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Avexxis Revamps Multichannel Retail Suite
February 21, 2008
eWEEK.com
View the original article
By Dan Berthiaume
The multichannel software company is focusing on e-commerce and infrastructure flexibility with new products and services.
Avexxis, which offers technology and services aimed at multichannel retailers, is releasing a new suite of offerings designed to broaden the capabilities it offers.
Announced Feb. 11, the new suite consists of a Web store, off-the-shelf base solution, and two infrastructure options.
"The industry has evolved from direct mail to e-commerce," said Avexxis Corporation Principal John Fink. "A lot of clients are becoming Web-centric and are looking for a turnkey e-commerce package."
In response, Fink said the new Avexxis Web store solution is tightly integrated with the Avexxis Commerce Server application, which operates the company's order management and retail functions, thus extending the Commerce Server environment as a data repository and business rules processor.
The vendor has also released Avexxis Professional as a base solution for its Avexxis Enterprise package. Professional can perform functions including order entry, customer service, POS, product and inventory management; catalog, customer and list management; forecasting; purchase management; warehouse management; letters and queues; general ledger; accounts payable and accounts receivable, and report creation.
"Within each module there are quite a few tools," Fink said. "It's a revised offering as a complete suite. Avexxis Professional is a base offering that can be extended out."
In the infrastructure area, he said Avexxis is now providing the options of hosted SAAS (software as a service) and a remotely managed application called Avexxis Managed Server (AMS).
"We sensed a need for infrastructure flexibility in different clients," said Fink. "We wanted to encompass as many connectivity options as possible."
Ernie Schell, director of consulting firm Marketing Systems Analysis, said today's multichannel retailers are looking for fully integrated suites of applications that can support all sales channels.
"They want a call center application, a fully interactive e-commerce site, and a retail application," Schell said.
However, he said many direct retailers are reluctant to fully embrace SAAS or hosted solutions. "This is partly because they don't like to get involved in situations where there will be escalating fees," he said. "Despite that, they acknowledge that it is the wave of the future. Many systems that support all sales channels are set up on an SAAS infrastructure."
In addition, Schell said that only about 20 percent of the roughly 40 multichannel retail solutions on the market fully support all three sales channels.
"The e-commerce piece is often missing," he said. "Three to five years ago, many users invested money in building their own e-commerce systems or having specialty developers put together their own e-commerce applications. The sweet spot [for multichannel systems vendors] then was to develop systems that could integrate to anyone's e-commerce platform."
Schell said that today, many multichannel retailers often see buying a suite of applications that support all three channels as a way to upgrade aging e-commerce platforms.
"Vendors have not caught up," he said. "Only a minority support all three channels."
Dan Berthiaume covers retail technology for eWEEK. More retail news, check out eWEEK.com's Retail Site.
For Immediate Release
Multi-Channel Software Company Announces Exciting New Products
New company principals broaden capabilities and revitalize focus, inspiring the company to enhance and extend both product and service offerings
Avon, CT – February 4, 2008 – Avexxis Corporation today announced a sweeping change to the company’s offerings, leveraging its 13 years of experience in the multi-channel space, and implementing a variety of new products and services.
The company’s website at www.avexxis.com outlines three specific focus points of the company’s new suite of offerings.
- Web store – Avexxis continues to interface with existing web stores, but is now bringing a revolutionary e-commerce approach to market with a TOTALLY integrated web solution. An ASP.NET web store is tightly integrated with the Avexxis Commerce Server, the same server used to operate the company’s order management and retail functions. Extending this environment as the data repository and business rules processor for the web store eliminates the need for multiple databases, multiple points of entry and maintenance of information, as well as the need to reprogram business rules in multiple environments. Additionally, full DIY customer service functions can be made available to end customers, which substantially eliminates costs in customer service and call center environments.
- Products – Avexxis has formalized its Avexxis Professional offering, which is an “off the shelf” solution for the standard multi-channel marketer. This fully functional, aggressively priced package has a full suite of features, including integrated accounting. The company’s Avexxis Enterprise package begins with Avexxis Professional as a foundation then extends the environment by deploying Adaptive Object Technology within the Avexxis Commerce Server. This powerful combination yields a fully upgradable and supportable customized solution, which has been exercised for over 10 years with major companies such as Macy’s and Vermont Teddy Bear. This core strength, coupled with the diverse call center and operations experience of John Fink, one of the company’s new principals, provides an unmatched ability to deliver a system that precisely fits a customer’s needs – supportably, affordably, and fully able to be upgraded.
- Infrastructure – Avexxis has expanded infrastructure options by not only supporting the traditional offerings of in-house customer servers, or SaaS, but is also providing the best of both worlds with its Avexxis Managed Server (AMS) offering. While the AMS does reside at the client’s site, the minimal administration required for an Avexxis system is performed remotely by Avexxis. AMS delivers the cost advantage of an in-house licensed solution, and the convenience of SaaS without the overhead of IT staff.
Leigh Kendall, the newest principal of Avexxis, and an experienced .NET developer, says, “The ability to readily extend Avexxis’ established product offerings into these new infrastructure and product directions was a key factor in my decision to join the company. The flexibility, performance, and ease of development that we have been able to achieve is remarkable, and all on a single platform (the Avexxis Commerce Server).”
About Avexxis Corporation
Avexxis has been delivering solutions to the multi-channel industry since 1995, serving some of the largest companies in the industry. The company’s robust software and business process design allow for delivery of an extraordinarily high performance, low maintenance, and where desired, customizable solution to the needs of multi-channel marketers. For additional information visit their website at www.avexxis.com or call 888-AVEXXIS.
