Boudin Bakery Gets New E-Commerce Website from Multimedia Live
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Further Information Contact:
Peter Loughlin
Marketing Communications Manager
1-707-773-3434
marketing@mmlive.com
New Site Unites Channels, Provides Special Connections for On-Time Shipping of Perishables
Petaluma, CA -- November 29, 2001 -- Multimedia Live (MML) (http://www.mmlive.com), the leading developer of e-commerce technology and services for Intelligent Selling™ on the Web, announced today that it has launched a new e-commerce website for Boudin Bakery (http://www.boudin.com), the world-famous baker of San Francisco Sourdough French Bread. The site runs on the MarketLive™ Intelligent Selling System™ from MML, uses new site design and architecture from MML, and incorporates MML’s Customer Care Management (CCM) module to closely integrate the Boudin customer service call center with the new website. The site also gives the Boudin brand a strong online presence and incorporates special features that make it convenient for customers to obtain Boudin’s signature fresh-baked bread and California specialty foods.
Boudin has been a San Francisco fixture since 1849, and is actually the oldest business in San Francisco. The company has a tradition of excellence, and still uses the same “mother dough” sourdough starter it first used during the California Gold Rush. Boudin breads are sold through 34 bakery/cafe retail locations -- which also offer sandwiches and other foods -- and through the Boudin catalog. Wholesale and catering are recent additions to Boudin’s channels, and constitute a growing percentage of the company’s overall business. In light of Boudin’s healthy growth and expansion into new channels, it needed a website that could expand with it, linking its Web, catalog, and other channels through shared databases and complementary branding.
The 100% Java™ construction of MML’s MarketLive Intelligent Selling System made it possible to quickly and reliably link the website to existing Boudin systems for fulfillment and shipping. MML’s CCM module provides a new interface for Boudin’s call center representatives, allowing them to place orders directly to the website back-end, access and update all customer information, check on order status, call up all product information, and perform many other vital customer service functions.
An efficient fulfillment and shipping system was necessary for delivering Boudin’s perishable items. MML integrated the website and call center with Boudin’s legacy fulfillment and shipping system, which is in turn linked to the Federal Express processing system. When an order is placed through the Boudin website or call center and payment is confirmed, Federal Express is automatically contacted and a shipping order is generated. Federal Express automatically sends the tracking number back to Boudin where it is logged in the order history. When Boudin processes the order, their shipping system automatically accesses the Federal Express information and prints the correct shipping label.
The new Boudin website user interface provides an improved customer experience through easy-to-navigate design and a number of new shopping features. Of special note are Repeat Order Delivery and Bread Clubs. Repeat Order Delivery allows customers to pay in advance for any amount of any individual product to be delivered on a customized schedule. For example, a customer could choose to have a bag of baguettes delivered to her office once a week for six months. Bread Clubs offer ensembles of products -- such as a package of Boudin’s breads and condiments -- to be delivered once a month on a pay-as-you-go basis. Both of these features help increase customer loyalty and overall sales, and were designed to meet the needs of their customers as perceived after analysis of real-life purchasing patterns. In addition, a “Shipping Held” feature allows a customer to pay in advance for an order and specify the date on which it will be delivered, taking the guesswork out of timing order placement for special occasions.
“Our new site for Boudin offers standard e-commerce functionality, plus a few features that we built specially to meet the needs of their business,” said Ken Burke, President and CEO of Multimedia Live. “That’s really what Intelligent Selling™ and the MarketLive product are all about -- giving e-tailers the tools they need to keep their customers happy, boost their sales, and strengthen their overall business.”
About Multimedia Live:
Multimedia Live (http://www.mmlive.com), a pioneer of Intelligent Selling™ online, is a nationally recognized Web technology and design company serving the catalog, direct marketing, retail and dot.com industries. MarketLive™ is Multimedia Live’s enterprise-class, Java™ -based rapid e-commerce development application built from the ground up specifically for catalogers, retailers, direct marketers, and manufacturers. The company has over 125 employees working with clients as diverse as General Motors, eBay, Longs Drugs, and Johnston & Murphy Shoes. It was founded in 1995 by entrepreneur Ken Burke and is located in Petaluma, California.
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