5 E-commerce Tasks You Should Automate Today (And How to Start) ⚙️

In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, time is your most expensive inventory. If you or your team spend hours on repetitive, manual tasks, you’re not focusing on growth, strategy, or customer acquisition — you’re burning resources.

The solution isn’t hiring more people. It’s automation.

Automation — the core principle of operational excellence — allows your systems to handle the mundane, freeing your team to focus on high-value, strategic work. If you’re ready to stop juggling spreadsheets and start scaling smarter, here are five e-commerce tasks you should automate today, and how to get started.

1. Inventory Syncing Across All Channels

The most common (and costly) mistake for multichannel sellers is overselling what you don’t have or underselling what you do. Manual inventory updates between your website, Amazon, eBay, and other marketplaces are slow, error-prone, and unsustainable.

The Manual Pain: Logging into multiple platforms every hour to adjust stock levels.The Automation Solution: Implementing an Order Management System (OMS) or Multichannel Management Platform (like Linnworks or Veeqo).

How to Start:

• Centralize: Choose a core platform — your OMS — to act as the single “source of truth” for inventory.

• Integrate: Connect it to all sales channels.

• Map: Ensure all SKUs are correctly linked across systems. The OMS will then automatically push inventory updates as sales occur anywhere.

2. Generating Shipping Labels and Tracking Updates

Moving an order from “Paid” to “Shipped” involves countless small, repetitive steps: inputting addresses, printing labels, and manually sharing tracking info. This is pure operational friction.

The Manual Pain: Copying and pasting customer data between your store and carrier portals.The Automation Solution: Integrating your OMS or e-commerce platform directly with your carrier service or using a shipping aggregator (like ShipStation or ShippyPro).

How to Start:

• Connect: Link your e-commerce platform (e.g., Shopify, WooCommerce) or OMS with your shipping software.

• Set Rules: Automate carrier selection based on weight, region, or delivery speed (e.g., “If >5kg, use Carrier B”).

• Automate Notifications: Configure automatic tracking emails and “Fulfilled” status updates once the label prints.

3. Financial Data Entry into Accounting Software

Every sale, return, and fee must be accounted for — but manually exporting and reconciling data is a massive time sink and a breeding ground for errors.

The Manual Pain: Spending days at month-end exporting spreadsheets and reconciling transactions.The Automation Solution: Using connectors or integrations that sync sales data directly with accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks.

How to Start:

• Choose a Connector: Most modern e-commerce platforms integrate directly with accounting tools.

• Map Accounts: Work with your accountant to correctly align revenue, tax, shipping, and fee categories.

• Set Frequency: Schedule daily or weekly syncs to keep your books current and eliminate reconciliation headaches.

4. Basic Customer Service Responses

While human touch is crucial for complex issues, most support queries are repetitive — “Where’s my order?”, “What’s your return policy?”, “How do I use my discount code?” Automating these common interactions saves hours every week.

The Manual Pain: Typing the same “Your order is on the way” email dozens of times a day.The Automation Solution: Implementing canned responses, chatbots, or help desk automation (via Zendesk, Gorgias, or built-in platform tools).

How to Start:

• Identify Top 5 Queries: Review last month’s tickets and categorize recurring questions.

• Draft Templates: Create polished, brand-aligned responses for each.

• Deploy: Add them as canned replies or set keyword triggers in a chatbot to respond instantly to tracking, returns, or FAQs.

5. Pricing Adjustments (Dynamic Pricing)

If you compete in a crowded market, manually checking and adjusting prices is a full-time job. Automated dynamic pricing ensures you stay competitive without constant monitoring.

The Manual Pain: Manually reviewing 10 competitor sites and updating 20 SKUs before breakfast.The Automation Solution: Integrating dynamic pricing tools within your marketplaces — essential for Amazon and eBay sellers.

How to Start:

• Define Rules: Set clear pricing floors and ceilings to avoid selling at a loss.

• Select a Tool: Use a repricing app within your platform or OMS.

• Monitor: The tool will automatically adjust prices within your defined limits to maintain competitiveness and maximize margin.

Final Thoughts: The Automation Mindset

The biggest barrier to automation isn’t technology — it’s mindset. Start small, target repetitive bottlenecks, and focus on areas that deliver quick wins (like inventory syncing or label generation).

By automating these five areas, you’ll stop working in your business and start working on it.

Ready to Automate?

If you’re ready to set up your core automation systems, Fitted Commerce can help.We specialize in fitting solutions to your business needs — from integrating marketplaces with powerful systems like Linnworks and Veeqo, to designing scalable, streamlined operational workflows.

👉 Contact us today to start building your automated e-commerce backbone.