CommerceSWITCH opens SA doors for Saqqara

Local on-line business solutions company, commerceSWITCH, has secured the Southern African distributorship rights for Saqqara`s range of product content management and exchange solutions for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. The company says that the Saqqara range will deliver essential support and management functions for businesses and enterprise departments buying and selling products over the Internet. "This is a key offering to these market segments, as it creates structured product line content, without which companies cannot do business with their suppliers and customers," says commerceSWITCH MD Philip de Bruin.

Companies have the option of purchasing outright or renting the solution, and commerceSWITCH will manage their content on their behalf, either on- or off-site.

Content management is largely ignored among e-commerce solution providers, yet without it sustainable business is not possible, says De Bruin. "Content is the definition of a company`s product - what it sells. Product information must be catalogued, updated automatically, and search capabilities made available to customers, so they can find what they want quickly and directly. Without a powerful content management solution, companies will fall back on manual systems which are too slow and prone to error to support e-business."

The range consists of Commerce Suite, an integrated family of software applications that enable businesses to create and manage powerful online product content to drive their e-commerce initiatives; and Whomakesit.com, a smart directory that enables buyers to easily and quickly find and connect directly to product information within a manufacturer`s own web site to ensure fast access to complete, accurate and up-to-date product information.

The StepSearch facility gives on-line customers direct access to product information, with extensive search capabilities.

Saqqara has a flexible and extensible architecture, which gives companies the ability to integrate their core technologies using XML.

"Saqqara fits in with commerceSWITCH`s methodology of providing simple, powerful, intuitive e-business solutions that can get SMEs and enterprise departments e-enabled with minimal disruption to their business," De Bruin concludes.

Jerome Poujardieu, sales director, EMEA, at SAQQARA Systems, says: "We wanted to work with a company who understands the B2B eCommerce market and, in particular, the local business needs. With its history of selling into large companies as well as into emerging e-business communities, CommerceSWITCH brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to support our activities in South Africa, making them the choice for Saqqara."