Ready for e-commerce? You are if you use HansaWorld as your ERP solution. That's because with its Webshop module, the solution allows your business to enter online B2B or B2C trading with little or no developer involvement. Full integration across the supply chain also means that when you put products up for sale through a Web front-end, the entire business stands neatly behind it.
That's according to Johani Marais, country manager of HansaWorld South Africa. “With over 74 000 clients worldwide, HansaWorld has an enormous insight into the wants and needs of small to medium businesses. With the convenience and efficiency synonymous with online trading today, the ability to very quickly, easily and securely create an online shop is a big advantage for many such businesses,” she says.
Where other business owners may have to develop an entirely separate Web site and back-end, the HansaWorld solution is an integral component of the ERP system. That's noteworthy not only from a convenience point of view, notes Marais: “More importantly, it means integration of stock levels, integration of manufacturing and warehousing, if relevant, and complete integration of processes from the front-end right through to the back.”
Explaining how Webshop allows for the creation of an online presence without the need for developers, she says the same familiar interface that is used every day across the HansaWorld ERP solution, facilitates the Web site. “Users set up style sheets for different areas of the Webshop, controlling the look and feel of the site. The ERP system uses a fully configurable template approach for the management of the design of the e-commerce solution.”
For example, there are settings to determine how many frames will be used, where each frame will be positioned, what will be displayed in each frame. “Users can associate pictures with various elements in the HansaWorld data, and control how these pictures are displayed,” she adds.
There are no external databases to maintain, and no new applications to install, learn or maintain.
“Products can be marketed internally, to partners or to the general public,” Marais adds - that is, business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C).
As a B2B solution, she says Webshop lets customers place and pay for their orders; a common use is within franchise businesses where the franchiser provides a range of goods that are used by franchisees. “Instead of salespeople handling order processing, it is all done by online self-service. That means potentially increased and faster sales, savings of time and effort, and your customers can search information about products and pricing and view their account status themselves.”
From a maintenance perspective, because users are in control of the Web pages, which will be accessed by customers ordering goods online, there is no ongoing maintenance of Web sites, which results in lower ongoing costs. “As a complete content management system, Webshop provides all that is required to put products online to sell. There is the ability to add a shopping cart, a payment gateway, and to add and remove products, depending on availability,” says Marais.
Integration means that when a detail in the ERP system is changed, such as price, name or stock level of any item, the Webshop is updated in real-time. “Automation and singe entry saves time and ensures accuracy,” she notes.
Already, Marais says many of HansaWorld clients are using Webshop to extend their enterprise online: “Any business that has a Web site, or wants a Web site, can benefit from this technology. The complete integration across the business means optimal convenience, with all financial transactions and processes initiated at the point of a customer placing an order online. As a full content management system, maintained within the ERP system, Webshop puts your business online in a snap,” she concludes.
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HansaWorld
HansaWorld provides an award-winning integrated business platform covering customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning and accounts, together with a wide selection of industry-specific solutions, to more than 74 000 clients in 110 countries around the world. The solutions are available in 29 languages, run on all major platforms, and support mobile use via laptops, PDAs, Nokia business phones and iPhones. HansaWorld's product strategy is to integrate as much as possible within a single application. It is represented in many of the countries in Europe, Latin America, North America, Africa, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.
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