What is Salesforce commerce cloud?

This article is the third in our series on e-commerce CMS. Today we're talking about SalesForceCommerceCloud, but you can also find other articles on:

• Ecwid
• Wordpress

 

Have you ever heard of Salesforce 's e-commerce solution ? Yes, Salesforce, the leader in CRM solutions, also makes an e-commerce solution that was recognized in 2020 by The Forrester Wave as a leader in e-commerce solutions . The Forrester Wave is the report ranking technology or business solutions. SFC, as it's called, is a fairly comprehensive and diversified solution allowing you to manage your online business.

Who created Salesforce Commerce Cloud?

The history of Salesforce Commerce Cloud begins with the creation of the Salesforce platform, which is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. This platform was created in 1999 by Marc Benioff, assisted by three of his colleagues: Parker Harris, Dave Mollenhoff, and Frank Dominguez.

In 2001, the former became its official CEO. The platform continued to grow over the years. So much so that in 2004, it officially went public and in 2009, it reached a billion in annual turnover for a total of around 55,000 customers .

As it expands, Salesforce acquires new branches to diversify its offerings. In particular, in 2016, it acquired the DemandWare platform, which later became Commerce Cloud , its new “cloud commerce” feature, for $2.86 billion.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is one of the 12 branches that make up Salesforce Digital 360. But what makes it so special?

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a cloud-based commerce platform, just like Shopify and Shopify Plus .

The Cloud is the solution that allows you to manage all your activities without worrying about server hosting. Commerce Cloud is widely available and used for the creation of many e-commerce projects. Today, in 2022, according to Built with, there are just over 5,600 active e-commerce sites in 80 different countries .

Who uses SFC in e-commerce?

Due to its focus on large accounts , even very large accounts, and its numerous possibilities, many large companies have chosen to use the Salesforce Commerce Cloud solution. It is even possible that you have already ordered from one of these sites. We invite you to discover some e-shops selected by our team and created with Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

Addidas E-commerce Site

Adidas e-commerce site has been a Salesforce CRM customer since 2011, using various features of the latter, including Commerce Cloud, to manage their online store . Adidas was one of the pioneers of digital marketing , creating a real digital universe to become an independent online store. Thanks to the Commerce Cloud platform, the brand can connect with buyers around the world, as well as manage its fifty or so stores around the world .

L'Oréal Paris E-commerce Site

L'Oréal Paris has decided to use Salesforce Commerce Cloud, in particular, to develop its B2B and B2C commerce branches. The beauty e-commerce sector is indeed promising if you too want to create your own e-commerce site in the beauty sector ! Their B2B commerce is a site intended for professionals called L'Oréal partner shop, it allows you to obtain information on new products, unique promotions, etc.

Just like Adidas, L'Oréal Paris has around 80 stores and the Commerce Cloud platform allows them to connect with each other by creating better customer experiences .

Alinéa uses Salesforce commerce cloud

Alinéa 's e-commerce site has been hosted on Salesforce Commerce Cloud since 2018. They made this choice in order to create a site that offers a real customer experience and a real user journey . Their site is therefore interactive and adapts to all screen sizes thanks to a Commerce Cloud feature that allows it. For the future, their wish is to continue their development and offer personalized content based on customers .

Orchestra

After Orchestra's e-commerce site was created by the company itself, it migrated to Commerce Cloud in 2014 to give it a new lease of life. In 2017, the company adopted an omnichannel strategy that allowed it to connect its physical and online stores. Furthermore, according to their testimony, the integration of the Order Management System functionality within the site allowed them to centralize all inventory from all warehouses and stores in a single point . This allows any salesperson to know the inventory of any point of sale at a specific time. Their inventory management and therefore their response to customer needs in the event of a stockout have been improved.

What we can notice is that the sectors of activity and use cases are varied. Indeed, we find sites offering the sale of sportswear or children's clothing, furniture, cosmetics but also watches, confectionery and many others. This illustrates that the Salesforce Commerce Cloud service can adapt to any type of business .

What are the features of Salesforce Commerce Cloud?

As the sites presented have illustrated, Salesforce is software that allows you to set up B2B businesses aimed at professionals or B2C businesses aimed at consumers. Thus, depending on the features you choose, you can target your business to a specific audience.

Regarding the B2C solution , it has many features which represent advantages in the process of standing out from your competitors:

• Many features to facilitate your site installation on mobile
• The ability to connect in-store sales associates to real-time inventory with Commerce Cloud Endless Aisle
• Managing your catalogs on different channels (website, social networks, etc.) in one place, but also managing all your stores and sites from the same point
• Tools to create attractive content and thus improve purchase conversion
• The implementation of artificial intelligence to personalize experiences and guide navigation
• Ease of order management
• Many APIs available
• The ability to set up one-click payments through apps
• Tools to establish yourself in global markets safely and at a lower cost
• Possibility of customizing your site according to the geographic area
• And many more

Secondly, we can also talk about the features that will revolutionize your B2B online business :

• Numerous features to facilitate purchasing to highlight contracted and negotiated prices, quick orders
• Ability to create gateways with your partners' sites
• Possibility of managing fairly large orders
• Easy-to-install specialized payment apps for businesses
• Connecting B2B2C experiences to facilitate transitions from initial producer to end customer
• Managing your content and interface made easy

In other words, the Commerce Cloud solution adapts to your needs, regardless of your industry or potential targets. It allows you to create and run your online site quickly and easily, while offering you numerous features to be as comprehensive as possible.

How much does Salesforce Commerce Cloud cost?

When it comes to pricing, this is certainly where the platform stands out. When targeting large or even very large accounts , the prices for obtaining a Salesforce Commerce Cloud site are at the top of the range for e-commerce solutions: Expect to pay several hundred thousand euros for a Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFC) project at a minimum and several months of projects (or more).

Certainly for this price you have a complete B2B and B2B e-commerce solution but there are many solutions today, like Shopify Plus which are much more competitive .

Thus, depending on B2B or B2C wishes, functionalities may differ, which is why the e-commerce software provides summary tables to help you see things more clearly.

Salesforce is therefore a complete software that can adapt to any type of business as long as you have the means . It will allow you to grow while improving your conversions and customer loyalty. It is therefore a tool that will be more intended for large companies with large budgets than for companies wishing to launch into e-commerce.

In the long term, this solution can cost you a lot (or even too much), while there are solutions like Shopify that are much more advantageous.