6/14/12
It uses a NetSuite system to link its b2b, business-to-government and consumer-facing sites.
Zak Stambor , Managing Editor
Multichannel video retailer and wholesaler DVA Inc. maintains three e-commerce sites—the consumer-focused Golo.co, business-to-business-focused DVASpecial.com and business-to-government site DVALibrary.com.
While the sites each have a unique look and feel, they’re tied together by NetSuite Inc.’s single back-end system, which includes accounting and planning software, customer relationship management and e-commerce tools.
The system enables DVA to tailor its prices and checkout methods based on the site—as well as by the individual customer on a particular site. For instance, some libraries have negotiated discounts, such as a percentage off of a manufacturer’s suggested retail price. When a library buyer logs in to the site, the site automatically applies those prices.
Although the sites target very different audiences and display products in different ways, the inventory is the same. That means regardless of where a shopper buys his DVDs, information about the sale flows to the same general ledger and inventory control system, says Brad Kugler, DVA’s CEO. “That keeps things simple,” he says.
Moreover, because NetSuite hosts the software, with DVA connecting it to via the web, the retailer no longer needs to maintain a server room or to employ information technology staff to maintain those servers.
Even with NetSuite’s cost, which is more than $40,000 a year, Kugler says the system is saving DVA money. “We would pay an IT guy just that, and that doesn’t include the servers and everything else,” he says.
Moreover, the system’s ability to segment customers has saved the retailer a lot of time and energy, he says. DVA has worked with NetSuite since 2007.