Category Archives: E-Commerce

Introduction to Leading Open Source eCommerce Web Application Magento

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Magento is an open-source ecommerce web application created by Varien which was later re-christened as Magento Inc. It was launched on March 31st 2008 and it is built on the components of Zend Framework. Magento is available under the Open Software License version 3.0. The Magento Enterprise Edition (paid edition) which is aimed at larger companies was launched on 15th April 2009; this version provides a service agreement with Varien.

Those involved in eCommerce need an affordable, flexible design option when putting up their online stores. Magento was designed to meet this need. This open-source eCommerce solution is offered for free download and allows users to design, set up, and run their own eCommerce stores with great flexibility. Magento supports installation of modules through a web-based interface accessible through the administration area of a Magento installation. Modules are hosted on the Magento eCommerce website as a PEAR server. Magento formerly worked with osCommerce. They originally planned to fork osCommerce but later decided to rewrite it as Magento. Magento officially started development in early 2007. Seven months later on August 31, 2007, the first public beta version was released. On May 30, 2010 Magento mobile was released, it allows store owners to create native mobile storefront apps.

Magento uses PHP as a web server scripting language and the MySQL Database. The data model is based on the Entity-attribute-value model that stores data objects in tree structures, thus allowing a change to a data structure without changing the definition of the database. Any community member can upload a module through the website and is made available once confirmed by a member of the Magento team. Modules are installed by entering a module key, available on the module page, into the web based interface.

There are three categories of modules hosted on Magento Connect:
1. Core Modules
2. Community Modules
3. Commercial Modules

Core and Community modules can be installed from the administration area. Commercial module pages provide price information and a link to an external website. There are no limits to creativity with Magento. Magento is easy to install and at the same time easy to use. Magento is used in many websites and online stores and has been a one of the most used ecommerce web application since its release.

Choosing OS Commerce vs. Zen Cart Shopping Solution for Web Development

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Today, diverse shopping carts are being used by e-retail outlets to enhance their e-commerce and Web Development activities and offer a unique experience to its customers. There is an exhaustive list of Shopping Carts that include Magento, PrestaShop, CubeCart, OpenCart and StoreSprite. Two of the major open-source Shopping Carts that have attained high popularity in the recent years are OS Commerce and Zen Cart. Many Web Development service providers offer these two Shopping Cart Solutions at a very large scale. However, it is proven that Web Developers do not embrace a single Shopping Cart solution completely, because of the fear of obsolescence or lock-in.

The comparison among OS Commerce and Zen Cart Shopping Cart has taken place by Webmasters at many levels, and this article, by no means, intends to be an extension of the same. This article instead discusses the benefits of both OS Commerce and Zen Cart in a little detail and helps you choose a sound Shopping Cart for your Web Development projects.

Zen Cart Shopping Cart for Efficient Web Development

For efficient Web Development, developers bank on Zen Cart Shopping Cart. Zen is free, extremely user-friendly, an easy-to-install and open-source shopping cart. More than the developers, Zen Cart is a Shopping Cart solution for shoppers. Zen Cart also offers various exclusive features like multiple payment support, varied shipping options, quantity discounts and coupons.

Zen Cart also features multiple customer modes and sales and discounts, unlimited category depth and display modes. It also efficiently supports XHTML template system and offers the liberty to use unlimited extra pages and several ad banners. Many Web Development Companies in India, believe that no Shopping Cart solutions comes as close as Zen when it comes to features and benefits.

OS Commerce for a Strong and Dedicated Shopping Cart

OS Commerce is an open source online shopping cart that offers a wide range of features to online e-commerce stores. Like Zen Cart, OS Commerce also supports multiple currencies and allows the customers to print invoices directly from the order screen. Many Web Development companies vouch for its easy database backup system, and effective Web Development processes.

OS Commerce Shopping Cart features a rich set of functionality that allows e-commerce owners to setup and maintain online stores with minimum efforts and absolutely no costs. Many Web Development, India, firms have Java proficient web developers and are solely dedicated to designing projects in Java language.

Hope this article has been able to provide some help to all those who are yet to decide between Zen and OS Commerce Shopping for their Web Development projects.

Using Online Services to Sell Your Product Outside the UK

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Looking to expand your customer base abroad? New clients await worldwide and with the internet and online services that come with it, it’s now easier than ever to connect with these foreign target audiences. Time to branch out your UK based business! The world can become your oyster with a bit of research and investment.

