eCommerce Automation Is Not The Strategy

eCommerce leaders are being urged to treat automation as a tool to serve business outcomes, not as an end in itself.

Mark Presnell, Managing Director of Convergence Ltd, says automation decisions should always begin with a question: what problem are we solving, and is automation the best way to solve it?

Convergence is a New Zealand-based firm that helps businesses design and deliver integrated systems across finance, inventory, CRM and eCommerce. Presnell says his team often encounters businesses pursuing automation for its own sake.

“There is a common reflex to automate anything manual. But efficiency gains only matter if they free up capacity, improve decision-making, or remove a genuine bottleneck,” says Presnell. “Automating noise just gives you faster noise.”

In the B2B eCommerce space, the pressure to automate has grown with the rise of self-service portals, complex procurement workflows, and system integration requirements. However, research suggests that moving too quickly into automation can entrench inefficiencies if the underlying processes are not well understood or well designed.

Presnell says a structured approach is essential. “Poorly scoped automation can create hidden complexity and tie teams to rigid processes that no longer reflect how the business actually works,” he says.

Research also shows that automation efforts are more successful when they are driven by clear operational objectives rather than broad transformation goals. Businesses attempting to automate processes that are not yet mature (or stable) often leads to more rework and confusion, particularly when staff need to find workarounds to fix errors the automation cannot handle.

Presnell sees this regularly in projects involving inventory synchronisation, customer onboarding, or pricing approvals. “It’s tempting to build automation around how things currently work, but that often bakes in flaws. You’re better off starting with a clean understanding of the outcome you want and building back from there.”

For eCommerce businesses exploring automation (particularly those operating in the B2B space), there are three practical steps that can help guide better decisions.

1. Identify bottlenecks, not irritants

Presnell advises separating minor annoyances from real constraints. “Just because something is repetitive doesn’t mean it’s a problem. Automation should target steps that delay delivery, drive error rates, or require constant workarounds.”

2. Understand the total cost of change

Automation introduces costs beyond implementation, including system maintenance, staff training, process redesign, and ongoing vendor management. A task that takes five minutes manually may not justify a complex integration project unless it delivers value at scale or reduces meaningful risk.

3. Focus on interoperability, not just automation

Many B2B environments rely on interactions between platforms such as product catalogues, pricing systems, and ERPs. “You don’t need to automate everything,” says Presnell. “You need your systems to talk to each other clearly and reliably.”

Research shows that organisations with reliable data flows across systems tend to achieve better operational performance than those that focus on automation alone. Presnell notes that automation works best when it is part of a broader strategy to improve system visibility, accuracy, and responsiveness.

Above all, he encourages eCommerce leaders to keep their focus on purpose. “Automation is something you do after you’ve decided what matters. If you don’t know your differentiators, automating your sales flow won’t help you sell more.”

ABOUT 

Based in Auckland but working with New Zealand companies nationwide, Convergence makes business in eCommerce simple. Experts in eCommerce integration, Convergence is responsible for creating the links between an eCommerce website and key business software systems in the cloud or on-premises. Convergence has developed its own cloud-based integration platform, CODI [Convergence Optimised Data Integration], which essentially acts as the hub between client systems and connects them.

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