1 Selecting the Perfect eCommerce Platform for your Business Panelists: Lou Pietragallo, American...

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Selecting the Perfect eCommerce Platform for your Business

Panelists:Lou Pietragallo, American Eagle OutfittersJanet Beasley, Urban Outfitters, Inc.Larry Promisel, Barneys New YorkGeorge Hitler, Bath & Body Works Direct

Moderator:Bill Mirabito, B2C Partners

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Types of eCommerce Platform Vendors

• CatalystStarter kits for SMBs with modest revenue projections; and is built for resourceful clients who need/expect minimal support

• CrewPrimarily professional services team with turnkey suite of tools, processes and experience to quickly launch an online channel

• ConsoleCommercial-grade shared SaaS for experienced online merchants lacking adequate time/resources to buy/integrate new features

• CustomDedicated enterprise software for self-sufficient retailers with adequate internal development skills and support

Copyright 2008. B2C Partners. All rights reserved. http://www.b2cpartners.com

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Catalyst matches retailers with…

• Scrappy, small- or mid-size business• Small budget for IT and marketing• Modest online revenue projections <

$6M


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Crew matches retailers with…

• Strong offline brand, ready for ecommerce

• Huge potential early on, with just a little help

• Needs a partner for both tools AND processes


http://www.efashionsolutions.com/index.php

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Console matches retailers with…

• Growing online channel, confident marketers

• Know what they need, not how to get it• Limited or no dedicated support from IT


http://www.venda.com/page/simplicity

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Custom matches retailers with…

• Self-sufficient, multi-channel commitment

• Proficiency on technology, marketing & ops

• Current platform impedes; upgrade needed


http://www.icongo.com/eng/index.cfm

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Lou PietragalloDirector of Web Development

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.

Lou heads web strategy and development for American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. which includes three distinct brands ae.com, aerie.com and martinandosa.com

Lou has held many leadership positions at American Eagle throughout his 8 year career. In 2005, he lead a team of 30+ consultants and internal technical resources while implementing ATG Commerce, Contact Center and OMS.

Prior to coming to American Eagle, Lou worked as a consultant at EDS in Plano, Texas.

American Eagle Outfitters selected ATG as its ecommerce platform in 2004.

C U S T O M

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Janet BeasleyDirector of Ecommerce Systems

Urban Outfitters Inc.

Janet has responsibility for the systems and team supporting brand web sites for Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People.

Previously, Janet was Director of Information Systems at GSI Commerce where she had responsibility for business intelligence, call center and marketing systems. Janet also held management positions at Saks Direct, Barnes&Noble.com and Barnes & Noble Direct – where she helped launch both the Saks and B&N sites.

Urban Outfitters launched on the latest version of ATG Commerce last year.

C U S T O M

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Larry PromiselVice-President, E-Commerce

Barneys New York

Larry is Vice President, E-Commerce for Barneys New York; managing all aspects of Barneys emerging e-commerce business.

Prior to Barneys, Larry served as Director of Online Retail for Bluefly.com, where he implemented strategic site enhancements and revisions to optimize the customer experience and business results.

Larry also held previous marketing positions at Coach and Bloomingdales.

Barneys is a brand new Demandware client. Its implementation is still in progress.

C O N S O L E

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George HitlerManager, Web Operations Bath & Body Works Direct

At Bath Body Works Direct, George manages site enhancement projects and is the primary interface between customer service and the business team. At BBW, he also handles the relationship with the brand’s online technology partners.

For four years prior, George served as Client Services Manager at Resource Interactive, a digital marketing agency out of Columbus OH.

Bath & Body Works is a subsidiary of Limited Brands. It launched its online store using GSI Commerce’s platform in 2005.

C R E W

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Bill MirabitoB2C [email protected]://www.b2cpartners.com(508) 728-4702

Panel Discussion

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Bill MirabitoB2C [email protected]://www.b2cpartners.com(508) 728-4702

Handouts

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Types of eCommerce Platform Vendors

• CatalystStarter packages for SMBs new to online retail, with limited provider support.

• CrewOutsourced professional services with dedicated instance of software. Built to provide supplemental services for site maintenance, creative and marketing. Options may also include contact center and fulfillment.

• ConsoleAdvanced features built for business users; bundled as a subscription. Shared instance delivers more frequent upgrades to code base. Custom development often requires some degree of partner assistance. Hosted only (SaaS).

• CustomSoftware license runs on a dedicated app server. Built for self-sufficiency and in-house maintenance by a skilled IT/dev team. Longer to deploy and upgrade. Customization is limited only by clients’ skills, resources and ingenuity on staff.Hosted options available (as a managed service).


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Characteristics of Vendors by Type

CATALYST CREW CONSOLE CUSTOM

VENDORSin this Category

Yahoo Merchant, eBay proStores,

Amazon

GSI Commerce, eFashion Solutions, Fry,

Novator, Vcommerce

Demandware,MarketLive, Truition,

Venda

ATG, IBM, iCongo,Escalate Retail,

Sterling Commerce

FLEXIBILITY to Differentiate

Limited Support,Least Flexibility

With ProviderAssistance

With Provider Assistance

Self-Directed(You Extend)

OPERATIONSServices for Hire

Hosting Only(Shared Instance)

Full Service(Dedicated Instance)

Hosting Only(Shared Instance)

Hosting Available(Dedicated Instance)

REVENUETypical Thresholds

None RequiredUp to $6 million

None RequiredUp to $100 million

Usually > $6 milliononline revenue

Usually > $30 milliononline revenue

COMMITMENT ofClient Organization

None RequiredSome Required

for Contract TermsSome Required

for Contract TermsLots Needed for

Staffing & Resources

EXPERIENCE Skills Required

None Required None RequiredBusiness Skills

RequiredBusiness & IT/Dev

Skills Required


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Tips for Your RFP Process

• SHORT LIST: Align your business profile to the best vendor type before RFP distribution. Send only to vendors who match.

• SCORE CRITERION: For apples-to-apples comparison, structure your RFP to rank responses in six dimensions (with weighted scoring): – Features Current Capabilities of the System

– Administration Tools to Manage/Upgrade the System

– Services To Enable, Maintain, Operate the Business

– Traction Within the Market for Your Needs

– Estimates Deployment, Maintenance, Resources/TCO

– Requests Special/Future Needs Unique to Your Business

• VALIDATE CLAIMS: Never confuse “strategy” with “parity.” Use active clients with similar needs to check references. Don’t expect perfection. Prepare your questions to weed out scripted referrals.


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