Garden.com and other online retailers are changing direct marketing—including the look and function of the mail order catalog

By Melissa Sepos

Using Trellis, Garden.com’s proprietary network of servers and intranets, vendors download pick-and-pack slips and a mailing label at their location seconds after an order is placed. The system even sends an e-mail to the customer once the vendor completes the fulfillment.

A catalog could not possibly keep pace with the intense inventory fluctuations or constant communication needed to pick and ship thousands of SKUs of perishables. However, a Web site can be updated instantly and already operates on an electronic level.