Elastic Path - Detailed Review
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Elastic Path - Product Overview
Elastic Path Overview
Elastic Path is a comprehensive e-commerce platform that specializes in providing flexible and scalable solutions for businesses, particularly those in the retail, information technology, and computer software sectors.
Primary Function
Elastic Path’s primary function is to enable businesses to create and manage their digital commerce experiences. It offers a Java-based e-commerce platform that supports the sale of both physical and digital goods, as well as services and gift certificates. The platform is known for its ability to handle complex product variants and catalog management, making it a strong choice for B2B companies with intricate product catalogs.
Target Audience
The target audience for Elastic Path includes a variety of businesses, but it is most commonly used by companies with 1-10 employees and revenues between $1 million and $10 million. However, it also serves larger enterprises, particularly in the retail and IT sectors. Geographically, its customers are predominantly based in the United States, followed by the Netherlands and other regions.
Key Features
Product and SKU Management
Each product in Elastic Path can have multiple Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), which define the attributes of the product, such as color or size. This allows for detailed inventory management and accurate tracking of product variations.
Catalog Management
The platform supports both regular and virtual catalogs, which can contain products from multiple catalogs. This feature is particularly useful for businesses that need to manage a wide range of products across different catalogs.
Headless Commerce
Elastic Path is known for its headless commerce capabilities, which allow businesses to decouple the front-end and back-end of their e-commerce platform. This provides greater flexibility in creating customized digital experiences.
B2B Functionality
The platform is well-suited for B2B companies due to its support for complex product variants, catalog management, and features like saving carts, which are essential for B2B transactions.
Overall, Elastic Path is a versatile e-commerce solution that caters to the diverse needs of businesses, especially those requiring advanced catalog and product management capabilities.
Elastic Path - User Interface and Experience
User Interface Structure
The Elastic Path Commerce Manager user interface is divided into several key sections:
- Toolbar: This provides navigation icons for each activity in the application and icons for activity-specific actions. It also includes the User menu, which offers links to Help documentation, pagination settings, time zone settings, and account password settings.
- Right Panes: These change based on the activity. Typically, the top right pane displays search results or a listing of items, while the bottom right pane shows detailed information about a specific item or search result.
- Left Pane: This contains search or navigation options for an activity, helping users find and manage different elements within the system.
Activities
The interface is organized around seven main activities, each represented by an icon in the main toolbar:
- Catalog: For creating and managing categories and products.
- Price List: For managing price lists and assigning them based on conditions.
- Store: For setting store promotions and configuring shipping services.
- Customers: For managing orders and customer information.
- Warehouse: For managing warehouses, inventory, and handling orders, returns, and exchanges.
- Configuration: For configuring system and store settings, including payment gateways, shipping regions, users, and tax-related settings.
- Reporting: For generating various reports.
- Change Sets: For creating and deleting Change Sets, though this is only enabled if the specific setting is activated.
Ease of Use
The interface is designed to be user-friendly, with resizable panes that can be adjusted by clicking and dragging the division frames or using the minimize and maximize buttons. This flexibility allows users to customize the layout according to their needs.
User Experience
The overall user experience is enhanced by the clear organization of the interface. Each activity is distinct and accessible through the toolbar, making it easier for users to focus on their specific tasks. The UI framework, built using the Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT) and JFace libraries, ensures a consistent and maintainable user interface.
Additional Features
- Account Management: The system includes features like account locking after six failed login attempts, which helps in security. An administrator must unlock the account, and the user will receive a new password via email.
- Saving Changes: The system does not automatically save changes; users must manually save their work using the Save or Save All buttons in the toolbar, which highlight in blue when changes are made.
User Experience Leadership
Elastic Path places a strong emphasis on user experience, led by roles such as the Senior Director of User Experience. This role involves leading UX designers, managing their work, and ensuring that user experience is a central consideration in the development of the product. This focus has helped bring UX to the forefront, influencing not just the UI but also the APIs and overall product development.
In summary, the Elastic Path Commerce Manager offers a structured, user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and customize, with a strong focus on enhancing the overall user experience through clear organization and effective design.
