IRX, the Internet Retailing Expo, is dizzying in its size and scope. The event brings together the greatest minds in e-commerce apps & integrations under one roof at the NEC in Birmingham. Online directors, e-commerce managers and COOs of many of the UK’s leading online retailers gathered alongside leaders from the world’s foremost e-commerce innovators.

We couldn’t wait to meet people from the likes of Klayvio, Linnworks, Gorgias, Shipstation, and other leading experts in the digital retail universe who showcased their latest and greatest technologies at IRX.

In fact over 35,000 e-commerce professionals gathered at the event, including myself and Joseph Brown, our Operations Director. Keen to get the most out of our trip, we set off early to the NEC, excited for a day of inspiring conversations.

A Big Welcome.

After the short walk from the train to the exhibition hall, we were greeted by an enormous range of exhibitors. Immediately we both started to recognise familiar faces and names of Shopify Technology Partners known and loved by our clients, and we couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

As we grow with our clients, we’re always looking for ways to turbocharge their businesses beyond much more than websites, with tools and services from Shopify Technology Partners. A lot of these tools centre around the notion of ERP - enterprise resource management systems. These tools automate and streamline operations for many business processes beyond websites and making sales. ERP encompasses tasks such as postage, customer service, and logistics. A focus upon ERP influenced the approach to our IRX visit, and we sought to speak to partners capable of helping our clients level up across all elements of their businesses.

First, we were drawn to the impressive Klaviyo stand. As the Headline Sponsor of the event, Klaviyo had a big presence across the show floor. Klaviyo empowers businesses with their automated email and SMS marketing solutions. We were greeted by Partnerships Manager Kerri, who the team at Kubix has become very familiar with as we worked towards becoming official Klaviyo partners. We discussed how we could empower our client’s marketing efforts with Klaviyo’s targeted email campaigns and automations, and I was keen to talk about how we could collaborate creatively to help our clients make the most of their tools. I shared our ideas about creating informative and inspiring content in partnership with the Klaviyo team, something Kerri was excited to explore more with us. We’re bursting with ideas and can’t wait to work more closely together.

While chatting with Kerri, myself and Joe suddenly felt like TV presenters as the IRX media team came and gave us our close up. Our conversations must have projected our enthusiasm so much that we attracted the attention of the camera!

Meeting Old Friends And New.

After our brush with fame, another partner that stood out to us at IRX was ShipStation. The services provided by ShipStation are used by many of our clients, making postage, packing and shipping a breeze for e-commerce merchants big and small. Emily, UK Partner Manager, updated us on their latest news, before we received a demo. If you’re still filling out order forms by hand and arranging deliveries manually, ShipStation is an easy way of streamlining the entire process. With just a few clicks, it’ll help you arrange collections and deliveries of products as your orders come in. With such a powerful tool, I wanted to discuss ways we could create content to showcase what ShipStation is capable of, while also demonstrating the value of using such a tool. Emily loved this idea, and we’re looking forward to collaborating. As their slogan goes, get ship done. Our aim is to make sure everyone can.

After being enchanted by ShipStation’s logistical brilliance, we sought to speak to more tech partners who could help complete the ERP puzzle. Our next stop was at the Gorgias stand. We’ve worked with Gorgias for a number of years already, helping to integrate their customer service tools into our client’s Shopify stores. Just before he took the stage to present his talk on exceptional customer experience, we spoke to Neil, Strategic Partner Manager for Gorgias, and discussed ways we could work together to help our clients utilise their tools. Neil showed us how they’re so much more than customer service. Instead of using a person to act as a point of contact for customer service, Gorgias automates much of the process, tailoring emails and live chat responses to each customer and the orders they’ve placed. With our content team bursting with ideas, I wanted to discuss ways we could create content to inspire more merchants to craft an exceptional experience for their customers with Gorgias. My chat with Neil was only the start of what we hope will become a great collaboration. After such a sweet conversation, it was pretty apt that Neil offered myself and Joe a lollipop just before we set off from their stand. Very sweet indeed.

To complete the ERP picture, we walked over to the Linnworks stand and sat down for a meeting with Partner Manager, Simon. Linnworks aims to unify different sales channels for e-commerce merchants. Simon showed us how a merchant could easily collate orders from eBay, Amazon, and even multiple Shopify stores representing sales from different markets. Their platform provides unified inventory management, automatically tracking products as they go out to customers, while also helping retailers bundle items and store product information. Linnworks also makes it easier to set specific pricing, titles and descriptions for different channels, with just a few clicks. After being left in awe of the sheer number of features Linnworks encompasses, I was very eager to ask Simon about working with Kubix to tell even more people about the incredible capabilities of their platform. Simon loved this idea, and already we’re sharing ideas for new content. Keep your eyes peeled.

IRX was a fantastic experience, and with our phones brimming with new contacts, and our minds buzzing with new ideas, we set off back to the office after an amazing day. We can’t wait to collaborate more closely with partners like these, and we’re excited to see what we can do together.

If you saw us at IRX, and you’d like to say hi, be sure to click below!