Guide to Catalog Management Software

When catalog order management systems were first developed in the 1970s, they were designed to manage all aspects of catalog operations: from order entry, customer service and customer database management to response analysis, inventory management, purchasing, fulfillment, and returns. Thirty years later, they still are, which is why so many direct merchants can run their businesses on these applications without a need to add specialized solutions for things like warehouse management. Some companies, however, find their catalog management systems don’t provide the flexibility or sophistication they need to address their inventory or fulfillment challenges. For them, a warehouse management system (WMS) is a necessary

Jenson USA, a cataloger of premium mountain biking accessories, reached a critical juncture in 2001. Founded a decade ago by President and CEO Mike Cachat, a competitive racer who spent his off hours tuning his bikes and those of his friends, the company grew quickly. Recalls Cachat, “We soon realized our slow catalog software couldn’t handle the large volume of data we were generating.” The cataloger was rapidly adding customers via a media mix of magazine ads, catalog prospecting and, most significantly, the Internet — where it now transacts 65 percent of its orders. Complicating things further, it plans to open its