Online business applications provider NetSuite has bolstered its e-commerce operations with a variety of new features designed to target larger, midsized companies and complement a recently sealed partnership with online auction site eBay.With a continued integration push between NetSuite's customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning platforms, the new e-commerce features would build on the company's more than 1,500 e-commerce client sites, which brought in a combined $290 million in revenue last year for customers using NetSuite's e-commerce solution.
"It turns out, when you put all your data in one place, you can deliver a real-time shopping experience on your Web site," said Zach Nelson, chief executive of NetSuite. "Whether you're a small or midsized company, if you have a bunch of manual processes dealing with shipping orders, tracking orders and integrating with FedEx, you're going to deliver a horrible e-commerce experience."
His remarks came during a Webinar announcing the company's e-commerce strategy.
NetSuite's e-commerce clients are typically companies with at least $10 million in annual revenue. The company also hopes to gain access to eBay's "power sellers," those who have sustained a consistently high volume of sales and received at least 98 percent positive feedback on transactions.
NetSuite said that as a result of the upgrades, its "e-tailers" will now be able to access more detailed business performance indicators. The number of site hits and unique visitors, and the number of individuals who've abandoned their shopping carts, are now included in a new add-on site analytics module.
The dashboard can also show a business owner a Web site's top-selling items, search engine keywords that bring in the most revenue, and trend graphs that depict how business statistics are changing.
An Amazon.com-like automated up-sell manager has also been added, which displays other items customers might buy based on others who have purchased the same product. Other promotional tools, such as gift certificates, item coupons and a shipping cost estimator that allows customers to figure out their shipping rates pre-checkout, are also among the new add-on upgrades.
Nelson said that his company is also presenting what he termed a "full multi," which includes multiple site hosting for those companies that sell more than one product and want different Web sites for each. This Web site creation and management tool is due to be released this summer.
Other "full multi" features currently available will allow customers and business owners to choose a preferred currency for their transaction. Like consumers, businesses will be able to pay through a credit card or PayPal, as well as through an invoice or purchasing card. Users can also pick the language for the site, with Spanish, French, German, Russian, Chinese and Japanese available.
The eBay partnership allows e-tailers to manage online sales from within NetSuite. In addition to being able to view live listings, other features include bidding and item-closing details, inventory management, customer service, accounting processes, keyword and e-mail marketing, and site hosting.
Starting at $99 per month, eBay integration is available as an add-on module for NetSuite Business and NetSuite. NetSuite starts at $499 per month. Add-on modules for the site builder and analytic features are both priced at $299. For more, visit www.netsuite.com.
