Helm's Marketplace Integrations

In today's dynamic retail landscape, selling across multiple online marketplaces is paramount for maximising reach and revenue. Helm's Marketplace Integrations provide the essential bridge between your internal operations and a vast network of global sales channels. By automating crucial data flows, Helm ensures that your product listings, inventory levels, and order management are perfectly synchronised, eliminating manual effort and significantly reducing the risk of errors like overselling.

With connectivity to over 130 leading sales channels, including major players such as Amazon, eBay, Wayfair, Next, H&M, Tesco, Walmart, and the rapidly growing Temu, Helm empowers you to expand your brand's presence effortlessly.

How Marketplace Integrations Work

Helm's marketplace integrations operate through sophisticated API (Application Programming Interface) connections, facilitating real-time data exchange. This robust mechanism ensures consistency and accuracy across all your connected platforms.

The integration typically encompasses:

• Product Data Synchronisation: Helm pushes comprehensive product information (descriptions, images, pricing, variations) to your chosen marketplaces, ensuring consistency.

• Real-time Inventory Updates: As stock levels change within Helm, these updates are immediately reflected across all connected marketplaces, preventing overselling and ensuring accurate availability.

• Centralised Order Retrieval: Orders placed on any integrated marketplace are automatically pulled into Helm, consolidating them for efficient processing and fulfilment.

• Fulfilment Updates: Once an order is processed and dispatched in Helm, tracking information and status updates are automatically pushed back to the originating marketplace, keeping your customers informed and maintaining seller metrics.

Key Benefits of Integrating Your Marketplaces with Helm

Harnessing Helm's marketplace integration capabilities offers a multitude of advantages for your business:

• Expanded Market Reach: Instantly tap into vast audiences on established platforms, reaching millions of potential customers you might not otherwise access.

• Increased Sales Volume: Broaden your exposure, leading to higher product visibility and, consequently, increased sales opportunities.

• Streamlined Operations: Eliminate time-consuming manual data entry and repetitive tasks associated with managing multiple sales channels independently.

• Enhanced Inventory Accuracy: Real-time stock synchronisation drastically reduces the risk of overselling or stockouts, protecting your reputation and customer satisfaction.

• Centralised Management: Manage all your orders, inventory, and listings from a single, intuitive Helm dashboard, reducing the need to switch between various platform interfaces.

• Improved Customer Experience: Automated order confirmations, shipping updates, and accurate stock information lead to a more transparent and satisfying buying journey.

• Reduced Operational Costs: By automating processes, you minimise the need for manual intervention, freeing up valuable staff time and reducing errors that can lead to costly re-shipments or returns.

• Scalability: Effortlessly add new sales channels as your business grows without increasing operational complexity.

Supported Marketplaces

Helm boasts extensive connectivity, supporting integration with over 130 marketplaces worldwide. A selection of prominent examples includes:

• Global Leaders: Amazon, eBay, Wayfair, Temu, Walmart

• Fashion & Apparel: Next, H&M, ASOS, Zalando

• Home & Lifestyle: Wayfair, Dunelm

• Groceries & General Merchandise: Tesco, Argos

• Niche & Specialised: Etsy (for handmade/vintage), Not On The High Street (for unique gifts)

Please note: The full list of supported integrations is regularly updated. For specific marketplace availability, please contact our support team or refer to the Helm Integration within the application.

Setting Up a Marketplace Integration (General Steps)

While specific steps may vary slightly depending on the marketplace, the general process for integrating a new sales channel with Helm typically involves:

1. Preparation:

   • Account Setup: Ensure you have an active seller account on the target marketplace.

   • API Credentials: Locate and generate the necessary API keys, tokens, or credentials within your marketplace seller account. This is crucial for Helm to communicate securely with the marketplace.

2. Initiating Integration in Helm:

   • Navigate to Settings > Sales Channels (bottom left of the screen)

   • Click Add New Channel

   • Select the desired marketplace from the provided list and click Install

3. Authentication:

   • Helm will prompt you to enter the API credentials obtained from the marketplace.

   • Follow any on-screen instructions for authentication (e.g., granting permissions).

4. Configuration & Mapping:

   • Product Mapping: Helm will guide you through mapping your existing Helm products to corresponding marketplace listings. This can often be done automatically by SKU or manually.

   • Field Mapping: Configure how data fields (e.g., price, description, images, inventory levels) are transferred between Helm and the marketplace.

   • Order Status Mapping: Define how order statuses in Helm correspond to statuses on the marketplace (e.g., "Shipped" in Helm updates to "Dispatched" on Amazon).

   • Shipping Method Mapping: Link your Helm shipping methods to the available shipping options on the marketplace.

5. Initial Data Synchronisation:

   • Once configured, initiate an initial synchronisation to push your current product data and inventory levels to the marketplace and pull in any existing orders.

   • Monitor this initial sync for any errors or discrepancies.

6. Monitoring & Optimisation:

   • Regularly review the integration dashboard within Helm for status updates and any flagged errors.

   • Utilise Helm's Reporting Suite to analyse sales performance, inventory accuracy, and fulfilment times across your integrated marketplaces.

   • Make adjustments to pricing, product descriptions, or fulfilment strategies based on performance data.

Troubleshooting Integration Issues

Should you encounter any issues with a marketplace integration, please consult the dedicated troubleshooting guide or contact Helm Support with details of the marketplace, the specific error message, and the time the issue occurred.

For further assistance, contact Helm Support