Logitech European Online Shop

(2000-2004)

Logitech, the market leader in computer peripheral manufacturing, chose us in 2000 to design and implement the European CRM platform, with a direct connection to Logitech’s international site (www.logitech.com).

The basics
The implementation included a complex and higly robust e-commerce solution, with all items sorted by product categories, along with their photos, descriptions, inventory levels and prices. Customers could pick the desired Logitech products and put them into their shopping cart. As soon as the order form was submitted and the electronic payment fulfilled, the order got processed and the goods were shipped to the delivery address.

Customer Service
In the background an IBM Lotus Notes based interface supported the Logitech Customer Service by overseeing, analyzing and refreshing several streams of data, including orders, customer and product information. Based on Logitech’s information, we activated or deactivated products in the database. To make the site available in 9 languages we provided a dictionary database module that included all the necessary tags and short texts. All portal contents were maintained via our CMS module.

Special services
This e-commerce platform featured numerous advanced services. Logitech was able to set special categories for the ‘hot deals’ menu where the best weekly offers were to be found. Another list represented the latest products, while a third one the outdated items with discount prices. In case the consumer wished to receive further information on a selected item, the product details link redirected him to the US site, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of contents. Similarly, at www.logitech.com all product prices could be checked by clicking on the links pointing to the European site, as the two sites were integrated with deep links. It was possible to request an express delivery; the costs were computed by a complex calculation method based on the delivery address, the product weight and the carrier’s fee structure. Having submitted the order, customers received a confirmation e-mail that contained a web address, allowing the customers to check their orders, track the order status and even cancel them up until a certain date. The structure was built up using the latest technologies, which ensured that the design is completely separated from the business logics and facilitates the frequent and easy corporate facade changes.

Security
Security and privacy is a matter of great concern for us. When an order gets processed, the so called ‘https’ connection guarantees that all the customer's personal data is transferred safely and securely. The data is then stored in the IBM Lotus Notes database assuring the highest security standards. Additionally, there is an order-blocking mechanism implemented that alerts the Customer Service if an order hits some of the predefined limits. We have built in a fraud check subsystem as well, to avoid any kind of abuse.

Interfaces
The financial and technical background of the orders was run by a prestigious payment supplier company, BIBIT Global Payment Services (http://www.bibit.com/), who offers various payment methods and provides for a secure money transfer between the customer's and the retailer's bank. Logitech European Online Shop was connected to Bibit with an advanced interface that offered high-level payment services as well as the basic support, such as order re-authorizing. Logistics was provided by an e-commerce fulfillment company known across Europe, DOCData, which was also tied to the system with a refined interface. This provided order and product syncronization between the two parties, and offered advanced features such as real-time inventory refreshment and product return request notification.

Target marketing
As the standard e-commerce platform has met our client's anticipations, Logitech requested us to implement further target marketing stores. Firstly, Logitech Employee’s e-commerce platform was designed and built up to offer discounts of all Logitech products to Logitech’s registered internal staff. This was followed by Logitech Shareholder’s Online Shop, where shareholders could purchase Logitech products at a discount price.

Encouraged by the success of these subsystems, Logitech came up with the idea of the Intercompany Product and Fulfillment (ICPF) solution. This was an internal platform that helped registered Logitech sales personnel to distribute Logitech demo products among the Logitech-partner offices worldwide. The ICPF platform provided convenient user-friendly sevices such as an online delivery address book, based on the customers' previous orders.

Finally we have implemented the Goldpass target marketing store where employees of Logitech distributors and resellers could purchase Logitech products at slashed prices. All users holding a Goldpass ID were entitled to a discount of 35% on a one-time purchase. An ID was valid for 3 months.

Co-branded platforms
As a next step, Logitech commissioned us to design and implement co-branded platforms where end-consumers can purchase discount priced Logitech or other products in a mutual promotion, in cooperation with international brands. The partner companies included such multinational market-leading names as Hewlett Packard (HP), Microsoft Network (MSN), America OnLine (AOL), Chello, Tiscali and T-Online. Banners on their frequented sites led the visitor to a co-branded webpage, generating extra sales.

Turnover of Logitech European Online Shop
As indicated on the chart above, Logitech EU shop experienced a notable increase in the amount of paid orders: the turnover has multiplied over three consecutive fiscal years, which has been achieved through a one-time investment of adopting Allied-Visions' PRM solution. This is a prime example on the efficiency of this technology: The return of investment is apparently fast and so is the growth in revenues.