News in the Channel - Issue #5

WEBSTORES

same. Now businesses can take advantage of a lot of customization, and add more features and design tweeks as they go.” The customization angle is a great selling point, but with more features and design changes, Gehlig reiterated resellers should commit in the short term in order to unlock long-term gains. “The biggest step for us was making the financial investment and being under no illusion of the outlay over in the first six months while we designed and set up the store. “Once the commitment has been made, it’s all about the functionality you wish to use for each demographic customer group, made possible with the continued support and guidance from Stock in the Channel . Never-ending Journey “However, the journey is never-ending as we adapt to the ever-changing marketplace by implementing customers’ feedback and introducing the latest updates and applications brought to us via Stock in the Channel . “At Digital Space, we have been able to redesign our portal and will not stop developing and getting the right supplier relationships in place, as you are only as good as your supply chain. The main point to take from this is that you get out of it what you put in.” “The turnkey package is important,” said Hislop. “We help resellers with the hosting, the deployment, the account management, customisation, and then provide the value of Stock in the Channel on top of these features. “Certainly, some of the customers that I see, the most valuable piece for them is in utilising our external system integration as well with the API’s. They can see orders come in that go straight to distribution, then that order can be pushed into Xero, NetSuite, Salesforce, or Microsoft Dynamics. “With a webstore, resellers can move away from an arbitrary website to potentially a fully functioning auditing and accounting system. As a result, resellers can take all the pressure off their accountants, whilst increasing their sales volume.” Getting there The utopian end goal of a fully functional webstore is naturally where every reseller wants to get to. However as Gehlig pointed out, these webstores are evolving creatures that are never truly finished. Digital Space has found

success with its webstore, and makes no point in hiding the fact they are currently working on their third iteration of store. Speaking on the process of optimising a webstore, Gehlig said “this was a very challenging area; we had to take a risk by trying a variety of settings and promotions for lengthy periods. “Fundamentally we have found success by thinking like a customer and trialling several scenarios or promotions, and watching our customer engagement. The reporting functionality offered by Stock in the Channel during these testing periods was invaluable, and I suggest understanding the limits of what’s available to you from day one will help you on your journey.” From Portal to Platform With integrations and APIs, resellers can run their webstores with much of the functionality of those found in the consumer landscape. But as more features are made available, these webstores will get to a stage where they resemble the platforms that many of the leaders in the technology industry have invested millions into developing. “The fact is you need a portal to compete, but ten years ago the cost would be tens of thousands of pounds,” said Hislop. “Now, anybody can play in this field because the price has fallen to a fraction of that. “As a result, not only can businesses save on salespeople or auditors, but they’ll have all the facilities and features they need to compete with established names. “Having a bespoke webstore will win business and, now that it’s a lot cheaper to play in this field, everybody has to do it or they’re going to fall behind.”

Richard Hislop Channel sales manager Stock in the Channel

stockinthechannel.co.uk

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With a

webstore, resellers can move away from an arbitrary website to potentially a fully functioning auditing and accounting system.

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