Small E-Tailers deliver Amazon.com-like customer experience
Oracle Small Business Suite users featured in Business Week, Wall Street Journal and Gourmet Magazine for their use of e-commerce technology
SAN MATEO, CA—December 22, 2003—NetSuite, Inc. today announced that its hundreds of online retailers have reported increases in 2003 holiday sales by using Oracle Small Business Suite for e-commerce. Oracle Small Business Suite enables online retailers to create the "holy grail" of Web sites – a dynamic, database-driven Web store that automatically integrates with back-office transaction processing and CRM – all without writing a line of code. Oracle Small Business Suite delivers this functionality for as little as $100/month – less than most companies pay just to host a static, non-transaction capable Web site. The Oracle Small Business Suite name is used under license from Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL).
Turning a static Web site into an e-business destination – where products and prices are dynamically updated; inventory is tracked in real-time; each customer is charged their own price level and displayed their own content; orders are taken on a secure shopping cart with fraud protection; multiple warehouses are instantly notified for fulfilment; and customers can track their orders and support tickets – has been a daunting challenge for even the largest companies. It requires tying together a Web site with separate on-site systems for inventory, invoicing, shipping, customer service, contact management and document publishing. An e-commerce capable Web site can easily cost more than $100,000 to create.
Oracle Small Business Suite addresses these issues by providing an easy to use, low cost solution that makes the technical challenges of building an online Web store as easy as point and click. From designing, hosting and managing the Web site; to tracking customers the moment they enter the site; to enabling online transactions whether via credit card or purchase order; to automating back-office inventory processes; to delivering unparalleled online customer service such as 24/7 access to order history, package tracking and multi-level support, Oracle Small Business Suite handles it all.
"Oracle Small Business Suite enables companies to build, host and manage Web stores that rival Amazon.com in terms of end-to-end functionality," said Baruch Goldwasser, Web store Product Manager for NetSuite. "Our real-time integration with accounting and inventory management, as well as customer service features that increase loyalty while reducing support costs, help make a 10-person company look like a 1000-person corporation."
Many online retailers are touting the success of using Oracle Small Business Suite for e-commerce. Just to name a few:
Jubilee Chocolates (www.jubileechocolates.com), Philadelphia – Jubilee Chocolates sells fine, handmade, preservative-free confections whose ingredients come from local farms that dot the Delaware valley. Featured in major national publications such as Gourmet Magazine and Business Week, Jubilee Chocolates has been using Oracle Small Business Suite since the company was founded in 2000. Because of Oracle Small Business Suite's integrated Web store, CRM, and back-office ERP, Jubilee Chocolates is able to increase busy season sales while saving at least one mid-level executive position, at $40,000 a year. Says CEO John Doyle: "What sets us apart from our competitors is that we can immediately respond to corporate customer requests. When customers visit our Oracle Small Business Suite-powered Web Site and fill out the online form, it goes right to our sales team. That ability to have a full view and immediately respond – whether it's an urgent 500 boxes or just a gift quote – is helping us win more and more corporate customers. Our sales have increased during each of our three years with Oracle Small Business Suite, and this holiday season will undoubtedly be our largest ever."
Big Toy Express, Inc. (www.bigtoyexpress.com), Northbrook, Ill. – When brothers Jody and Marshall Murdough decided to go into business together, there was never any question what they would sell: toys. It's in their blood. In the early 1970's, their father founded a small toy manufacturing company called Little Tikes. Twenty years (and one success story) later, he started over by founding yet another successful toy company - Step2. The Murdough brothers were put to work early, testing out their father's new toys and modeling for his toy box images. When they grew older they worked in both factory and office. No doubt – they have learned what sells and doesn't in the toy industry. After setting up three toy stores earlier this year, the brothers also wanted to establish an online retail destination in time for the holiday season. Oracle Small Business Suite fit the requirements and within a month of implementation the company's first goal – an online version of Big Toy Express – was up and racking in revenues.
"Our November Web store sales tripled over October, and are on pace to triple again in December," said Co-founder Jody Murdough. "Customer feedback has been very positive – they love that the site is so user-friendly – and we are thrilled that we haven't encountered any bumps in the road even as our business has grown so rapidly. Frankly, our Oracle Small Business Suite Web store is performing the work of many people, which has enabled us to focus more attention on our physical store operations."
Mavrik Jewelry (www.mavrikjewelry.com), St. Louis – In November of 2002 when Igal Alon started a jewelry business from his one-bedroom apartment in St. Louis, the last thing he imagined was one year later having an established jewelry gallery with the likes of Neiman Marcus carrying his imported handmade Israeli necklaces and earrings. But Alon, whose holiday sales have increased 200 percent over this time last year, gives the lion's share of credit to Oracle Small Business Suite Web store. "The flexibility of Oracle Small Business Suite is unbelievable," said Alon. "I have been able to do the work of many people because with just a little bit of knowledge in a lot of areas you can work wonders with this product."
Alon is also reaping the rewards of a distinct product in a hot online market for jewelry, which The Wall Street Journal recently spotlighted, along with shoes and luggage, as one of the few retail markets growing far more quickly online than its offline counterparts. Mavrik, which means "shiny and brilliant" in Hebrew, is succeeding because Oracle Small Business Suite brings in customers everywhere from the Netherlands to Argentina. "I am so glad that I bought Oracle Small Business Suite. When my business started growing so fast, I didn't have to scramble and say 'Oh I need that computer,' or 'Oh I need that software.' It was the perfect strategy because my business has grown without a subsequent need to buy more technology."
Oracle Small Business Suite enables companies to manage all key business operations in a single, integrated system, which includes customer relationship management; order fulfilment, inventory, finance and product assembly; e-commerce and Web site management; and employee productivity. In addition, Oracle Small Business Suite is delivered as an online service, so there is no hardware to procure, no large, up-front license fee, and no complex set-ups.
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