What is Baselinker and when it's worth implementing Baselinker

This may be the first time you’re coming across the word “Baselinker”. Not everyone knows what it is, what it’s used for, and what can be achieved thanks to it. If you want to expand your knowledge and learn what Baselinker is and when it’s worth implementing it, read this article.

What is Baselinker and what does it do?

Baselinker is an external online system that can be connected to a variety of functionalities. It has a wide spectrum of integrations on different levels: warehouse and sales. Baselinker integrates an e-commerce platform with other platforms and tools. It is a command center for many channels at once. Thanks to Baselinker, you as an e-commerce store owner will receive measurable benefits which depend on what you need at the given moment:

• Baselinker can be an order manager for example. It will simultaneously handle orders placed in your online store and on various sales portals, such as Allegro, eBay, etc.
• You can also manage warehouses with Baselinker. It’s a great tool if you only sell through marketplaces because then the store is assumed to be less necessary or just a burden.
• Baselinker allows you to manage the whole shipping process without the need to install and configure additional software. You can handle the entire sales process through Baselinker.

Baselinker is also a system that has a lot of automation, which means that it has a range of elements, tools, and functions that allow you to speed up certain processes. Thanks to this, you do not have to manually notify the customers when the status of their order changes. The system itself can perform certain actions on the warehouse level, take care of customer service, or as part of data exchange with marketplaces. Baselinker will automatically send a message to the customer to notify him that he has made a purchase. It will also send a bill or invoice. It will provide information about the shipment of the goods.

What about safety? Baselinker isn’t flawless. Servers may go down, but Baselinker makes a backup so your data will be restored and you don’t have to worry.

Is Baselinker worth having?

The answer to this question is complex. It depends on:

• what your expectations are,
• at what stage of development your store is,
• how many sales do you have,
• what exactly do you want to do?

Generally, it’s worth having Baselinker. However, not everyone will use its potential. For most e-commerce activities, it is a must-have, so everyone should take a look at this tool and decide if it is for them.

1. BaseLinker – when it isn’t worth implementing

Remember that Baselinker is not a system that can do everything. The creators of Baselinker themselves as well as the development department can prepare certain things for you, and this is only a matter of price. Assuming that you are not a huge e-commerce player and do not want to invest a lot of money in modifications, you must remember that Baselinker is a more or less closed system that is based on integrations. These integrations are very often written by external companies or services that want to be associated with Baselinker. Sometimes Baselinker itself and Baselinker administrators do not influence what the integration looks like. So it’s a limited system in a way that you can’t get every functionality. If your company has specific needs and the assumptions of its operation are very different from the standards, it may turn out that in your case you will have to put a lot of time, work, and money into Baselinker.

With standard activities, for example, when you use Shopper, basic versions of PrestaShop, or Magento, everything will work fine for you. But if you have customized software for your company, things may be different here. In such a situation, you will probably not get a good integration, and even if you do, you will have to go through the entire development process. And guess what? That costs money. SaaS, Magento, and PrestaShop all have integrations with Baselinker. But it’s more about the characteristics of the company’s operation. Some have a specialized product or some internal order management processes that do not allow you to fully integrate with Baselinker.

Why? Because Baselinker doesn’t take some things into account. Rather, it standardizes certain processes. If you adapt to this, then Baselinker will work for you. If not, because the operation of your company goes far beyond the standards, then integration with BaseLinker may not make sense in your case. Of course, for the right amount of money, you can do anything. But it won’t always pay off. It may turn out that in your case it will be better to implement dedicated solutions.

2. BaseLinker – when is it worth having

For those who do not go beyond the standards and for those who can adapt to this tool. Baselinker as a tool has some limitations, but it also has great possibilities, and sometimes we have to adapt to this tool. Baselinker will be useful to anyone who:

• will adapt certain processes to Baselinker,
• does not go far beyond the schemes,
• already has some e-commerce awareness.

