Note: This article covers Next Engine, an order and inventory management integration service specific to the Japanese market. The information below will not be directly relevant if you are not selling in Japan or do not use this Japan-specific service.
Next Engine is a service that helps streamline the operations required to run an e-commerce site. By integrating it with Shopify, you can keep operations running smoothly even as the number of stores you manage grows.
This article explains in detail the benefits, integration method, and precautions for connecting Next Engine with Shopify.
What is Next Engine?
Image source: Next Engine
Next Engine is a service that helps centrally manage and automate the operations required to run multiple e-commerce stores. It provides over 200 features supporting the detailed tasks needed for e-commerce operations, including product registration, order management, purchase order management, and POS integration.
It integrates with e-commerce malls and shopping carts, of course, but also with a wide range of other systems, including warehouses, promotional systems, and core business systems.
In July 2018, it achieved the No. 1 position in the industry for adoption track record. As of 2024, over 6,000 companies have contracts, and it has been adopted by more than 50,000 stores.
Sites well suited to adopting Next Engine
Adopting Next Engine is well suited for e-commerce sites facing challenges such as the following.
- Increasing workload burden or human error at the operational level
- Aiming for full automation of e-commerce operations
- Struggling with managing multiple stores
Adopting Next Engine allows you to automate the tasks within e-commerce operations where "outcomes don't change no matter who does them." This helps reduce workload and brings you closer to full automation of your e-commerce site.
Next Engine can also consolidate wholesale orders and physical store inventory, not just e-commerce sites. If you're running multiple e-commerce stores alongside physical stores or offline orders, adopting Next Engine is especially recommended.
Benefits of integrating Next Engine with Shopify
Many people running an e-commerce site use "Shopify," a rapidly growing e-commerce platform. Even if you're running your e-commerce site on Shopify, integrating with Next Engine can help streamline operations and reduce time costs.
Here, we introduce the benefits of integrating Shopify with Next Engine.
Centralized management of orders, inventory, and shipping operations
Integrating Shopify with Next Engine helps with centralized management of order, inventory, and shipping operations.
Once Next Engine is integrated, everything from importing orders to sending thank-you emails and purchase order notification emails can be automated. By linking with warehouse, physical store, and core system inventory, quantities are updated in real time, reducing the risk of overselling that is common with online stores. Irregular changes such as cancellations and returns are also reflected, enabling highly accurate inventory management.
By integrating with a shipping label issuance system, you can also streamline the tasks needed for shipping, such as creating and sending shipping labels.
Streamlines multi-store operations
The biggest benefit of Next Engine is that it allows centralized management of multiple stores. If you have your own site set up on Shopify plus stores on e-commerce malls or physical stores, you would normally have to manage orders, inventory, and shipping separately on each platform. However, integrating Next Engine allows you to manage orders, inventory, and shipping for each store without having to check each platform individually.
This reduces the workload involved in running an e-commerce site, making it possible to operate multiple stores with a small team.
Reduces operational time
Another benefit of integrating Next Engine with Shopify is the reduction in operational time.
Next Engine offers a wide range of support features that make running an e-commerce site easier, including inventory management, product registration, payment service integration, ordering, and purchasing. You can also transcribe offline orders into slips through direct input in Next Engine or by importing CSV data.
This significantly reduces the time spent on e-commerce operations, freeing up time to focus on other initiatives such as marketing.
Precautions when integrating Next Engine with Shopify
While integrating Next Engine with Shopify can be expected to streamline e-commerce operations, there are a few precautions to keep in mind when integrating.
Here, we introduce the precautions for integrating Next Engine with Shopify.
It costs money
Integration with Next Engine is not free. Next Engine's usage fee is a base fee plus a usage-based fee.
The base fee is ¥3,000 (as of 2024), but the fee increases as the number of monthly orders increases. As a result, costs rise significantly as order volume grows.
When integrating with Next Engine, it's important to fully consider the cost implications, which are expected to fluctuate going forward.
There are integration limitations
The Next Engine and Shopify integration does not support product information syncing, which is available between Next Engine and some e-commerce malls. To sync product information, you need to export the product information registered in Next Engine as CSV data and import it into Shopify.
Note that some operations cannot be automatically synced in the Next Engine and Shopify integration.
Steps to set up the Shopify and Next Engine integration
Here, we introduce the steps to integrate Shopify with Next Engine.