Elastic Path - Key Features and Functionality
Elastic Path Overview
Elastic Path is a comprehensive API-based headless eCommerce software that offers a wide range of features and functionalities, particularly enhanced by AI and other advanced technologies. Here are the main features and how they work:
Core Commerce Module
The Core Commerce module is the backbone of Elastic Path, providing essential features such as:
- Catalog Management: Allows administrators to manage product catalogs, including categorization, grouping, and attribute management.
- Merchandising: Enables marketers to improve the client experience through various merchandising strategies.
- Reporting and Analytics: Provides detailed reports and analytics to help in decision-making and improving customer experiences.
Personalization and Customer Management
Elastic Path uses AI and rules-based engines to personalize customer experiences:
- Customer Profiles: Creates personalized profiles for customers based on their behavior, segmentation, and current activity. This helps in delivering targeted marketing and recommendations.
- Dynamic Personalization: Uses a rules-based engine to deliver dynamic content and differential pricing, enhancing customer engagement and loyalty.
Product Discovery and Search
The integration with AI-driven tools like Klevu enhances product discovery:
- AI Search and Recommendations: Klevu’s integration with Elastic Path leverages AI to deliver relevant search results, smart category merchandising, and personalized product recommendations. This leads to increased engagement and conversion rates.
- Landing Page Builder: Elastic Path Studio allows for the rapid launch of turn-key storefronts and shoppable landing pages, incorporating Klevu components such as product recommendations and category listings.
Inventory and Order Management
Elastic Path offers comprehensive inventory and order management features:
- Inventory Management: Includes inventory tracking, optimization, and replenishment. It also supports bulk data import-export and synchronization between staging and production servers.
- Order Management: Allows for order processing, tracking, and management of digital goods fulfillment. It also includes returns management and payment gateway integrations.
Integration and API
The platform is highly integrable:
- API: Elastic Path provides an API that enables businesses to integrate the platform with various third-party applications. This includes integrations with message queuing services like Amazon SQS and STOMP.
- Composable Commerce: Offers 100 pre-built commerce-ready integrations and a low-code integration builder, making it easy to integrate with other systems without complicated setups.
Security and Access Controls
Elastic Path ensures secure operations:
- Access Controls/Permissions: Allows administrators to configure access permissions for specific users, ensuring role-based security and custom user roles.
- Data Security: Supports HTTPS/SSL security, password encryption, and other security measures to protect customer data.
Multi-Channel and Omnichannel Support
The platform supports multiple channels and omnichannel experiences:
- Omnichannel: Enables businesses to deliver consistent customer experiences across various touchpoints, including websites, apps, and other digital platforms.
- Multi-Language and Multi-Currency: Supports operations in multiple languages and currencies, making it suitable for global businesses.
Subscription and Bundling
Elastic Path also manages subscription-based services and product bundling:
- Subscriptions: Manages the entire subscriber lifecycle, including plan composition, billing, activation, customer care, and analytics.
- Bundling: Allows businesses to bundle products into groups, streamlining operational processes and enhancing customer offerings.
These features collectively help businesses create personalized, engaging, and efficient eCommerce experiences, leveraging AI and other advanced technologies to drive conversion, revenue, and customer satisfaction.
