance.

Increase Profitability with Connected B2C Commerce Journeys

The image outlines steps to enhance profitability through connected B2C commerce journeys, focusing on customer expectations and business imperatives. It displays a six-step process beginning with customer discovery driven by personalized content and ads and leading to brand exploration, product promotion, visibility into order status, sending personalized offers to customers, and encouraging repeat site visits for purchasing. The diagram visually associates these steps with key business phases: market, sell, and retain.

Much of what was true in the B2B scenario will also apply when engaging B2C customers. Companies still want to offer engaging experiences and offer customers the right products at the right price. But the details of what makes a good customer experience and how the right information gets to the customer will differ.

The world of B2C commerce is quite different from B2B. So, let’s look at another example of what companies and customers may be focused on in a B2C scenario.

  1. Again, awareness is key. While in our previous example, product data was a focus, here companies want a broader approach to personalization. Advertisements, targeted and engaging content, and personalized communication are all key to engage customers at the right time, in the right channel, with the right product.
  2. Customers who engage with the storefront expect a vast experience that fits the brand. The latest trends, engaging visuals, or social responsibility campaigns are just some of the examples of what customers may want to see. Whatever the current trend, it is about more than just showing product information. ​
  3. Once it does come down to presenting the right product, companies want to make sure it’s the lates and greatest that matches the customer’s interest. Be it by using powerful AI driven product recommendation or intuitive and accurate search options, the right product has to be presented at the right time.
  4. Especially when delivery times have to be extremely short, it’s crucial that customers always know their delivery status.​
  5. The relationship does not end here. The customer can still be engaged with personalized offers.​
  6. And happy customers are customers who return for great experiences.

From Discovery to Advocacy, Delivering a Seamless B2C Journey

The image illustrates the seamless B2C journey from discovery to advocacy with SAP solutions. Starting from discovery to advocacy, it highlights key steps: campaign promotion, personalized discovery, customer engagement, and online catalog shopping. Proceeding with payment options, adding products to cart, leveraging product recommendations, and using search functions. The journey continues with order processing including BOPIS or delivery, confirmation, and post-purchase customer support, fostering customer loyalty. Integration spans SAP ERP, Commerce & OMS, Marketing, Sales, and Service & ESM, enhancing customer relationship management through data flow and customer data platforms.

To offer a different engaging experience to customers in B2C scenarios, the way solutions interact is also going to be somewhat different. With the flexibility of SAP Customer Experience and SAP Commerce Cloud more specifically, companies can build the experience that are right for their customers. Companies may choose to focus more on the capabilities that already come with SAP Commerce Cloud to offer a seamless experience. The solution comes with comprehensive features, that we will cover in detail in a later lesson.

But again this is an example, and customer journeys can look a lot more complex in terms of solutions combinations:

This image illustrates a strategic framework featuring SAP solutions aimed at customer engagement and journey enhancement. It is divided into three segments: (1) Engage with Customers, highlighting tools like CIAM for B2C, Commerce Cloud, Service Cloud, Emarsys Customer Engagement, CDP, and Digital Core, powered by SAP CX Solutions and the SAP Business Technology Platform; (2) Expand Customer Journeys using insights with additional solutions such as Intelligent Returns, Contentstack, Qualtrics, showcasing collaboration between SAP Solutions, Partner Solutions; and (3) Add Innovation and Sustainability with use cases like Sinch, Ecocart, Coveo integrated with SAP Analytics Cloud and Digital Core, emphasizing the blend of SAP and Partner Solutions for enhanced customer experience and operational efficiency.
  1. ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS WHERE THEY ARE AND ON THEIR OWN TERMS
    • Show each consumer product data consistently across channels thank to Digital Core integration.
    • Anticipate customers’ expectations while collecting interests and preferences.
    • Define personalized omnichannel campaigns and automate execution at scale.
  2. EXPAND AND ADAPT CUSTOMER JOURNEYS FLEXIBLY BASED ON INSIGHTS
    • Ensure consistency across offerings and engagements in store and online​.
    • Collect 1st party customer data across all consumer touchpoints to create a full picture about their needs and preferences​.
    • Serve customers better in store by empowering your workforce with data from across all touchpoints, be it consumer preferences, recommendations, orders or inventory​.
    • Enable scenarios to buy-anywhere, deliver anywhere​ and return easily.
  3. ADD INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY USE CASES TO BOOST RESULTS

    Extend use cases for consumers to give more options to interact with your brand or to buy.

    • Coveo - search and merch for product discovery.
    • Ecocart - offset carbon footprint on every purchase.
    • Sinch - virtual assistant.

Summary

  • Customer journeys are unique and will look very different depending on different factors such as industry, order type, individual preference, and much more.
  • No matter how a customer journey may look in the end, SAP has the right solutions. Be it with the wider Business Suite, Customer Experience solutions, or the flexibility and adaptability of SAP Commerce Cloud itself, companies can build the ideal customer experience for their customers.

Learning

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