The Case of E-Commerce

E-commerce systems should be built flexibly so they can be adapted and improved over time, says Jeremy Ziegler, CEO of Aware. “One of our core principles is to implement a foundation that we can build around later,” he notes. “When we set out, we don’t really know what the end consumer wants, or what our client wants. Our clients tell us all the time what they want, but we’ve known over the years that they don’t really know until they get it up and running. So we make it scalable.You launch it, you get a few orders, you work through the process. Then, over the next year or so, you start tweaking it around and making it more automated. You can’t just do that out of the gate, both for budget reasons and because you can’t anticipate every scenario.”

For now, the main focus of the e-commerce site is ease of use—on all sides. Skubic says he wanted it to be extremely easy for end users to select the Gorilla Ladder of their choice. But he also wanted it to be very easy for Tricam employees to manage the site’s content. Indeed, with the software that Aware recommended and installed, employees can not only edit current items, but also add new ones or even change the way product lines are marketed, all without calling for IT assistance. Skubic calls it “one of our biggest victories.”

Another point of pride is the innovative live chat (or instant message) connection available on the site, a capability that some firms have struggled with. “When we launched the site, we wanted to provide people the ability to get instant answers,” Skubic says. “We understand that when customers have an issue, they don’t want to call an 800 number, they don’t want to be on hold, they don’t want to leave a voicemail, and they don’t want to send an e-mail and wait for a response. So we found a way to manage it and to set hours that someone would be available. We’ve gotten a tremendous amount of positive feedback on it.”

Evergreen Industries: Seasonal Sales
evergreenindustries.net

When you see local Boy Scouts, students, or church groups selling holiday wreaths and swags, chances are you’re looking at greenery produced by Inver Grove Heights–based Evergreen Industries. The 43-year-old family-run company sells the majority of its goods wholesale for fundraising by organizations such as these. It’s an industry that’s extremely high-touch: Nearly every client requires a phone call to help nail down the prizes, incentives, and other details of the campaign.