Of course, anyone can set up a Baselinker account. Registration only takes a few minutes. It will take a little longer to set up. However, not every e-commerce will effectively use it.

I do not recommend Baselinker if you are just starting in e-commerce or marketplace sales and you have only a few orders per day. The amount of time spent on its implementation will not be adequate for the benefits you will get.

When you are more experienced, Baselinker can prove itself, because all processes related to logistics and the management of offers on marketplaces can be combined into one system – Baselinker. It can significantly shorten the time of order fulfillment, contact and order management, etc. In addition, data exchange, and information flow between Baselinker and its systems means that, for example, the accounting and invoicing system can automatically generate and send invoices and receipts based on order data. Your store can process orders that fall into Baselinker and you can manage them from the store level. The communication that takes place on the store’s side and later on Baselinker’s side is optimized and all of these processes become easier to manage.

Why is Baselinker so popular?

I don’t think it’s as popular as it deserves to be. Few people who are new to e-commerce are aware of what Baselinker is and that it exists at all. Of course, agencies and companies implementing e-commerce software know it. Unfortunately, for some reason, they rarely propose such integration on their own.

Are the other solutions worth considering besides Baselinker?

There are of course many other solutions. However, for example, on a software store like PrestaShop to:

• integrate several logistics services,
• coordinate Allegro or other marketplaces,
• additionally, connect with the sales and accounting system

you need integration. Also on SaaS software, which is predefined, some things are standardized so that you have no influence on them at all and cannot change them. Some integrations are also needed there, although on a smaller scale because SaaS software has most of them.

If you are a small beginner, Baselinker will not necessarily help you. Especially if you have a store based on Shopper software or other SaaS software and it already has most of the integrations, e.g. with marketplaces, as part of the subscription service.

This is not the case with open-source software. In PrestaShop or Magento, most of these integrations have to be purchased separately in the form of modules. And the implementation of several modules and their maintenance also costs money. In addition, the use of several separate modules may cause various types of complications because they may not work properly with each other. Unfortunately, an online store is a living organism in which something needs to be improved now and then, although it seems at the first glance that everything is stable. The more modules you have, the more integrations within the store, the more you load the system, and the more likely it is that an error will occur. When it comes to Baselinker, there is one binding and it does not burden the system at all in most software.

Baselinker – a connection with marketplaces

When it comes to marketplaces, order management is not very profitable, so a tool such as Baselinker makes it possible to manage several marketplaces and even several accounts in one marketplace. If that’s what you’re doing then this is a very useful tool for you, so consider subscribing immediately. Why? Because some things are simply easier to do, There is also automation so you can manage logistics, and warehouses, and have full control to save yourself a lot of time.

Baselinker – how much does it cost and is it worth it?

Baselinker is worth implementing when you have a prepared business plan and the right amount of sales. That’s when Baselinker and its automation will actually help you. There are a few subscription options in Baselinker and their costs are based on:

• the number of orders that fall into Baselinker despite if they’re from your store on marketplaces,
• the size of the warehouse which means the number of products that are implemented into Baselinker.

These options are different. Of course, we are talking about standard options, because some are set individually for large companies. This is a price range from PLN 40 to about PLN 500. It all depends on how many e-commerce sales you have in your store. Up to 1000 products and 100 orders per month, it is about $ 10 per month. For up to 500 orders it is $ 30. It’s really not much considering how much work it will do for you and that you already have all the integrations for this price.

In PrestaShop, integrating many functionalities, for example, shipping to parcel shops, is an additional fee. Baselinker already has everything integrated into one amount. In the next article, we will describe the process of integrating Baselinker with Prestashop.

Summary – what is Baselinker and when is it worth having?

I think that now you know what Baselinker is and when it is worth having it. If possible, it is worth automating as many processes in the company as possible, which is why you are probably now considering implementing Baselinker in your e-commerce. Baselinker can certainly help automate the purchasing and logistics process. This will give you more control and save you a lot of time and money.