From the Munich graffiti scene to the international web designer

When you think of professional web design, you probably think of a large online agency teeming with creative minds.

According to the motto ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’, Milo deliberately chose the opposite of the typical agency structure. Since 2003 he has been creating unique web designs for online retailers under the name 3oneseven. The core team is manageable.

What kind of online stores do you work with Shopify for?

Over the years I have managed projects from a wide variety of industries. Every project and every customer comes to us with individual requirements and wishes. The decision for a shop system is therefore different from case to case.

What always remains the same, however, is our approach:

We conduct an initial meeting and define the criteria and requirements for the project.
We then determine the structure of the online shop before we create a first design draft.
This draft is finally used as a template for development.
The next step is testing and refinements before the shop finally goes live.

The duration of such a project varies depending on the scope of the product catalog and the additional functions. The shop system used also plays a decisive role. We work with Magento as well as WooCommerce and Shopify. Many customers want simplicity and little effort for the maintenance of the online shop.

Certified Shopify Expert

With a degree and several years of agency experience at a global full-service agency in Berlin, Milo decided to work according to his own creative ideas and set up his own business, 3oneseven.

The agency’s name and logo come from one of its graffiti tags, drawn in wildstyle, a form of graffiti in which letters and connecting dots interlock. For graffiti amateurs, such works are often difficult to read, as the letters often merge into one another in an indecipherable way. While the roots of the agency’s name seem complex, Milo’s designs are quite the opposite. Special, unique and yet simple and user-friendly.

He also follows this concept with the strategy of his company. He links a small internal team to a network of freelancers who are brought in depending on project requirements. With 17 years of agency experience, the design expert has implemented countless e-commerce projects for well-known brands and has been able to use his graffiti skills on a large scale. For the implementation, he relies on various shop systems.

Alpine

For example, for Alpine Electronics, a subsidiary of the Japanese electronics manufacturer Alps Electric, we create shops for every European country and adapt the language, payment and shipping options as well as legal requirements accordingly. Shopify was the right shop system due to its clear structure.

In addition to developing the shop design, we also give the local teams an introduction to using the backend. With over 30 localizations, it was therefore crucial that the system was designed to be user-friendly, both for us and for the customer.

Shopify is simply easier for the customer

In short, Shopify is easier for the customer. He does not have to worry about updates or the server. The cloud solution is also suitable for our enterprise customers. Thanks to our specially developed module, you can easily integrate your SAP system.

Keyword speed. Why is speed optimization part of your service repertoire?

The more script you add to a page, the slower it becomes. Long loading times mean that an online shop is rated worse by search engines and visitors. That’s why we attach great importance to optimized speed. With Shopify, this effort is minimal because many elements are optimized automatically. Here it is important not to have too many apps running in the background.

Why is a SAP Business One integration particularly suitable for high-revenue shops?

While many online retailers rely on SAP Business One as their preferred ERP solution, very few choose Shopify as their store front end. Some avoid connecting to Shopify, fearing the integration will be too complex. The shop system is one of the few that is ideal for linking to SAP Business One thanks to its user-friendliness.

The seamless communication between the two cloud-based systems and the easy scalability support the growth of companies. Without the merger of both systems, the merchant has to log in to Shopify to access analytical numbers. He then has to transfer them manually to the internal SAP system. This can be very time consuming.

In this context, it makes more sense to have all the important information in one place, i.e. in your own ERP system. A centralized evaluation of shop data makes financial accounting easier, especially for shops with a high turnover.

What are the specific benefits of integrating SAP Business One into Shopify?

A perfectly integrated Shopify system has little potential for errors in data transfer between the web storefront and the database. The flow of information is reliable and time-saving, since manual input is no longer necessary. The integration also means greater efficiency for any connected systems using PSM or CSM integration, resulting in accelerated information flow across the enterprise.

The most important advantages of linking SAP Business One and Shopify can be summarized as follows:

• Product data synchronization
  When new products are added to the Shopify frontend, the items in the SAP master are dynamically updated. If product details change, for example due to discounts, they are also automatically updated in the database. This ensures that the information in both systems is consistent at all times.
• Faster order processing
  With the SAP Business One database, buyers can order and pay themselves without registration by shopping as a guest. Order processing is also accelerated as the transit time for information between sites is reduced.
• Accounting
  Purchases made through Shopify can be automatically added to the general ledger once the payment is made.
• Automatic inventory
  As orders are taken and paid for, the inventory automatically updates the inventory value in both systems.
• Current customer data
  For a company with an existing ERP system, data can be imported from the existing SAP database. Regular updates ensure that this data is always up to date.

From purchase to shipping to delivery, the customer always knows what is happening with his order thanks to the connection. This in turn leads to a high level of customer satisfaction, because communication and speed are undoubtedly two of the most important criteria in e-commerce.

Complete interview via Shopify partner blog.