“Ready Made” Online Shops

You don’t necessarily have to invest a lot of money in developing an international ecommerce website. There are existing services or online “marketplaces” which users can sign up for. These are simple and effective ecommerce sites where transactions are managed by the marketplace operator, but products and their descriptions are provided by third party retailers: individuals like yourself.

Sites like Etsy, ASOS and Amazon are available for all to use for a small fee. You can personalise the look of your online shop with informative descriptions, logos and product imagery.

Making Your Shop Stand Out

There are various factors which can affect consumer trust in your shop and product offering. Two of these are visuals and copy so it’s absolutely vital to get these just right.

Make sure your images directly reflect the way the product looks in reality. Take photos from various angles in natural light without any interference from the flash and resulting reflections.

For added professionalism, ensure the background is always the same. If you can, enrol the help of a photographer.

Copy is a very powerful medium with which to attract customers. Shop owners often underestimate the importance of this so don’t make the same mistake.

Be descriptive but creative in your copywriting. Avoid excessive adjectives which lack coherent meaning. Highlight the features of each product.

Postage and Packaging

In the UK, you have the choice of using Royal Mail services or specialist parcel delivery companies such as Parcel Force and Parcel Monkey. Do some research on who does the best deals on worldwide parcel delivery. Some companies may be specialised in European deliveries while others will deliver further afield.

Instead of sending the item wrapped in bubblewrap and stuck into a generic parcel, do a little something more interesting to leave an impression on your customers.

At the very least print your logo on your packaging. If you can afford to, it’s also nice to give customers a little extra to say thanks for their custom. Personally signed thank you cards are a nice gesture and don’t cost a lot. Vintage postcards also work a treat, but pick something that goes well with the product.

Spreading the Word

Although you can expect some traffic to land on your page through users searching for specific products, if you’re looking to really get a name for yourself abroad, you’ll need to do some advertising and public relations.

Use social media to your advantage. This is free after all! Create shop profiles on popular social networks and actively engage with people, and give them reasons to buy from you. Competitions work well online. Give winners a special discount code to enter at checkout, for example.

For more ways of spreading the word, be it through social media or local media in the countries of interest, enlist the help of creative agencies specialising in a range of services from PR Scotland to advertising in China. Knowledge of search engine marketing would also be very beneficial.

AVS Technology Breaks Iron Triangle of Good Fast and Cheap

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by Anthony W. Hawks, Chief Legal Officer, e-LYNXX Corporation

AVS Technology is the basic procedural component of any automated solution for buying custom goods and services that must be defined by production or performance specifications at the time of purchase. It includes the following steps:
ENTER vendor attributes
ENTER project specifications
MATCH vendor attributes to project specifications to determine sub-set of qualified vendors
SEND project specifications to sub-set of qualified vendors
RECEIVE a bid response from at least one vendor

When these steps are applied using a computer-operated system, a unique competitive bidding environment can be established where vendors of custom goods and services are now willing to offer their lowest prices to fill idle production capacity. This strategy is called “contribution pricing”. When vendors bid work (even when bidding well below normal rates), any income obtained above out-of-pocket costs “contributes” to fixed costs and overhead and, when absorbed, to their bottom lines.

Prior to AVS Technology, buyers of custom goods and services were faced with the “iron triangle” of quality, timeliness, and cost. Regardless of the industry involved, every procurement or supply chain solution seeks to attract business customers that want to achieve the purchasing trifecta of “good, fast, and cheap.” Before AVS Technology, however, a buyer could only achieve two of these three goals at any one time, not all three simultaneously.

AVS Technology breaks the “iron triangle” because it allows pre-qualified vendors with excess idle capacity to provide an extraordinary low price without risk of establishing future buyer price expectations. In other words, price is no longer tied to quality and timeliness of delivery. This is what makes AVS Technology integral to all current and future e-commerce methods and systems for buying custom goods and services including ERP systems, general supply chain management systems, specialized product or service procurement systems, and even older legacy systems. One such system for organizations with significant buying needs in direct mail, marketing, publications, packaging, labeling and other types of print is currently being offered by American Print Management. Regardless of the industry or buying need, however, all users and providers of such e-commerce methods or systems are required to license AVS Technology if they wish to benefit from this revolutionary innovation.

