Merchant Edition

e-Business on a Dedicated Server for the Greatest Demands on Performance and Integration

Target Groups

1. Application service providers (ASPs), wanting to offer scalable and powerful e-business solutions to companies with the greatest demands on e-commerce. As a managed server or using the housing concept.

2. Small to medium sized companies with the greatest demands on performance and functionality for highly integrated B2C and B2B applications, set up and run in their own computer center.

Merchant Edition Range of Applications

ePages™ Merchant Edition has the same range of features as ePages™ Hosting Edition. Beyond this, Merchant Edition offers the capacity of a dedicated server for high transaction volumes without an impact on performance from other applications running on the same server.

A dedicated server also permits extensive customization and integration, independent from other e-business solutions running concurrently. The solution can be deployed either in the company’s own computer center or outsourced using the housing approach at a hosting provider.

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Supported Business Models

Business Models for ASPs

• Managed Server
• Housing

Business Models for SMEs

Sell side

• B2C
• B2B
• Channel Integration
• Affiliate/Multi-channel Selling

Buy side

• Supplier catalogue management
• C-goods e-procurement

Main benefits for ASPs

The ASP can offer his/her most demanding customers a state-of-the-art solution as a managed server with professional all-round service. Good customer relations are formed through intensive customer support. Through continual upgrades and professional support of the e-business application the ASP can generate extra revenue and stand out as a professional seller of outsourced e-commerce services with his e-commerce offering and attract new groups of customers.

Operating an outsourced e-business solution based on Merchant Edition as a managed server or using the housing approach basically offers companies benefits similar to renting an e-business solution based on Hosting Edition from a hosting provider.

The Advantages of Running Merchant Edition in Your Own Computer Center:

• No dependence on an external IT service provider
• You can acquire your own know-how
• Complete control over the e-business application

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Key Features and Functions

Extension and Integration

Flexible architecture - Configure ePages™ Merchant Edition to handle high volumes of traffic, and enhance site performance. ePages™´ flexible four-tier architecture allows the distribution of components onto multiple servers, enabling each tier to be scalable and therefore to cope with growth in traffic and transactions.

Globalization - Globalize stores through the addition of multiple languages and currencies, and allow flexible pricing models, dependent on the country from which the customer is buying.

Integration - Integrate ePages™ Merchant Edition into external systems using the ePages™ Web Services Cartridges and other Integration Cartridges

Setup and Managing the Store

Creating the Stores - Within the site administration, stores are created via a 5 step process. This process can take as little a few minutes to complete.

Modifying Storefront Design - ePages™ Hosting and Merchant includes three demo stores and eight further design templates which can be modified and added-to via the shop design assistant. Partners or system administrators can create new storefront templates and extensions so that all pages comply with the merchant’s corporate identity.

Store Administration - The "merchant" carries out the administration of their store via a comprehensive back office comprising a set of advanced management tools. These tools are divided into seven „managers". On each page there is a help function that offers support on the contents of that page.

The Catalogue Manager - This manager allows the merchant to configure and edit the structure of catalogue categories and sub-categories. The number of categories and sub-categories available to the merchant is unlimited. Every category has a name, description, and any number of freely defined attributes (e.g. images, facts and figures etc). Information on the catalogue structure can also be imported via the import interface.

The Product Manager - Here products can be defined and searches can be started using a large number of standard attributes. Additional user-defined attributes can be introduced as required. Within this manager the merchant can define product number, name, description, price, manufacturer, supplier, weight, special offers, etc. Products can be assigned to one or many categories in the back office or during product import, enabling customers to navigate to certain products in the catalogue from many different categories on the storefront.

Every product can be presented using different templates, giving merchants the freedom to display sub-products laid out in relation to their specific master product, or to present items in a printer friendly format. For example, the merchant may want to present T-shirts in different sizes, colors, and prices. The sub-products are assigned data from the master product (such as price and weight) and can viewed as a gallery of products in a given range. Products, as with catalogue structures, can be imported via the import interface.

The Inventory Manager - Every product can be reserved whether in or out of stock; the inventory manager controls the business processes by which stock is entered, replenished and displayed. When new supplies are ordered the stock level will automatically be replenished, plus minimum stock levels can be set below which new stock is automatically ordered. The merchant has access to an overview of reserved stock and orders placed by other means (i.e. telephone) as well as for the physical inventory.

The Purchasing Manager - Should a product’s stock level fall below the threshold set by the merchant, the purchasing manager will suggest and raise purchase orders to guarantee a high standard of fulfillment.

The Customer Manager - In the customer manager customers that have registered on the storefront appear with billing and shipping addresses, user type, discounting code etc. Every customer can select a unique login and password when registering on the storefront. Customers can pay by different methods, dependent on the merchant’s business type, and can be deactivated if required. The merchant can choose to add or request additional information about customers by assigning them a profile. Customers with profiles (such as a left handed golfer) can then be guided to different discounts and products on the storefront.

