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  Tags

  Enterprise Build, Multi Language, Multi Site, Sage 200 Integration

Background & Requirements

When Codelocks engaged Gravit-e they were running 3 main websites and 2 satellite sites serving markets in the UK, EU, USA and Australia. These sites were not integrated to the back-office systems resulting in the need for manual updates. This was further complicated by alternative pricing requirements, which were also maintained manually.

Codelocks sought new websites with full integration to both Sage 200 and Xero. In order to deliver the required solution, Gravit-e proposed the Gravit-e Enterprise platform.

The Solution

The Gravit-e Total E-Commerce Enterprise platform supports multiple sites and can share common data between them, thereby eliminating the manual data entry and duplication which was a major resource drain on the business.

Although supporting multiple sites, the system has a single database and Content Management System (CMS) which enables management and maintenance of each site independently. For example, the same product can have different descriptions on each site. Due to this approach, it is even possible for ‘logged in’ customers to take their baskets from one site to another in the same session.

Each of the sites were independently integrated with Sage 200, seamlessly synchronising all of the required data points including;

• Products
• Customer specific pricing & discounts
• Stock availability
• Customer accounts
• Orders
• Order status
• Order & product sales history

Due to the international nature of the business, Codelocks had specific requirements for the integration of the multiple back-office systems into Gravit-e. For instance, product pricing had to be currency specific, allowing price changes in one currency while not impacting others, whilst stock availability had to take into consideration and allow for the independent management of each international warehouse.

In addition, one of the more unique features of the Codelocks product offering is the ability for customers to choose variations to the standard products. As an example, customers can opt to have a specific finish. Gravit-e facilitated this feature by using suffix codes, allowing multiple variations of the same product.

Additional Requirements & Features

Other specific requirements – too extensive to detail in full – included:

• Customer account amalgamation – combining the online and offline order history of customers with a number of accounts on multiple back office systems.
• Order status updates and emails – when the status of an order changes in the back office, the status update is sent to Gravit-e which in turn automatically emails the customer.
• Order history analysis – Gravit-e progressively collates online and offline order history to analyse for e-marketing purposes.
• Product bundles – where required, Gravit-e provides the ability to combine a number of different products to create a product bundle.
• Product configuration – enables Codelocks’ customers to find their required product by answering a series of questions which follow a logic to recommend the most suitable item.
• Product restrictions – Gravit-e can selectively restrict access to products, either hiding them from customers or preventing displayed products from being added to the basket.
• Stock back order management – Codelocks required back-orders to be allowed with the US site but not the UK site.
• Shipping – a range of shipping methods and restrictions were required, including weight based, state based (US only) and value based, along with specific destination country restrictions.

These are just a few of the key requirements that Gravit-e had to meet in order to deliver the perfect solution.

As the company’s business grows and requirements change, Gravit-e flexes and grows while staying up to date with current eCommerce trends, best practice and legislation.