Retrospectively, how would you describe the integration?
Nathan Jacobson: "The integration process was fast and smooth. Adopting We found TRANZILA to be highly user friendly. Since TRANZILA works in the service mode, no installation of special hardware or software was required on our end. Our call center reps are using standard PC's and Internet browsers. The entire system maintenance is managed by TRANZILA's engineers; we don't have to worry about any of this stuff. From the second an order is being accepted by our call center or by the Internet, all aspects of payment, processing, invoicing and interfacing with the credit card companies, is managed for us."
How would you summarize the implications of providing on-line service?
Doron Almog: "Each and every part of our organization had to get aligned with the speed and efficiency of the Internet. TRANZILA provided our management with a transparent view of the sales flow via a friendly web based interface. We can also look at sales history reports, comparison graphs and analyses. The operation staff receives instant updates on the accepted and rejected orders and can fulfill them immediately. Accounting automatically receives reports on invoices issued and if needed, export data to our ERP system.
We've learned to utilize these management and control capabilities. Our decision-making is much more intelligent and we begin to see how the system will contribute to improved marketing efforts. We can code and identify various sales efforts.
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The multilayered structure of TRANZILA provides secure and departmentalized access to transaction information. We can customize access to information by department, for example. We also restrict control panel access to the physical office location and thus, better protect our data."
Can you assess the move to on-line operations in terms of ROI?
Doron Almog: "Since our response time is immediate, each transaction is being processed by the credit card companies in real time. There is no need to wait for slow and lengthy confirmation process like in POS terminals. The benefits of better service, efficiency and security are clear. The system dismisses the need for manual reporting or manual handling of money and paperwork between the point of sales and the headquarters. This improves the efficiency tremendously and amounts to significant administrative savings. The electronic archiving of the transactions history and the elaborate search capabilities, overcome the problems associated with the paper era, such as loss of transaction records.
Our "hands free" operation improves security. This also translates to savings on administrative manpower and savings on the dialup expenses of the old POS machines. Paper piles, slips and stacks of faxes now belong to our pantheon."
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What type of service trends do you think the Internet can help fulfill in the future and how does it fit to your business vision?
Nathan Jacobson:" In some ways, the future is already here. By synergizing our systems to TRANZILA, we enjoy an impressive array of management abilities which correspond to our current business model. But this just increases our appetite for more innovations and initiatives, especially on the business level where, I predict, the most interesting developments in the near future will take place. Now that we have a strong technical foundation to rely on, we can initiate more aggressive e-business ventures."
From Information Week January 10th 2005.
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