Johannesburg, 05 Jun 2013
Tarsus Technologies launched its eCommerce platform in 2011, with the goal of offering its resellers instant access to information on the distributor's comprehensive product portfolio, as well as pricing, stock availability and the ability to place orders online.
Little did Tarsus know that in just under a year, the eCommerce platform would experience such an uptake and begin contributing to its total revenue. It has now become one of the primary mechanisms that its small- and medium-sized reseller base uses to automate the process of ordering the stock it requires to service its customers.
"The implementation of our eCommerce platform is a vital step in Tarsus evolving its service offerings, and complements our established communication channels such as e-mail and telephone perfectly," explains Gary Gradwell, Web manager at Tarsus Technologies.
"That's because, apart from our larger resellers that are working with more complex customer environments, the majority of Tarsus' customers are interested in our comprehensive stockholding, free next-day deliveries and extended warranty terms," he says.
"Our eCommerce platform is a perfectly logical evolution of our service offering, since our customers are already interacting with a number of parties - such as their banking suppliers, travel suppliers and other retail service providers - using online channels.
"And because of the generally high level of service quality they experience in dealing with these other parties in the online services world, we've had to measure ourselves against some tough competition.
"We're happy to say that we believe we stack up fairly well," he says.
"In the hyper-connected world we live in, it's important that feedback and solutions are provided on demand and as efficiently as possible.
"Our eCommerce offering is key in providing the kind of up-to-the-minute information our customers are increasingly requesting from us," he adds.
Gradwell says in the past 10 months, close to 20% of Tarsus' customers have registered and begun making use of the site.
"Our analytics show that customers don't just use the eCommerce system as a way of placing orders, but also as an everyday information resource that gives them a single view of our entire product base," he says.
"More than half of those visits are from returning customers, of whom more than 80% originate inSouth Africa," he continues.
"We've also seen healthy activity from neighbouring countries, as partners in those regions begin to realise that our eCommerce solution is a cheaper alternative to the trusty old telephone," Gradwell says.
"This confirms we're talking to our customers with the eCommerce offering and they are hearing us," he adds.
Additionally, Gradwell says the eCommerce platform has become a conduit for gathering customer sentiment and feedback, enabling Tarsus to better understand what its customers need and how its services should evolve in order to accommodate those needs.
AlthoughTarsusis extremely satisfied with the progress it has made in the eCommerce arena, Gradwell says it plans to place a great deal of effort behind growing it in the coming year.
"eCommerce is by no means our specialty," he says, "but I'm happy to report that we're moving forward quickly and showing all the signs of being one of the most advanced organisations in our industry," he says.
"We're bullish about what the future holds for our eCommerce site, as it clearly complements our existing business model and fulfils on a valuable niche in the company's go-to-market strategy.
"It's the perfect solution for fulfilling on the more transactional aspects of our business. And with the efficiency it adds to the entire ordering process, we have no doubt that it will become a far more important part of our offering in the months and years ahead," he concludes.
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