Consumers are demanding nowadays – they want to be provided with current product information, personalised offers and omnichannel shopping availability at any time. To this end, FMCG companies are automating processes and implementing artificial intelligence to meet customer expectations. Quick implementation of such IT solutions was made possible by integration using API.
In this article, we will look at what API is, what benefits does a company get from API integration, and we will analyse a real example.
Table of Сontents
What is API and what solutions can be integrated using API
API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of rules that allow different programs to communicate with each other. API resembles a waiter in a restaurant who receives your order, passes it to the kitchen, and brings the finished meal. You don’t have to be aware of what’s going on in the kitchen – you just get the result.
For an FMCG manufacturer, API works in a similar way. When a sales manager wants to know how a product is selling in different regions, they open the corporate app. Via API, the application requests data from all connected sources: retail chain accounting systems, internal warehouses, and logistics centres. The API collects all information and provides the manager with a consistent picture of sales without the need to understand where these data have been obtained and how they have been processed.
Retailers and FMCG companies use API to create a comprehensive ecosystem of business processes. These interfaces integrate payment systems, automate product information updates, and personalise offers for customers.
Benefits of API Integration for FMCG Companies
Reducing Development Costs
Reduction of costs for API development significantly reduces the cost of implementing IT solutions in retail trade. Instead of developing mobile apps from scratch, companies integrate ready-made solutions into existing apps, which makes it possible not only to save money, but also to speed up launch – the new functionality becomes available in weeks, not months. Another advantage of such solutions is that they are easy to support, requiring fewer resources as compared to servicing custom software.
Standardisation of Data Exchange
Standardised data exchange eliminates human errors when working with data and significantly speeds up all processes. It is ensured by automatic real-time exchange of information instead of periodical file uploading. In addition, a unified data exchange standard simplifies interaction with all counterparties, replacing many various formats with one universal protocol.
Ease of Integrating Various Solutions into a Unified System
Easy integration of various solutions into a single API system creates a single ecosystem of business processes instead of unrelated integrations. It ensured complete traceability of goods from production to the shelf, and connection to external services, such as delivery, analytics, and marketing, becomes much simpler as compared to isolated systems.
Customer control and parallel implementation processes
A significant advantage of API integration is the ability to work in parallel. While the company is training neural networks on the basis of customer data, the customer itself can already be working on integration. The client becomes able to fully control the implementation process and to independently determine the integration timelines, to test individual components and make necessary adjustments without delays. This approach speeds up the implementation of the solution significantly and makes it possible to distribute resources among all project participants in the best way.
Actual API integration results: case of Lex Marketing
The use of API is especially effective in merchandising, for example, to control display. The system checks compliance with planograms in real time, monitors the availability of goods on shelves and the correctness of price tags. Via API, computer vision is integrated with any corporate mobile app, creating a flexible and cost-effective point-of-sale control system.
Lex Marketing, a trade marketing agency in Eastern Europe, had a need in product display monitoring automation. The company opted for Goods Checker – a cloud service based on computer vision for automating merchandising processes. They also chose the option where the solution is integrated via API.
To this end, we use Swagger, a set of tools for documenting API that makes integration clear and transparent for customers. In Swagger, we’ve provided details for each request type, its functionality, and the return data, including the authorisation and photo submission processes. Then, the customer’s team used these instructions to integrate Goods Checker. Due to API integration, the company quickly implemented the system in 4,500 stores across the country.
After Goods Checker has been implemented, the manual processes have been reduced significantly: previously, merchandisers filled out reporting forms themselves, now the application does most of the work. As a result, employees spend 70% less time compiling reports at the outlet, and stores are audited 60% faster. Moreover, the quality of the data received has improved: the customer receives complete, accurate, up-to-date analytical data with the breakdown by various parameters.
This case vividly shows the advantages of API integration in retail trade: the implementation is expeditious, the solution does not have to be developed from scratch, there is a unified data exchange standard and the ability to automate processes that now require significant human resources.
One has to implement technological solutions as soon as today
API integration is not just a technological solution, but a path to real business processes transformation in retail trade. The companies that have already chosen this path clearly show better business performance: significant time savings, increased data accuracy, and improved service quality.
You can start with a small pilot project to see the potential advantages for your business and then to gradually scale up the successful solutions. The market is constantly changing, and companies who are in delay with digital transformation are at risk of being left behind by their more advanced competitors.
