Panelists outline major advantages of e-business use
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, December 16, 2001
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Adoption of standards to facilitate electronic business, thus improving sales and operations, and the embracing of the Internet's potential to reach consumers shopping for furniture, emerged as major themes during a panel of e-business experts at the Furniture/Today Leadership Conference.
"E-Business Survivors" also offered some success stories and immediate steps manufacturers and retailers can take to incorporate the Internet into their operations (see box at right).
"The Internet has changed the way we look for things to buy," said Mitch Russo, chief executive officer of FurnitureFan.com, a consumer-facing Web site. "It's changed the way we research, the way we get our news, and it's about time that the furniture industry adopts the Internet as a way of reaching customers. The adoption rate has been slow because I don't believe the industry sees or realizes the incredible amount of activity Steve and I see on our Web sites."
Russo was referring to Steve Schneider, president and CEO of HomePortfolio.com, another consumer site for furniture. Schneider said fragmentation and suspicion in the furniture industry slowed adoption of the Internet.
"The challenge HomePortfolio had with the furniture industry is that many in the industry felt it would cause channel conflict to have their product displayed on the Internet," he said. "Furniture is highly fragmented, and in our experience other industries have been much more willing to adapt to the Internet."
On the business-to-business side, representatives from several major retail system vendors said the Internet offers retailers and manufacturers increased efficiency.
"If you look at what an operating system is, it's a tool," said Don Vander Beke, executive vice president of marketing and support at GERS Retail Systems. "This tool needs to be something that reduces cycle times, that increases operational effectiveness and improves customer service, all the way from Mitch and Steve's consumer-facing sites to retailers talking to suppliers. View the Internet as a tool, and it removes the mystery."
"The Internet is the vehicle for customer service of the future," said Ira Bakst, executive vice president and co-founder of Storis Management Systems. "Your customers demand information, and it's up to you to supply that information on the Internet. That information comes from your business system."
Bakst said the industry needs to devote more resources to the Internet.
"You have a marketing department, a merchandising department, why not have an Internet department?" he said. "The vehicle is so profound, you need to devote resources to this new medium … and invest in a quality site that's going to carry forth the image on your sales floor."
Carolyn Crowley, co-founder of Myriad Software, said the Internet can help retailers use their operating systems more effectively and improve communications with vendors.
"One of the best things we could provide is quicker access to software upgrades and documentation," she said. "What better vehicle to send those things than the Internet, rather than shipping a bunch of diskettes, or a bunch of manuals.… The big challenge is, first, the trust in what the Internet can provide, and, second, moving information back and forth between manufacturers and retailers."
Crowley noted the variety of systems in use among manufacturers and retailers is a big challenge.
Ron Martell, founder of Micro* D and a participant in the Furniture Industry Data Exchange's efforts to create e-commerce standards, said headway is being made there. FIDX standards include an electronic product catalog.
"I don't think there's been any industry that's been able to go to electronic commerce without first having an electronic product catalog," Martell said. "If you're a manufacturer, you have to think about producing an electronic catalog to supplement your printed catalog. If you're a retailer, the electronic catalog lets you put that information into your business system automatically. Most important, you can use that catalog to support a Web site."
| Mitch Russo, left, FurnitureFan.com; Don Vander Beke, GERS Retail Systems; Ira Bakst, Storis Management Systems; Carolyn Crowley, Myriad Software; Steve Schneider, HomePortfolio; and Ron Martell, Micro*D. |
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