Customer-oriented e- business

( from previous page ) our industry, too.

Within the past l2 months Lowe's has enabled its commercial accounts to view monthly statements and invoices on its Web site. Home Depot offers contractors online access to build their own quotes and place will-call orders.

CCITnleo now has hundreds of dealer locations using its iNet programs to allow pro and commercial customers to check their accounts, reprint invoices, build quotes and submit orders online. Nearly all of these dealers implemented their new on-line services to strengthen their relationships with existing customers.

Our industry is starting to prove the Jupiter Media Metrix discovery that Web-based customer services are likely to become the most exciting new advancements using the Internet. Just think, if a contractor can get a copy of a lost invoice online, the customer is better served while the dealer sees a productivity gain. The same holds true when a customer can view his or her customized pricing after a dealer has closed for the night.

The ease of connectivity to their existing in-store system is an additional factor that is now allowing hundreds of dealers to start implementing e-business solutions right away. During the "terrible two's" of the Internet boom, dealers had to export their data to a separate web database and then maintain that database. Today, the top e-business solutions are fully integrated to the dealer's existing instore technology. This advancement means that dealers simply continue to update their existing data, which is then automatically updated on the Web site. The in-store system has. in a sense. become the data server for the Web site.

Solutions have also just recently become "plug-n-play" in nature, making e-business a lot less mysterious than it was just two years ago for both dealers and their customers. Dealers can now implement full-scale e-business programs in less than a month, some in just two weeks.

The standard for e-business in our industry has become clearer. Dealers are rapidly implementing full-time Web connections within their businesses. Those who have not made this fundamental upgrade will not be able to implement even the most basic e-business services.

Now that the dot-com dust is beginning to settle, we who have survived are focusing on the basics of doing business. This includes online customer services to further strengthen an area that is of key importance to nearly all dealers. This significant trend towards better servicing customers online is likely to continue for some time, if not indefinitely.