NORFOLK, VA
Award-winning Web development firm joins ERP leader xTuple to deliver fully integrated customer-facing business solutions — for consumer and trade online sales
xTuple, makers of the world’s #1 open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solutions, announces the availability of xTupleCommerce — version 2.0 of its eCommerce Web Portal — and the acquisition of a notable Web consultancy to support exploding customer demand for the online business solution.
Joining xTuple, effective today, are two principals of internationally renowned Web design and development company Artsmith Media. With special expertise in the Drupal content management system, Artsmith’s founding president Josh Fischer leads the new xTupleCommerce team tasked with delivering ERP-powered website solutions. Andrey Mikheychik, Artsmith’s lead developer, brings deep expertise in cutting-edge Web technologies to that team — which includes a global network of consultants and engineers available to support xTuple customers. Additionally, current Artsmith customers now have access to an expanded array of products and services from xTuple, including the new eCommerce Web Portal.
“We’re delighted to join with the Artsmith team to help our customers sell more of their products online,” said xTuple CEO Ned Lilly.
“We’ve been an xTuple partner for the past year, and have been tremendously impressed by their products and their people,” said Fischer. “Putting these teams together is a win-win for all our customers, and I can’t wait to bring to market this combination of powerful back-end business systems and beautiful, streamlined website user experiences.”
At the recent xTupleCon global user conference, the company highlighted its plans to help customers grow their business, including a demonstration by Fischer, and delivery of the eCommerce Web Portal is a major step toward fulfilling that promise.
“We have heard repeatedly from our customers that their customers want and expect to work with them electronically,” added Lilly. “And there’s no better place to start than increasing sales and deepening the customer relationship through a world-class online user experience.”
The new (xTupleCommerce solution), which the team is already deploying for several existing xTuple customers, represents a major leap forward in the automation and complete integration of business systems. Companies running their internal operations with xTuple ERP can now conduct business — both consumer and trade sales and service — with a public, customer-facing website that includes real-time, two-way integration eliminating the need for double-entry or maintenance of separate systems. All business logic and customer-specific pricing, order history, multiple images, documents and rich descriptions of items are maintained in one database. Online orders are immediately processed within xTuple, including all business workflows defined in the ERP system, including manufacturing, shipping and billing (whether an online payment or customer terms).
The Portal, currently deployed as an integration with the Drupal Commerce system, is easily adapted to support any modern eCommerce engine, including Magento, Shopify, and other popular “shopping cart” providers. It is made possible by a massive overhaul of xTuple’s application programming interface (API), which now makes every business object in the ERP system available through a REST (REpresentational State Transfer) Web services interface.
Future releases of the Web Portal will include an enhanced Customer Service and Support module, customer visibility into Project Management activities, and portal functionality for suppliers.
Artsmith Credentials
One client acquired in the combination with Artsmith, The Virginia Dental Association, reports that since going live with their new site, web-based revenues increased by over 300 percent in just nine months. They attribute this explosive growth to Fischer’s collaborative approach to strategic planning, the intuitive content management system employed, and the business-minded approach to organizational needs.
“Adding a beautiful and powerful eCommerce website which binds directly with a company’s ERP system in real-time is a rarity in the software industry and will be game-changer in xTuple customer’s future growth and success,” said Fischer. “When a user makes a purchase online, the entire ERP (inventory management, CRM, accounting system, shipping and packaging slips, etc.) all immediately updates with the purchase information. We now have a roster of potential clients that all want to be in line for the first release.”
What Industry Says
xTuple’s eCommerce initiatives track with a growing volume of online product sales across industries. Investment bank Goldman Sachs expects global eCommerce sales in 2013 to reach nearly $1 trillion, growing at over 19% per year.
The xTupleCommerce solution is also fully mobile-ready, with a “responsive design” philosophy that tailors the user’s experience to the form factor of a tablet or smartphone. This is particularly important for eCommerce, as research firm eMarketer forecasts mobile commerce sales activity to account for a growing percentage of online sales — 15% today, and continuing to grow at a faster pace than overall eCommerce sales on a percentage basis.
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About xTuple, the world’s #1 open source ERP
Award-winning xTuple, makers of the world’s leading suite of open source accounting, Corporate Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), is supply chain management software for growing businesses to control their operations and profitability. xTuple integrates all critical functional areas in one modular system: sales, financials and operations — including customer and supplier management, inventory control, manufacturing and distribution — the powerful tools to Grow Your World®.
As a commercial open source company, xTuple works with a global community of tens of thousands of professional users. xTuple gives customers the ability to tailor solutions with multi-platform support for Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile as well as flexible licensing and pricing options. Connect with the company at www.xTuple.com, and join the innovation conversation with the open source community at www.xTuple.org.