GEMPLER'S MAKES ONLINE CATALOG SHOPPING SIMPLE.For GEMPLER'S, Inc., the Internet was a natural progression. President Steve Schlecht founded the company with an eye on consumers' needs and he knew that the anytime, anywhere nature of e-commerce would be a big benefit for his customers whose dawn-to-dusk work hours made shopping difficult. So, when talk about online commerce began in the mid 1990s, they were one of the first to jump in. The move was a smart one, positioning them as an industry leader online. GEMPLER'S is ahead of most agricultural Web sites because it brings with it a proven reliability from its off-line catalog catalog, descriptive list, on cards or in a book, of the contents of a library. Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh was cataloged on shelves of slate. The first known subject catalog was compiled by Callimachus at the Alexandrian Library in the 3d cent. B.C. business. People know the name, and with that recognition it has established a customer base of more than 300,000. Today, about 10 percent of sales comes from the company's Web site, www.gemplers.com. But that wasn't always the case. They moved into uncharted territory
"We saw the Internet as becoming an important direct marketing channel," says Schlecht. "Today it is an important part of our business -- it's the fastest growing part of our business." GEMPLER'S first Web page simply showcased its catalog of industrial-grade agricultural and horticultural hor·ti·cul·ture n. 1. The science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants. 2. The cultivation of a garden. products -- with no online buying. By 1998, however, the site had matured into a full-fledged e-marketplace that offered about one-third of its catalog products. Today, visitors to the Web site can find all of the catalog products and more. Online shoppers, for example, have access to the complete line of Carhartt products, only some of which are available in the print catalog. That is an online benefit that they would like to expand. By forming alliances with other companies, it will enable them to offer a larger inventory of products on the Web. The site has a well-organized business-to-business design with product tabs that include "safety," "footwear Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet. It is worn for a variety of reasons, including protection against the environment, hygiene and adornment. Usually, socks and other hosiery are worn between the feet and the footwear, except for sandals and flip flops (thongs). " and "tires" and allows shoppers to go to a site tailored to their specific needs. The site also lists clearance specials, offers tips, and allows shoppers to browse (1) To view the contents of a file or a group of files. Browser programs generally let you view data by scrolling through the documents or databases. In a database program, the browse mode often lets you edit the data. See Web browser. by brand 24 hours, a day, seven days a week. How did GEMPLER'S become so tech savvy? The key may be its commitment to the basics. They have a Web development team, but all of its departments participate in the online effort. The success of its online business, Schlecht believes, is directly linked to its off-line experience. Their warehouse and customer service centers are used for both phone and online services. Online orders placed by 3 p.m. Monday through Friday are shipped the same day and e-mails are answered within an hour during business hours BUSINESS HOURS. The time of the day during which business is transacted. In respect to the time of presentment and demand of bills and notes, business hours generally range through the whole day down to the hours of rest in the evening, except when the paper is payable it a bank or by a . "We have a direct marketing skills set that is very transferable to the Internet," Schlecht says. "The only difference online is that you type your own order." Still, Schlecht doesn't deny the importance of Internet know-how. Testament to that was his decision in August to hire Mike Atkin as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Atkin was instrumental in launching the Lands' End
v. t. 1. To think; to suppose; to imagine; - used chiefly in the first person sing. present tense, I wis. See the Note under Ywis. .-based e-commerce consulting company Noun 1. consulting company - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting firm business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a , Berbee. At GEMPLER'S, print and online advertising complement each other. The catalog, for example, includes icons that indicate when more information is available on the Web. "We are forging relationships with agricultural portals online," says GEMPLER'S Director of Business Development Kent Gutzmer. "We recognize the possibility of strong visitor traffic to these sites and have already partnered with a number of companies including Powerfarm.com and Agweb.com." They also see potential with their Linkshare affiliate marketing Affiliate marketing is a method of promoting web businesses (merchants/advertisers) in which an affiliate (publisher) is rewarded for every visitor, subscriber, customer, and/or sale provided through his/her efforts. program and their relationship with the Harvest Partners Preferred Customer Program. IPM (1) (Impressions Per Minute) Generally refers to document scanners that scan both sides of the page at the same time. Thus, a scanner that scans at 100 ppm (pages per minute) can provide 200 ipm. See ppm and document scanner. Solutions, formerly a print publication, is now solely Web based Coming from a Web server. See Web application. at www.ipmalmanac.com, with links to and from GEMPLER'S homepage. IPM Solutions and www.gemplersalert.com -- an online extension of Gempler's ALERT newsletter -- illustrate GEMPLER'S authority in Integrated Pest Managementy and safety and employement law compliance. Schlecht has come a long way since 1986. The company now offers more than 12,000 products and employs 130. "Everybody sees the Internet as a big opportunity," says Atkin. "Our task is to stay ahead." Jennifer Mears is a freelance writer based out of Madison, Wisc. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion