Sitecore OrderCloud

Sitecore OrderCloud (formerly Four51 OrderCloud) is a headless cloud-based platform that enables various types of businesses to create customizable e-commerce, marketplace, and order management applications. OrderCloud is not limited to B2C sales with a single catalog and user type. The platform provides flexibility for implementing a variety of e-commerce business models, including B2C, B2B, and B2B2X.

OrderCloud provides two options for building e-commerce stores, marketplaces, and order management apps. The first is to use HeadStart, a toolset with pre-configured components and interfaces, pre-built integrations, and middleware. OrderCloud also makes it possible to create e-commerce facilities from scratch with the help of its sophisticated e-commerce API, robust developer tools, and SDKs. Either way, the platform’s headless architecture enables facilities to provide content to any device or app and display it in any way desired.

Security is one of Sitecore OrderCloud’s priorities. The platform and all the marketplaces built on it comply with the security standards set forth by HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, PCI, and SOC2 Type 2 protocol standards.

What businesses can use Sitecore OrderCloud?

E-commerce businesses of any type can use OrderCloud to configure a unique system to mirror their organizational structure and support their business processes. OrderCloud includes a feature for managing multiple brands, sites, stores, warehouses, and other e-commerce assets. Also, OrderCloud has fully extensible business logic, which means that businesses can start with one market strategy and switch to another while staying in the same system.

Manufacturing

OrderCloud enables manufacturers to create customizable order management systems that help automate the management of complex, high-volume orders, track submitted orders, control the accuracy of orders, and accomplish other related tasks.

Retail

Retailers can use OrderCloud to build classical product catalogs for end users. The platform provides centralized control over customer operations, functionality to configure unique product variations, and the opportunity to integrate into other marketplaces.

B2B2C partnerships

Companies that enter consumer markets via other businesses—franchises, for example—can combine B2B and B2C operations within OrderCloud. The platform allows for creating a flexible system with catalogs and order management systems for partners and direct-to-consumer channels.

Niche B2B projects

Sitecore OrderCloud can support the needs of niche B2B projects and be used for building platforms such as content and order hubs, custom storefronts, and order entry systems.

What technical features distinguish Sitecore OrderCloud from other e-commerce platforms?

OrderCloud is a MACH-certified platform, where the acronym stands for microservices, API-first, cloud-native, and headless. MACH architecture conforms to the principles of creating flexible and scalable software, in which components can be easily added, replaced, improved, or removed.

• Microservices-based. OrderCloud can be considered a software product that is assembled from independently developed and deployed services. Such structure makes it easier and less expensive to scale or replace a certain part of the software without affecting the rest of it. It is more fault-tolerant and gives developers a wider choice of technology to use.
• API-first. OrderCloud can be easily integrated with other back-office software through the RESTful API to facilitate processes such as payments and distribution.
• Cloud-native. OrderCloud is developed and deployed in the cloud, which gives the platform the flexibility to scale a business when it extends turnover and acquires more partners and customers.
• Headless. The platform’s front end is decoupled from the back end, providing the freedom to display content in any form on any third party connected to OrderCloud with an API.