Elastic Path - Performance and Accuracy
Performance
Elastic Path’s performance is heavily influenced by its architecture and the methodologies used for sizing and scaling the system. Here are some key points:Scalability
Elastic Path’s platform is built to scale, enabling businesses to handle large volumes of transactions and traffic without significant performance degradation. The system can scale up or down based on traffic demands, although this process can take some time. For instance, scaling from 2 to 21 Cortex pods can take around 18 minutes, which may impact response times during the initial scaling phase.Sizing and Testing
Elastic Path recommends a three-stage performance evaluation methodology: establishing initial sizing based on requirements, refining through testing, and continuous monitoring and maintenance. This approach helps ensure the system meets performance baselines and can adapt to changing demands.API Performance
The Cortex API operates in a stateless manner and is sized based on throughput values of transactions or API calls per second. This allows for efficient handling of high traffic and transaction volumes.Accuracy
Accuracy in Elastic Path’s performance is tied to several metrics and assumptions:Conversion Rates and Page Views
The platform uses metrics like conversions per hour and page views per hour to determine capacity. These metrics are based on assumptions such as a 5% conversion rate and specific averages for resources retrieved per Cortex Zoom, Cortex Zooms per page view, and page views per user session. These assumptions can be adjusted if actual rates differ significantly.Real-World Data
Performance testing simulates interactions with the Reference Storefront using real-world data, which helps in accurately predicting system performance under various conditions.Limitations and Areas for Improvement
While Elastic Path offers a highly scalable and performant platform, there are some limitations and areas that could be improved:Technical Expertise
The platform is Java-based and open-source, which can be a downside for business owners who are not tech-savvy. This may require additional support or resources to manage and customize the platform effectively.Content Management
Elastic Path lacks built-in Content Management features, which are critical for many businesses. This gap may need to be addressed through integrations or additional tools.Customizations and Integrations
While the platform supports customizations and integrations, these can impact performance. It is crucial to test these customizations thoroughly to ensure they do not negatively affect the system’s auto-scaling capabilities.AI and Machine Learning
Elastic Path is also leveraging AI and machine learning to enhance the shopping experience, though this is more about industry trends and future opportunities rather than current performance metrics:Industry Trends
Elastic Path needs to continue enhancing its platform to leverage AI and machine learning for better customer insights, optimized pricing strategies, and improved overall shopping experiences. In summary, Elastic Path’s performance is strong in terms of scalability and throughput, but it requires careful sizing, testing, and ongoing monitoring to ensure optimal performance. The platform has some limitations, particularly in terms of technical expertise and content management, but it is well-positioned to adapt to industry trends and leverage AI and machine learning to enhance the customer experience. Elastic Path - Pricing and Plans
Price Lists and Tiers
- Elastic Path uses price lists to manage product and SKU prices. Each price list is specific to a particular currency and catalog.
- Prices can be defined in multiple tiers based on the quantity purchased. For example, a product might have a list price of $7 for quantities of 1-2 items and a reduced price of $5 for quantities of 3 or more.
Price List Stack
- The system generates a price list stack for each shopper, which is a set of price lists ordered by priority. This stack is used to determine the applicable prices for products based on the shopper’s context.
- The price list stack can be customized using a custom price list lookup strategy, allowing for flexibility in how prices are determined for different shoppers.
Bundle Pricing
- Elastic Path supports two types of bundle pricing:
- Fixed Pricing: Allows you to assign a fixed price to a bundle, which can include items available for individual purchase but offered at a discounted price when part of the bundle.
- Automatic/Cumulative Pricing: The price of the bundle is generated automatically based on the sum of the component products. Each product in the bundle must have a price defined for this to work.
Volume Pricing
- Volume pricing can be configured for minimum quantities of products. This allows for different prices based on the quantity of items purchased. For example, you can define price ranges for different quantities, such as lower prices for bulk purchases.
Subscription Plans
- For subscription-based products, Elastic Path allows you to create customized subscription plans with various rules and pricing models. These plans can include monthly, annual, or other subscription cycles, and can offer features like free trials and discounts.
Customization and Management
- Prices and price lists can be managed through the Commerce Manager, where you can add, remove, and update prices for products and SKUs. Changes made in one area (e.g., the price list or the product’s pricing tab) are automatically reflected in the other areas.
Features Available in Each Plan
- Basic Plan: Might include basic price list management, single-tier pricing, and limited bundle pricing options.
- Standard Plan: Could add features like multi-tier pricing, volume pricing, and more advanced bundle pricing options.
- Premium Plan: May include all the features of the standard plan plus advanced subscription plan management, custom price list lookup strategies, and more comprehensive bundle pricing options.
Free Options
There is no explicit mention of free options or plans in the provided resources. It appears that Elastic Path’s pricing structure is designed for businesses and enterprises, and thus, it does not typically offer free plans.
In summary, Elastic Path’s pricing structure is highly customizable and supports various pricing models, including tiered pricing, bundle pricing, and subscription plans. However, specific details about different plans and free options are not available based on the provided information.
