Homechoice, a 15-year-old mail-order catalogue company, has completed the first phase of its e-business implementation strategy. This represents the first of a number of moves on the part of the company to upgrade its systems and online presence in preparation for the move to "E".
Originally briefed as a corporate relations site for shareholders, many of Homechoice`s clients, the emerging mass consumer, were hitting its Web site from their workplace, requesting information from the temporary form-to-e-mail on the home page. The majority of customers requested catalogues, account information and enquired about purchasing products directly online.
Realising that mass consumer Internet access was far greater than anticipated, the company revisited its e-strategy, fusing a corporate information offering with services. These include online catalogue order forms, account applications, a human resources zone and client services, among others.
"Clients will be able to purchase directly from the site at a later date, when the development and testing phase has been completed," says Chantelle Pearce, DTP operator at Homechoice. "The company is currently evaluating its options with regard to B2B offering on the market, and defining the functionality it will require. There is then a development and testing phase that must be concluded to our satisfaction before the e-commerce functionality can be implemented."
Fulfilment and logistics issues will also conceivably need to be sorted out, and access to this information will need to be added to the site to allow customers to track the progress of their goods.
The company sells an extensive range of household goods and fashion merchandise. A second division, Innovations, features "gimmicky" items and this will be the first site to be e-commerce enabled, with a temporary site going live in November. Candor.com developed the customised back-end, while Visuals & Interactives, a digital design company, was responsible for front-end development.
Wido Schanbel, MD of Candor.com says: "Online Web stores should be first cousins to mail order. Armed with the complete fulfilment arsenal in addition to a client base, HomeChoice is sure to become an e-commerce market leader." http://www.homechoice.co.za
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