It’s been a few busy months for our team at HCL Nordic! We have launched several new solutions for our clients, including websites, online stores, apps and email solutions.

In this post, I want to talk about what our collaboration with Visma entails. This autumn we have launched a total of three online stores, which are directly integrated with a Visma ERP system, two online stores integrated with Visma Business, and one online store integrated with Visma Global. In all these cases, we have set up the solution as an integration towards the online store in WordPress/WooCommerce CMS, which we have coded and developed for our clients.

How to Integrate Visma ERP With WordPress

In our experience, many clients today want more control over their digital sales channels. As development processes keeps getting more efficient, the need for new solutions grows as well. They want these solutions now, at a competitive price. Many clients want to be able to make edits themselves, but parts of the job still have to be done by developers.

I have noticed that many of our clients are concerned about lowering the threshold for their customers. It is all about making the user experience as good as possible to ensure that the customer comes back.

There are three main components involved in all the solutions we have developed for the Visma ERP systems; Business, Global or .Net, synced to a WordPress WooCommerce store.

1. WordPress website with a WooCommerce module, customized for integration.
2. Webservice installed on the client’s company server.
3. Integration between the online store and web service – web service and Visma EPR communicate between them.

The clients decide themselves which modules from Visma to integrate.

Here are some examples of modules integrated into the solutions for our customers:

• Real-time stock status for online stores, ensuring correct stock status after a sale has been made.
• Sale prices from Visma, based on different pricing strategies, so that the customer always gets the correct product price.
• All previous orders are made searchable and accessible for the customer, can be found under “my profile” in the solution.
• Integration between Visma and the online store when new customers are created. A new customer is added in Visma and is automatically updated as a user in the online store.
• Images and product information is updated in Visma and automatically updated in the online store.
• Structure from Visma, e.g. categories, is seamlessly transferred to the online store.

Why You Should Integrate Visma ERP With WordPress

The clients we work with choose to integrate their Visma ERP with WordPress because they want to efficiently manage their digital sales channel. The more customers they have shopping online, the more time they can save on administrative tasks internally. Self-service means the customer can find a copy of their invoice, reorder products or search for specific products they previously have purchased. These are needs especially relevant for B2B companies.

Many of our clients already have a Visma ERP solution, often combined with an online store, before they decide to proceed with a solution like the one mentioned above. Before this was possible, many used a Zpider solution from Visma, or another solution developed in a CMS through another developer. These are modern systems and they have been available for a while.

So why would you then go for something new and less familiar, like WordPress, which in addition gives the client a greater responsibility of creating their own solutions? I don’t think there is one correct answer to this. Many factors come into play: WordPress = open software, ownership for the client, easy to keep up with changes (as developers from around the world contribute), DIY, control, and greater risk. At the same time, WordPress is the world’s most used CMS and can practically be integrated with “everything”.

Do you already have a Visma ERP solution and an online store? Or is it your plan to develop a brand-new online store? It is important that you find out exactly what your needs are and your long-term goals before choosing a solution.