The customer web interface includes the following features:
- Order supplies, review past purchase history, easily re order by equipment, or past purchases
- Place service calls for equipment and view service history on their machines
- Enter meter readings and page counts for their machines
- View trouble shooting and FAQ’s for their machines
All this directly into your database without any employee data entry. The customer web interface includes the source code so you can customize the look and feel of the web site. The web site can even be hosted remotely by an ISP and still have your customer requests updated directly into your database.
The integrated web shopping cart is a means for YOUR customers to easily and effectively conduct business with you using the internet. Your cost of taking supply orders, logging service calls, and gathering meter readings will be REDUCED as more of your customers use the shopping cart.
The complete shopping cart application is composed of two programs. The shopping cart on the web and the backend interface on one of your stations. The backend interface performs the seamless integration of information between the internet and your accounting and service systems. See how the shopping cart is used by your customers.
What is seamless integration?
- Seamless integration means that you do not need to enter a supply order, service call, or meter reading into your system. With current internet technologies, you receive an email with order or service call information.
- With the seamless integration features, the system will enter the supply order, print the pick ticket, log the service call, and enter the meter readings for contract billing without user intervention.
What will the shopping cart do for me, the business owner?
- As more and more of your customers take advantage of the shopping cart, your admin cost will be lower. The cost of employees to take supply orders and service calls can add up.
- Your customers will now have the ability to conduct business with you all hours of the day. For example, a customer is working late and runs low on toner. They can just log onto the shopping cart and immediately place an order. When you come in the next day, the pick ticket is already printed.
- Service calls will already be in your service dispatch system when you open the next morning.
- Request for meter readings can be sent by email. Your customers can either reply by email with a meter reading or actually enter the meter reading in the shopping cart. If replying by email, the shopping cart will process the email and enter the meter reading. Again, no user interaction necessary.
- New customers can place supply orders in the shopping cart. The supply picker features can be used to identify their needed supplies.
What will the shopping cart do for my customers?
- Your customers have the benefit of being able to place supply orders at any time, without being placed on hold or waiting for a supply clerk.
- If desired, your customers can view their service history on each machine.
- All supply items purchased can be viewed by your customer. By just clicking on the item, an order can be created. The customer’s unique pricing for each item is also available.
- Meter readings and page counts for contract billing can be gathered at their convenience, promoting goodwill. All they have to do is enter the meter reading in the shopping cart or just reply to the email with the reading.
What about the security of my data?
- Your actual accounting and service data is never available to the shopping cart. A copy of the data, with only specific information is placed in the shopping cart databases. Hackers CANNOT get to your actual database.
- Your customer has to identify themselves with a machine id number, email address, or customer number.
Features of the shopping cart.
- Place selected items or complete categories of inventory in the shopping cart for your customers.
- Images (full and thumbnail) of your inventory can be uploaded to the shopping cart and viewed by your customers.
- If using customer pricing methods in the River Cities Software system, those unique prices on also placed in the shopping cart for your customers. As prices change, updates are made to the shopping cart
- Your customers can place supply orders, and view supply purchase history.
- Service calls can be placed and service history viewed by your customers.
- Request for meter readings can be emailed to your customers. The email will contain a link to enter the meter reading in the shopping cart. Your customer can also reply to the email with the meter reading.
- Your customer can update their profile with address changes and the updates are automatically added to your database.
- Sales and featured items can be identified.
- A supply picker (by make and model) is available to help new customers identify the supplies needed.