SalesBid, a provider of rapidly deployed, customised and affordable dynamic commerce e-business applications, focused on selling, procurement and enterprise software solutions, is aggressively recruiting the services of the local IT channel, to complement its marketing and sales drive.
Until recently, SalesBid has sold directly to clients, resulting in the successful development and implementation of systems for a number of high-profile organisations such as Protea Hotels, Hertz Rent A Car, Africam, iafrica.com, ITWeb and Intersite Property Management Services.
According to CEO of SalesBid, David Bloch, dynamic commerce is the next wave of e-business. He quotes analyst Vernon Keenan (www.keenanvision.com), who has predicted that "by 2004, up to 40% of all online transactions will be conducted using dynamic pricing". With this growing demand in dynamic pricing e-business applications, SalesBid has recognised the need to partner with accredited value added resellers (VARs) to service this market opportunity.
The internet has become a powerful force in bridging the gap between buyers and sellers. Dynamic pricing takes into account these demand and supply factors as well as other relevant market conditions in determining price, and therefore represents a move towards achieving true market pricing. Although dynamic pricing has traditionally been associated with online auctions, SalesBid's solutions also include real-time negotiation (haggle), sophisticated spot pricing applications, B2B exchanges and a variety of other flexible pricing applications - all with the underlying aim of optimising companies' revenue and/or improving business processes and efficiencies.
Bloch says value-added resellers stand to gain from a SalesBid partnership. "SalesBid's solutions typically represent just one or a few components of a complex end-to-end e-business solution for a client. With dynamic commerce requiring highly specialised technology, it is of benefit to VARs to partner with experts in this field." SalesBid is involved in continuous research and development aimed at improving and building on its core framework. Partners will thus benefit by having access to the latest dynamic pricing applications, upgrades and technology at all times.
According to Bloch, local research by BMI-Techknowledge predicts that e-business transaction values (excluding financial services) are set to climb rapidly from R6 billion in 2000, to R241 billion in 2005. "It is therefore vital that we set up the right channels to access this growing market. By partnering with other 'best of breed' providers and resellers, we believe we can develop a symbiotic relationship which benefits the resellers by giving them access to cutting edge dynamic pricing technology while at the same time complementing our existing distribution channels and market penetration strategy.
Bloch says SalesBid provides a lot of flexibility to the right channel partners. "VARs specialising in Web development, business solutions and hosting can sell SalesBid's solutions in a variety of ways." They can either refer the customer, or sell them on as part of their total solution offering. Or they can re-brand the application as their own through a licensing agreement, and also have the ability to extend and build onto the core SalesBid system through its open architecture and API's for all programming languages and applications.
On the referral side, SalesBid will deal directly with the client and pays the partner a referral fee. However, partners who choose to sell on the solution as part of their solution offering will continue to deal directly with their clients, but will need to work closely with SalesBid regarding the implementation and integration of the dynamic pricing system. However, hosting and maintenance of this application is still handled by SalesBid. At the highest level, the partner actually has the skills and infrastructure to deliver, host and maintain the complete solution for its clients and therefore SalesBid has no dealing whatsoever with the client.
"Partners active in the right markets, specifically travel, computers, entertainment/leisure, retail (on the sell-side), as well as in the areas of business-to-business (B2B) and government-to-business (G2B) exchanges and e-procurement, where efficiencies are gained by using dynamic e-business applications, are the types of partners that we are targeting.
VARs will be entitled to first-line support from SalesBid from both a technology and training perspective. In the case of a licensing arrangement, VARS will get a shrink-wrapped solution that will also include full technical documentation, also containing developers' and system manuals.
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SalesBid is a provider of rapidly deployed, customised and affordable dynamic commerce e-business applications. It focuses on providing clients with innovative selling, procurement and enterprise solutions aimed at optimising revenue and improving efficiencies.
SalesBid's cutting edge technology allows a dynamic pricing component to be quickly and easily added to companies' websites facilitating online sourcing or selling with the aim of optimising revenue. SaleBid's online solutions are unique in that they allow companies to run dynamic pricing solutions from their own sites, thereby maintaining their business's corporate image and brand and increasing traffic to their site. Furthermore, SalesBid's superior syndication technology facilitates the items for sale to be simultaneously published on major portal and specialist sites, which exposes the participating companies^1 goods and services to a large and targeted online audience resulting in increased sales.
SalesBid is an independent subsidiary of Auction Alliance Holdings with stakes also held by management and African Harvest Capital.
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