Elastic Path - Integration and Compatibility
Integration with Other Tools
Elastic Path offers several integration options to connect your commerce data with other tools in your ecosystem.Elasticsearch Integration
You can integrate Elastic Path with Elasticsearch to sync your product catalog. This integration is managed through the Commerce Manager, where you configure the Elasticsearch Cloud Full Catalog Sync Integration. This process involves setting up a webhook to listen for catalog-release.updated events and mapping Commerce fields to Elasticsearch fields. This ensures that your catalog is updated in real-time within your Elasticsearch instance.
Bloomreach Commerce Accelerator
Elastic Path can be integrated with Bloomreach Experience Manager using the Bloomreach Commerce Accelerator. This integration provides a pre-configured commerce connector that allows you to connect to your Elastic Path instance seamlessly. The connector supports various operations and can be customized if needed.
Composer and Integrations Hub
Elastic Path Composer provides an Integration Hub where you can quickly connect your commerce data to various tools. Composer comes preconfigured with multiple instant-on integrations, and you can customize how data flows between different tools in your stack. This includes integrations for catalogs, orders, carts, accounts, and more, using webhooks and modern SDKs for JavaScript and React.
Compatibility Across Platforms
Elastic Path ensures compatibility across different platforms through its certified and compatible platform policies.Certified Platforms
Elastic Path products undergo rigorous regression and performance testing on certified platforms. These platforms are recommended for deployment because they have proven stability and performance. The deployment documentation and performance guides include recommendations and best practices for using these certified platforms.
Compatible Platforms
While Elastic Path products are expected to function correctly on compatible platforms, these platforms have not undergone the same level of testing as certified ones. Clients are responsible for configuring and provisioning these technologies correctly. Elastic Path provides application-level support but has limited ability to address issues that cannot be reproduced on a certified platform.
Multi-Region Hosting and Compliance
Elastic Path also ensures compliance and security across different regions. It offers multi-region hosting and is fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and SOC2 standards, providing a secure and compliant environment for your e-commerce operations.In summary, Elastic Path integrates well with various tools and platforms, offering a flexible and compatible solution that can be adapted to different environments, ensuring smooth operations and compliance with key regulations.
Elastic Path - Customer Support and Resources
Support Options Overview
Elastic Path offers a comprehensive set of customer support options and additional resources to help users effectively utilize their products and services.Support Process and Ticket System
Elastic Path provides a structured support process where users can create support tickets based on the severity and urgency of their issues. The support team is available to assist with access, product questions, and security issues. For critical issues classified as Severity 1, 24/7 support is available. Users can refer to the “Support Process, Case Severity and SLAs” and “How to create a support request” guides for more details.Documentation and Developer Resources
The Elastic Path documentation is a valuable resource for developers, offering detailed guides on using APIs, eCommerce services, and tools. It includes code examples in various programming languages such as JavaScript, Python, and Go, helping developers to fetch product data, manage catalogs, and integrate other features into their applications.Commerce Manager and Customer Management
For business users, the Commerce Manager provides tools to manage customers, including searching, creating, and editing customer profiles. This includes managing basic information, addresses, and custom fields, all accessible through the “CUSTOMERS AND ACCOUNTS” section.Additional Tools and Integrations
Elastic Path also offers tools like the Elastic Path Composer, which helps in connecting commerce data to various tools in the user’s stack. It comes preconfigured with numerous integrations and allows for customization of data flow between different tools.After Hours Support
For issues that arise outside regular business hours, Elastic Path provides after-hours support, ensuring that critical problems are addressed promptly, even when they occur outside normal working hours.Conclusion
By leveraging these support options and resources, users can effectively manage and troubleshoot their Elastic Path applications, ensuring smooth and efficient operation of their eCommerce platforms. Elastic Path - Pros and Cons
Advantages of Elastic Path
Elastic Path offers several significant advantages that make it a strong option for businesses looking to enhance their e-commerce capabilities:Flexibility and Customization
Elastic Path is known for its flexible and customizable API, particularly its REST-Level 3 API, which can be accessed from various platforms such as CMS, Web, IoT, and Speech. This flexibility allows businesses to implement projects and web tools seamlessly, providing a smooth user experience across multiple devices.Advanced Features