The Order Manager - Here merchants can check for new and open orders, create and print invoices and packing slips and register where the order is in the fulfillment process.

The Settings Manager - Within the settings manager the merchant can set preferences for the customer registration process, update manufacturers’ details and adjust units of weight and measurement. The settings manager also comprises a set of highly developed discounting options for the different customer categories, including offers that expire on a given date. These discounts are then activated in the product manager.

The merchant can assign prices and pricing rules to shipping methods, basing shipping costs on operator, price, product weight or the number of products in the shopping basket. It is also possible here to set a price threshold beyond which no shipping costs are levied. Tax classes and jurisdictions can also be manipulated in this manager. If the customer has opted for credit card payment their credit card data can be viewed and edited within the settings manager.

Finally, built into the back office is the capability for merchants to produce statistical reports based on Top Ten products, profit, earnings over different time periods, etc.

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System Administration

The system administration area is built primarily for the use of the company in charge of the installation, for example the ASP or the hosting company. In this area, system settings such as language, payment data and currency formats, order preferences, basket options, customer preferences and search result configuration can be edited by the system administrator.
Currency settings enable the system administrator to manage multiple and alternative currencies and to select net or gross price for a variety of B2C or B2B customer types.
A staging assistant is also included, so that the system administrator can update the look and feel and functionality of stores in a staging environment, carrying the changes over to the live shop once the alterations are complete.

Feature List

Categories and Sub-Categories - Stores can have unlimited categories and sub-categories. These can be added by hand or imported.

Catalogue Attributes - Any number of additional attributes can be assigned to a (sub)category, e.g. images, text, payment terms etc.

Assign Products to Multiple (sub)Categories - A product can belong to any number of categories or sub-categories, and can be assigned by hand or during import.

Products/Special Offers - Hundreds of thousands of products with hot deals and discounts, added and edited by hand, or imported using the built-in tools.

Additional Product Attributes - Products can carry any number of additional attributes, such as images, text, safety information etc.

Product Variations - The flexible variations matrix takes attributes from the master product, all parameters can then be varied (price, availability, stock info etc.)

Flexible Template Presentation - A variety of product depictions is possible, each displaying different attributes in a variety of formats.

Shopping Basket & Order Processing - Comprehensive basket functionality with order confirmation for customers and merchants by e-mail or fax.

Order Status - Registered customers can check their order status.

Inventory Management - Automatic and manual restocking, set minimum stock thresholds and check a summarized list of inventory.

Purchasing Management - Lists suppliers for which the minimum inventory threshold has been crossed, and suggests and formats purchase orders for items that needed to be ordered.

Order Management - Search new, open and completed orders, change the status (invoiced, packed, delivered, paid, cancelled)

Invoice/Delivery Confirmation - An order confirmation can be printed for every order, confirmations can also be printed for partial deliveries.

Customer Management - Search new, existing and deactivated customers by diverse attributes, set customer types and profiles, customer imports are possible.

Customer Groups - Define customers in groups - i.e. frequent buyers, new customers.

Terms and Conditions - Merchants can display their Terms and Conditions of Sale.

Statistics and Reports - Top 10 products, sales by variable time period etc. Presented with simple graphical reporting tools.

Shipping Methods - Enables a variety of price calculations (flat fee, or dependent on shopping basket price, weight or product count) and price thresholds (incl. shipping cost exemption for all orders over €X or £X)

Tax Calculation - Set separate tax classes and rules, display the sum of all tax classes

Payment Methods - Create and use multiple payment methods (on account, credit/debit cards, C.O.D, pre-paid etc.)

Design Assistant - Quick and easy creation of the store's basic layout.

Store Design Modification - Ease of manipulation of the store design through the use of templates.

Discounts - For different customer groups, time periods etc.

Weight and Units of Measurement -Flexible, user-defined.

Additional Languages - Every language has its own separate template set - managed via the ePages™ "localization kit".

Additional Currencies - Add alternative currencies and relate them to the default currency via a conversion matrix.

Systems Admin & Database Access - Dedicated system administration ensures security of the database.

Staging Assistant - Enables staging of stores while new developments are made.

Search/Extended Search - Search products, attributes, categories, price ranges, search within a category, search by multiple attributes.

Shopping List - Order via a pre-configured list that can be converted straight to a basket

	Cartridges for ePages™ Merchant Edition
	Marketing/Sales
	E-Marketing		eBay
	(Cross Selling, Auto Cross Selling, Tell a friend, Newsletter, Discounts, Bulk Pricing, Kelkoo Integration, Search Engine Export)
	Search
	Advanced Search
	Integration
	Web Services Customers Web Services Products Web Services Orders		BMEcat OCI Supplier OCI Buyer
	Procurement
	Product Maintenance Authorization		Cost Center & Budget Order Management

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