Skip navigation

Building your multi-channel business

The majority of retailers now understand that the future ...

The majority of retailers now understand that the future of a successful business lies in adopting a multi-channel approach by selling goods and services through multiple sales channels. But, in addition to having multiple sales channels, retailers use multiple fulfilment channels, for example their own central warehouse, direct from a supplier, via affiliate organisation and so on. Then, to make things even more complicated they have multiple sources of information, such as internal systems, partner organisations like Brand Bank or other sources of product data and industry forums. 

Retailers need a solution that can manage the complexity of each individual transaction made within the business and process it efficiently. To do that, retailers need to be able to gather, manage and present information that has come from different sources, in different formats and ensure it’s accurate. 

In effect, Microsoft BizTalk is a common data exchange language that allows different computer technologies to share data easily. In simple terms, it’s a bus that carries information around your business picking information up from one source, like a website, and depositing that information where it needs to be, for example in a third-party fulfilment company. 

There are several benefits of this approach. Each individual system/ source of data can be easily integrated to BizTalk Server, which means that the information is then available to all other systems integrated with the bus. This saves time and money.  Given that the only thing that we can predict is that things will change, it’s much easier with this approach to introduce new sales channels, fulfilment channels, and third-party data sources. Again, this can be achieved much quicker than the traditional approach. 

The BizTalk approach also reduces the impact of system upgrades or downtime. Any one system can be de-coupled from the bus while it’s being upgraded, and the relevant data is simply held on the bus until the system becomes available again.

At Maginus we have already developed a multi-channel solution based on Microsoft BizTalk, Dynamics AX and using the Microsoft Commerce Server toolkit for the e-commerce element of the business. We have also added advanced search and navigation toolsets, and merchandising and product management. We believe it’s  a strong solution that can outperform any other e-commerce system on the market. The toolkit is ideal for large enterprises where it’s vital to handle large volumes. It can also operate as a multi-user system, which means that large marketing departments can work on the site at the same time. It’s possible to separate responsibility and change management across multiple catalogues and product ranges. Its scalability, fall over techniques and management tools make it perfect for large-scale implementations. 

Ultimately, Microsoft Commerce Server and Dynamics AX with BizTalk enables rapid deployment and allows large retailers to add new sales channels, fulfilment partners and information channels very quickly. It is an environment built ‘ready for change’.

 

Mark Thornton is director of e-commerce at Maginus