The platform offers advanced features like personalized merchandising, product information management, and a native website builder. It also includes a promotion and personalization engine that is easy to use and integrates with Adobe Marketing Cloud.Fast and Lightweight API
Elastic Path’s API is super lightweight and fast, enabling rapid development cycles. The platform’s “Flows” concept allows for quick extension and customization of core objects, and the “Observables” concept facilitates decoupled architectures that notify each other of changes in the downstream system.User Experience
Elastic Path focuses on providing a superior customer experience. It allows non-technical users to make changes and update the frontend experience and catalog without needing the development team, enhancing engagement, conversion, and order value.Integration and Scalability
The platform is highly scalable and can be integrated with different CMS platforms, making it suitable for businesses looking to expand their e-commerce presence. It also supports multiple languages, currencies, and other internationalization features.Disadvantages of Elastic Path
While Elastic Path offers many benefits, there are also some notable drawbacks:User-Friendliness
Some users find Elastic Path not very user-friendly, especially for those who are not tech-savvy. The platform can be complex to use, particularly for first-time business API users, although it is still considered user-friendly for those who get accustomed to it.Content Management
Elastic Path lacks content management features, which are critical for many businesses. It also does not provide easy access to product management tools and versioning of catalog items.CloudOps and Installation
There are some issues with the CloudOps kit, which is not quite complete and requires some manual effort to understand. Additionally, the installation procedure and upgrade system can be time-consuming.Technical Requirements
Being a Java-based e-commerce solution, Elastic Path’s open-source code can be a downside for non-technical business owners. It requires some technical expertise to fully leverage its features.Bugs and Improvements
Some users have reported the need for improvements and bug fixes, particularly in web usage. Certain features need enhancement to better serve business purposes. By considering these pros and cons, businesses can make an informed decision about whether Elastic Path aligns with their e-commerce needs and capabilities. Elastic Path - Comparison with Competitors
When Comparing Elastic Path to Competitors
When comparing Elastic Path to its competitors in the e-commerce and website tools category, several key differences and unique features emerge.
Elastic Path
Elastic Path is a Java-based, open-source e-commerce platform known for its advanced features such as personalized merchandising, product information management, and a native website builder. It utilizes Coretex API technology to deliver real-time transactional data across various customer channels. The platform is favored by companies like Garmin, Western Union, and TimeInc due to its rich SEO features and flexible framework.
Demandware
Demandware, now part of Salesforce Commerce Cloud, is a SaaS platform that offers channel and content management features not available in Elastic Path. It provides a vast template library, making it easier to build an eye-catching website without worrying about technical aspects like database management. However, it may require hiring a professional programmer to fully leverage its features.
Magento
Magento is another open-source e-commerce platform that offers enormous flexibility through its customizability and extensions. It has multiple editions, including Community, Enterprise, and Enterprise Cloud, which cater to different business needs. Magento is known for its great e-commerce functionality, global assets, and modules that facilitate scaling into new markets. This platform is suitable for enterprise companies with development resources.
Virto Commerce
Virto Commerce is an open-source ASP.NET e-commerce platform that is easy to set up and operate, even for those not familiar with coding. It offers a B2B e-commerce solution suitable for businesses of any size, providing necessary functionality and additional features relevant to various fields. The platform’s simplicity and agile technologies make it a viable alternative to Elastic Path.
Mirakl
Mirakl is a SaaS technology company focused on enabling businesses to achieve e-commerce growth. It offers a suite of products that help in marketplace management and e-commerce expansion. Mirakl is a strong competitor to Elastic Path, especially for businesses looking to create and manage marketplaces.
Bloomreach
Bloomreach specializes in e-commerce personalization and marketing automation using AI. It provides a suite of products that enable businesses to personalize customer experiences and automate marketing processes. This makes Bloomreach a compelling alternative for businesses focusing on personalized customer interactions.
commercetools
commercetools is a cloud-based e-commerce platform built on modern microservice-based, API-first, cloud-native, and headless (MACH) principles. It offers an API to create custom payments, checkout, social commerce, and marketplace solutions. This platform is particularly suitable for businesses looking for a highly customizable and scalable e-commerce solution.
Key Differences and Unique Features
- Open Source vs SaaS: Elastic Path and Magento are open-source, offering more control and customization, while Demandware and Mirakl are SaaS platforms, which simplify infrastructure management.
