NetSuite Launches Commerce as a Service
NetSuite, a provider of cloud-based business management software suites, introduced its "Commerce as a Service" (CaaS) platform during its SuiteWorld 2012 conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.
At the heart of the CaaS initiative is SuiteCommerce, a central system that manages all transactions and interactions with consumers and businesses regardless of touchpoint (e.g., website, smartphone, social media site, in-store, etc.).
NetSuite said the CaaS service is different from other vendors’ offerings because it can connect back-end data such as enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management data with customer touchpoints. So if a retailer implements the NetSuite platform, for example, when consumers shop in its retail stores clerks will be able to see what's in their e-commerce shopping cart or wish list on their point-of-sale (POS) system. In addition, the system will allow merchants to create a promotion in seconds that targets customers who have spent more than $1,000 across any channel, for example.
“We want to make it so anyone can be Amazon,” said Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite, during his keynote address to the more than 3,000 SuiteWorld 2012 attendees. “This is a commerce back office that any web designer can plug into and use what he wants." Nelson said the offering will work for small shops and “the biggest companies in the world that want to control everything.”
What's more, according to NetSuite, the new service is as robust as other e-commerce competitors, allowing merchants to create fully functioning custom websites.
"We can now build custom pages, but we still offer the back-end functionality," said Baruch Goldwasser, a product manager at NetSuite, in a press conference after the announcement.
In his keynote address, Nelson said NetSuite’s transition to the CasS offering took 18 months of engineering work, which involved decoupling NetSuite’s own back-end system from the way it interacted with customers. “We’ve put all hands on deck for this,” he said.
In other news from NetSuite's SuiteWorld 2012:
- NetSuite announced that Girl Scouts of the United States is launching a nationwide e-commerce program on its NetSuite SuiteCommerce platform. The Girl Scouts, which has 2.3 million members, 900,000 volunteers and 59 million alumnae, selected NetSuite to replace its current ERP, warehouse management and e-commerce software. The new NetSuite-based solution will be used by the 65 Girl Scout councils that currently maintain online shops. Girl Scouts have 2,500 SKUs, from uniforms and program resources to collectibles and badges. Additionally, about 47 councils that don't have e-commerce storefronts will be able to create them when the NetSuite-based system is fully implemented. The new solution will provide Girl Scouts with a unified e-commerce and brand presence under a single domain name, girlscoutshop.com, with customized pages for each of the 112 Girl Scout councils. "We see a huge opportunity to both enhance business at the council level and reduce expenses," said Barry Horowitz, vice president and general manager, Girl Scouts merchandise, in a press release distributed at the event. "The more retail business the councils do, the more wholesale business we do at the national level. It's a win-win."
- NetSuite has established a technology partnership with Stripe, an online payment system provider that allows e-businesses to easily accept credit card payments for products and services. The Stripe payment processing solution has been integrated into SuiteCommerce.
- NetSuite has teamed up with payment service Square and its Register application for the iPad. Under the Square/NetSuite partnership, Square's Register application will be integrated with the NetSuite cloud commerce solution, creating a seamless and secure POS system that provides merchants with an understanding of their customers, transactions and financials.