AVS Technology is unique in creating a controlled bidding environment in which repetitive purchasers of custom goods and services can leverage the open production capacity of their preferred vendors in a way that virtually guarantees “contribution pricing” that is, below normal pricing that seeks primarily to absorb out-of-pocket costs and some level of fixed costs and overhead. This is accomplished by allowing qualified vendors to bid high, low, or not at all (1) without having to consider buyer pricing expectations; (2) without fear of setting either high or low precedent for future bid prices; and (3) without worrying about being denied future bid opportunities for which the vendor is qualified. Freed from these concerns, bidders offer pricing based on their open production capacity at the time each job is bid, knowing that if they bid low this week when they are hungry for work, they are not bound to offer the same low price next week when they are busy with other orders.

The technology is based on a series of patents that the U.S. Patent Office awarded to e-LYNXX Corporation, including Patent No. 6,397,197, Patent No. 7,451,106, post-Bilski Patent No. 7,788,143, and Continuing Application 12/8885,423 (collectively, the “AVS Technology”). This thicket of patents covers all custom goods and services, not just print.

Licensing AVS Technology should be viewed as both a strategic benefit and a legal requirement. Any organization with a computer-operated system that procures custom goods and services, by following the steps outlined in AVS Technology, is required to obtain a license to use (or continue using) the patented procedure protected by AVS Technology. This applies to systems that are developed internally as well as those used through third-party brokers, procurement services and system providers. Organizations should check with their system or service providers to ensure that the system being used is in compliance with AVS Technology licensing requirements.

About e-LYNXX Corporation
e-LYNXX Corporation patented the technology integral to e-commerce. Endorsed by Educational & Institutional Cooperative Purchasing (E&I) and Printing Industries of America (PIA), e-LYNXX drives results through its three divisions. AVS TechnologyTM licenses the patented* automated vendor selection procedure used in e-commerce and procurement systems. American Print Management provides web-based system, services and patented AVS TechnologyTM to reduce substantially the procured costs of direct mail, marketing, publications, packaging, labels and other procured print. Government Print Management offers effective U.S. GPO bid services and strategies. www.e-LYNXX.com 888-876-5432

Key factors that affect the success of an M&A

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The cost of capital is low and your company made it through the recession. Now may seem like a good time to buy but youre scared off by the high business mergers and acquisitions failure rate. Studies conducted in the late 1900s and early 2000s show that M&A failure rate hovered around 70%.

However, recent results project an upward trend. According to Bain & Co, only 30% of M&As underperform, down from 50% of previous years. While the science of predicting the success (or failure) of M&A may seem hypothetical, there seem to be factors that hinder or help M&A.

Integration program

Budgets and people dont integrate themselves. Before the deal closes, its important to have a detailed integration plan that covers all facets of the organization. Moreover, first steps towards integration should be taken before the ink dries. Combining synergies on paper is easier than doing so in practice, but cultivating and maintaining processes should smooth the transition.

Target sighting and metrics

M&As with synergy targets and metrics in place have a better chance at succeeding. Collecting, analyzing, and presenting data on a regular basis lets the board know if the unit is growing according to plan or if actions need to be taken to correct missteps, should growth plateau or slow.

Maintaining business intelligence

Loss of key people has a definite impact on the future performance of the merged entity. Its important that new organizational structure and leadership is set early in the integration process to prevent business intelligence from literally walking out the door.

Protect your base business

While its important to have a smooth transition process, getting work done should still be top priority. Management shouldnt be distracted by M&A activity. They should be vigilant against competitors who may try to take advantage of the flurry of activity and present a unified front to customers despite gaps in the integration.

Lack of due diligence

Performing proper due diligence can unearth factors such as pending law suits, outstanding tax debt, and extreme vulnerability to litigation that can dissuade a potential buyer. A thorough background check can protect your base business and can save you time and money.

Relative Size

A significant difference in size between the acquiring and target company has been found to be a factor in poor acquisition performance. M&A can flounder if the divested company is too large to manage or if smaller acquisitions dont receive the time and attention they required.

Cultural Differences

Salient differences in corporate culture is another factor that can hamper the chance for success. When a company is acquired, the decision is typically based on product or market synergies, “soft factors” that can be overlooked with the assumption that personnel issues can be overcome. While cherished aspects of a work environment may seem petty compared to the bottom line, their removal may result in resentment, productivity decrease and loss of key employees.

Business Merger and Acquisition Experience

While previous M&A experience is not a necessary requirement for success, it does help when detecting red flags and creating and implementing a better integration plan. If this is your first M&A, seek the advise of expertise of knowledgable professionals.

Proformative.com is a free, open and independent community of corporate finance, accounting, treasury and related professionals that offers a wealth of expert advice, information and accounting resources . Finance forums like Proformative allow you to learn about M&A and other relevant issues important to finance, accounting, and treasury experts.