Johannesburg, 16 Oct 2012
Traditional retailers and entrepreneurs looking to start an online business face similar challenges when getting started with a commercial online presence. Chief among these is finding and selecting a platform that is inexpensive and simple right now, but which will provide the necessary headroom to adapt and grow into the future. This, says Johani Marais, country manager of ERP software provider HansaWorld, is something the savvy business owner should think about very carefully before choosing how to create their Web shop.
"Getting started in any new venture requires careful allocation of capital. For the online business, a significant focus has to fall on the platform that will underpin not only the look and feel, but also the usability and function of the site," she says.
Marais says the platform choice is something that absolutely cannot be skimped upon. "For all the potential the Internet offers, it is also a hyper-competitive environment. While increasingly essential for more companies than ever before to be online, your online presence has to be user-friendly, high-performance and appealing. If it isn't, your customers might just go somewhere else."
That's not all. From small beginnings, the Web shop should also provide headroom to develop and grow, should the spark become a fire. "It is the ambition of any company that takes its offerings online to achieve at-scale performance; however, it should not be necessary to invest in a substantial Web site at the start-up phase," Marais says.
HansaWorld's solution to this set of challenges is its Webshop module, which provides a complete platform to get started on the Internet. Whether a business-to-business solution, which provides for online trade between organisations, or business-to-consumer to target the online general public, the solution delivers everything required for a high-performance trading platform. This includes a content management system (CMS), integration to HansaWorld's ERP, other online applications or a SQL database.
But it is the price of the HansaWorld Webshop module that is perhaps most noteworthy; Marais says a standard package begins from around R30 000 including the e-commerce and integrated back-end stock, CRM and accounting processing. "What is most important to note is that this initial package is an investment that grows with the business. It never has to be replaced; it is designed to expand and grow along with your Web shop," she explains.
Marais says that while pricing is of considerable importance, the selection of an appropriate solution should be guided by expectations for the future. "No one starts a business expecting it to fail. The business plan should provide for growth - and so should the systems that are selected to power the Web shop," she concludes.
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