- Customization and Scalability: Magento and commercetools stand out for their high customizability and scalability, making them ideal for enterprise-level companies.
- Ease of Use: Virto Commerce and Ecwid are noted for their ease of setup and operation, even for users without extensive coding knowledge.
- AI and Personalization: Bloomreach excels in AI-driven personalization and marketing automation, which is not a primary focus of Elastic Path.
- Marketplace Management: Mirakl is particularly strong in marketplace management, which is not a core feature of Elastic Path.
Each of these platforms has unique strengths and is suited to different business needs and technical capabilities. When choosing an alternative to Elastic Path, it’s crucial to consider the specific requirements of your business, such as the need for customization, ease of use, and specialized features like marketplace management or AI-driven personalization.
Elastic Path - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about Elastic Path
What is Elastic Path and what does it offer?
Elastic Path is a composable commerce solution that provides a set of powerful APIs, e-commerce services, and tools for developers to build world-class commerce experiences. It allows businesses to create flexible, scalable, and highly customizable e-commerce platforms, integrating various components such as catalog management, order management, and customer management.How does Elastic Path handle pricing and price lists?
In Elastic Path, product and SKU prices are stored in price lists. Each price list is specific to a particular currency and catalog. The `Price` interface supports multiple price tiers based on the quantity purchased. The system uses a `PriceListLookupService` to generate a price list stack for each shopper, which can be customized by implementing a custom `PriceListStackLookupStrategy`.What kind of integrations does Elastic Path support?
Elastic Path offers a wide range of integrations, including over 100 pre-built commerce-ready integrations. It also features a low-code integration builder, allowing businesses to customize how data flows between different tools in their stack. For example, Elastic Path integrates seamlessly with Klevu AI search and discovery technology to enhance product discovery and personalization.How does Elastic Path facilitate product discovery and search?
Elastic Path, especially when integrated with Klevu, enhances product discovery through AI-powered search, smart category merchandising, and personalized product recommendations. This integration helps in delivering relevant search results, increasing engagement, and boosting conversion rates. The platform also supports the creation of custom landing pages with Klevu components.What are the key features of Elastic Path Commerce Engine?
The Elastic Path Commerce Engine includes features such as advanced monetization (bundling, personalized pricing), omnichannel support, persistent shopping carts, checkout processes, delivery and payment options, gift certificates, warranties, and replacements. It also supports role-based security, custom user roles, and attribute management for catalogs, products, and customers. The engine works with various databases and caching systems to optimize performance.How does Elastic Path support B2B e-commerce needs?
Elastic Path is particularly adept at handling B2B e-commerce needs by offering features like catalog management, saving of carts, and support for complex product variants. It decouples categories, product models, and pricing, allowing for unlimited catalogs and permutations, which is especially beneficial for large enterprises with complex B2B requirements.What kind of security and performance features does Elastic Path offer?
Elastic Path ensures security through role-based security, custom user roles, and permissions. It also supports HTTPS/SSL security and password encryption. For performance, the platform uses proxy cache servers, edge caching with CDNs like Akamai and Limelight, and supports clustering with databases such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. Additionally, it leverages open-source projects like Spring, Solr, and OSGi to enhance developer ease and performance.How does Elastic Path facilitate the creation of custom landing pages?
Elastic Path Studio allows users to rapidly launch turn-key storefronts and shoppable landing pages without relying on IT. When integrated with Klevu, users can easily embed product recommendations, category listings, and other components into their landing pages, respecting the merchandising rules set up within the Klevu admin panel.What is Elastic Path Composer and how does it work?
Elastic Path Composer is a tool that helps connect commerce data to various tools in a business’s arsenal. It comes preconfigured with dozens of instant-on integrations and allows for quick customization of data flows between tools. This makes it easier to integrate Elastic Path with other systems and platforms like Shopify and Magento.How does Elastic Path support subscription management?
Elastic Path Subscriptions is a solution that fully integrates enterprise-grade e-commerce with subscription management. It manages the entire subscriber lifecycle, including plan composition, billing, activation, customer care, and analytics. This helps businesses drive recurring revenue and deliver a seamless customer experience.