Build Your Own OMNI Channel Retail Engine

There are numerous off-the-shelf technology products available (both paid and free to use versions) to acquire. These can be deployed on as-is-where-is basis or can be modified to suit the business requirement. The challenge arises when modifications are needed to meet business operating requirements.

These off-the-shelf technology products do not share their core source code, therefore any modification/change which is required by the business must be layered over the core source code.

Frequently these off-the-shelf technology products spawn off complete marketplaces of layered applications which can be used to modify/change the product. Some of these ready to use layered modifications work as per expected parameters and some are of extremely poor quality. Peer reviews to these layered modifications is a good indication of their quality and utility.

The argument on building your own eCommerce engine v/s using off-the-shelf eCommerce solutions from Magento, Shopify, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, OpenCart, etc. is complex. Either options come with pros and cons.


Here are 3 primary reasons why we recommend companies who are serious about OMNI Channel eCommerce business should build its own eCommerce engine:

None of the off-the-shelf eCommerce engine are built to handle the entire spectrum of OMNI Channel Retailing. To handle the OMNI Channel and Category complexities, technology solutions must be built which are layered over the off-the-shelf eCommerce engines.

The “Layering” is easy; however, it is ultimately a bloatware and it will have restrictions and inherent contradictions with other “layers” which are built over time for business needs.

A quick evaluation using off-the-shelf eCommerce engines v/s OMNI Channel businesses using customized eCommerce engine clearly shows the bloating of the backend and frontend of these websites due to the “layering” of widgets and frameworks on the off-the-shelf eCommerce engine.

Their source codes are far too complex and large. This is expected, as these off-the-shelf eCommerce engines need to address the requirements of diverse businesses. For speed, we need a lean category specific eCommerce engine, which is purpose built and optimized for the business complexities with minified coding.

While they have built API based integrations with most major ERP and CRM solutions, these integrations are not easily done. And generally, entails business process retooling to accommodate the limitation of these integrations. Whereas a custom-built eCommerce engine is built around existing business processes and business software.

And Finally, we need to remember, when you build your own OMNI Channel engine, you own the source code. And since the core source codes are always available, future upgrades and integrations are easily achieved.