1. Access the Next Engine official website
First, access the Next Engine official website.
Image source: Next Engine
2. Issue a Next Engine account from "Try for free" at the top right
Open the Next Engine ID free issuance form via "Try for free" at the top right.
Enter the required information one by one, such as company name, representative name, date of birth, address, and phone number.
Image source: Next Engine ID free issuance form
Tap the Next Engine ID free issuance button, and your account will be issued.
3. After logging in to Next Engine, download "Automatic Integration for Shopify"
Enter your ID and password and log in to Next Engine.
Image source: Next Engine login screen
Search for "Automatic Integration for Shopify" from "Find apps" and download it.
Image source: Next Engine
Once the download is complete, launch the app.
4. Install "Next Engine Automatic Integration" from the Shopify App Store
Search for "Next Engine Automatic Integration" in the Shopify App Store and install it.
Image source: Shopify App Store
After launching the app, enter the required information to complete the setup.
Next Engine and Shopify integration pricing plans and cost comparison
Finally, we explain the fees involved in integrating Next Engine with Shopify and how to operate while keeping costs down.
Differences between free features and paid options
To integrate Next Engine with Shopify, you need to install both the Automatic Integration for Shopify app and the Next Engine Automatic Integration app.
Both apps are free to use, but using Next Engine itself incurs a fee. The fees for using Next Engine are as follows.
| Fee type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Base fee | ¥3,000 |
| Usage-based fee | 201-400 orders: ¥35/order 401-1,000 orders: ¥30/order 1,001-3,000 orders: ¥25/order 3,001-5,000 orders: ¥20/order 5,001-7,000 orders: ¥15/order 7,001-10,000 orders: ¥10/order 10,001+ orders: ¥5/order |
Reference: Next Engine
The usage-based fee applies once monthly order volume exceeds 201 orders. The features available with the Next Engine integration are as follows.
| Feature category | Main features |
|---|---|
| Order management | Order import, status management, order classification tags, order slip search, payment processing, slip editing, gift handling, bundled shipping, picking instructions, warehouse integration, shipping instructions, shipping label issuance, various email sending, etc. |
| Inventory management | Automatic inventory sync, set product management, specified stock quantity settings, maximum stock quantity settings, proportional stock quantity settings, unlimited selling, pre-order product inventory management, bulk registration of stock quantities, manual registration of stock quantities, releasing inventory sync for specific products, notification of best-selling products, defective item stock in/out history, stocktaking, etc. |
| Product registration | Registration of variation products, registration of option information, product image registration, product classification tags, category conversion |
| Various system integrations | Payment service integration, shipping label issuance system integration, warehouse integration, POS integration, core system integration |
| Email sending | Thank-you emails, shipping schedule emails, shipping notification emails, follow-up emails |
| Ordering and purchasing | Automatic order calculation, purchase order creation, checking remaining orders, vendor management, receiving processing, etc. |
| App customization | Adding features to the main functions, developing original apps |
| Email marketing | - |
There is no additional charge no matter how many stores or registered products you have.
How to keep costs down
Integrating Next Engine with Shopify will result in higher monetary costs than using Shopify alone. However, if the Next Engine integration streamlines your site operations, you can expect a significant reduction in the labor and time costs you previously incurred.
Case study: Waraimirai LLC
"Waraimirai LLC" successfully semi-automated its order and inventory management by adopting Next Engine. This significantly reduced the time spent on e-commerce site operations, allowing the company to focus on important activities that drive sales growth, such as developing new products and creating product pages and banners.
Reference: Next Engine
Case study: Maruku Co., Ltd.
Maruku Co., Ltd., which had been planning a multi-store expansion of its e-commerce operations from the start, successfully built a system that allowed it to run multiple stores with a small team by adopting Next Engine. Reports indicate that since operating costs don't change as the number of stores increases, sales from new stores go directly to profit, leading to increased profitability.
Reference: Next Engine
Summary: Improve your operations by integrating Shopify with Next Engine
Integrating Shopify with Next Engine allows you to automate the tasks required for e-commerce operations, including inventory management, order management, and shipping management.
As a result, integrating Next Engine allows you to efficiently run multiple e-commerce sites with a small team.
If you're struggling with a lack of time or an increase in mistakes while running your e-commerce site, take this opportunity to integrate Shopify with Next Engine.
