Channel Intelligence Reaches $5 Billion Mark in Sales Leads Passed From Manufacturers to Retailers
Channel Intelligence`s services are becoming an industry standard.
Celebration, Fla. (April 7, 2003) - Anniversaries are normally a time for celebration. But in the case of Channel Intelligence, Inc., a provider of services that improve the online sales process between manufacturers, retailers, and consumers, they have double the reasons to celebrate. April marks the one-year anniversary of the introduction of their Channel Buy Links service for consumer electronics and computer products, as well as their surpassing the $5 billion mark in leads passed from manufacturers to retailers.
"This is a remarkable achievement, especially in a single year," says Alan Fulmer, President of Channel Intelligence. "What`s even more remarkable is the acceleration we`ve seen in the past six months. In October, 2002 we announced that we`d surpassed the $1 billion mark in sales leads passed. Now half a year later we`re at five times that amount. It definitely shows that manufacturers, retailers, and consumers are all seeing the benefits of our services."
Channel Buy Links are product-specific links that take consumers from the information-gathering phase on a consumer goods manufacturer`s Web site directly to the buy page at dealers who carry the product and have it available in stock. The service is easy to implement for the manufacturer, and requires no action on the part of the retailer to participate. With more than 50 manufacturers using the service, Channel Intelligence has the industry`s largest installed base of manufacturers deep-linked to their retailers and adds eight new clients every month.
Their latest service, Product Pinpointer, turns the dealer locator concept 180 degrees. Instead of simply providing a list of brick and mortar dealers who may or may not have the product, it uses real-time store stock status to show exactly if and where a particular product is available. All of this information is accessed at the manufacturer`s site simply by entering the customer`s zip code. Currently Product Pinpointer is being used by HP, Iomega, Sharp, Logitech and Maxtor to locate products at Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, and CompUSA stores.
"What is particularly gratifying for us is that our services are starting to become a requirement for doing business," says Fulmer. "Much of our success is being driven by the manufacturers and retailers who are reaping the rewards. Retailers who have been receiving leads from our current manufacturer customers are telling manufacturers who want to add their product lines to the stores that they need to talk to us about adding our services. And manufacturers are telling retailers who want to start receiving their best sales leads that they need to report sell-through data to us so they can track ROI. Neither side would be doing this if it wasn`t working. We project our manufacturer clients will send $25 billion in leads to the channel by the end of this year." One of the keys to Channel Intelligence`s growth is a flat fee business model that makes expenses predictable for manufacturers and doesn`t tax them for success.
"Although many Internet businesses started with the commission model, we view it as a penalty for doing well," says Fulmer. "The more you sell, the more you pay. That`s really not the American way. By charging a flat fee regardless of how many products are sold, we`re enabling sales instead of making them more difficult."
About Channel Intelligence Inc.
Channel Intelligence Inc. develops services that improve the online and offline sales process between manufacturers, dealers, and consumers. These services allow manufacturers and dealers to capture incremental sales, reduce shopping cart abandonment, and refine product flow through the channel, all the while improving the shopping experience for the customer. Channel Intelligence Inc. is a privately held company. For more information,
contact:
Channel Intelligence Inc.
1180 Celebration Blvd.
Celebration, FL 34747
phone (321) 559-2300
fax (321) 559-2379
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