eBay e-commerce platform available in SA

eBay, best known for its online marketplace and payment platform PayPal, acquired the creators of the open source solution last year to form X.commerce, its new integrated, open commerce platform group.

Vaimo is one of system's top solution providers and the only organisation in South Africa to carry gold certification. This level of certification is reserved for relationships considered particularly strategic to Magento. It also means local businesses can be assured that its offerings go beyond simply enabling transaction-capability.

The number of local businesses revisiting their online strategies is increasing exponentially, says Vaimo COO Brendan Peo.

"The growth rate in online retail sales is impossible to ignore, particularly in the current economic environment. Wherever you go, you see traditional sales channels buckling under the pressure, their numbers slowing to a crawl. In contrast, the online environment is booming, delivering double-digit growth even in mature e-commerce environments such as the US (13% in 2011) and Europe (18% in 2011). Emerging e-commerce environments are even more promising; South Africa's online retail sales numbers grew 30% in 2011 and we expect these numbers to grow by upwards of 35% in 2012 to R3.5 billion," he explains.

What's more, there has been a distinct shift in corporate evaluation of the internet's strategic value. "Historically senior management focused on the traditional channels, which produced the majority of the revenue. The online environment, offering significantly less of a revenue stream, was placed in the relegation zone if it featured on the priority list at all.

"However, companies are now recognising that the internet's influence on corporate and consumer purchasing decisions - whether concluded online or in-store - is considerable, resulting in noticeable changes in purchasing patterns and behaviour. Buyers turn to the web to establish which product meets their needs best, who has stock available and at what price. The internet is not simply another revenue channel; it is an essential support mechanism for the traditional money makers."

Businesses looking to plug any gaps in their online presence and take advantage of the growing number of buyers completing their transactions online have often found the project to be riddled with obstacles and short on solutions.

"Players in this field tend to originate from one of two disciplines: design or business process orientated, forcing the customer to choose one at the cost of the other. The result is an online environment that fails to measure up to expectations."

Vaimo, however, has its foundations in e-commerce, drawing in the expertise from a variety of disciplines to create solutions that speak to the needs of the business. The company's solutions address the difficulty of standing out from the online crowd; delivering a personalised experience in a digital world; and getting your internet and brick-and-mortar operations to speak the same language.

Additionally, the solutions are configured to integrate seamlessly into a wide range of popular business systems including SAP B1, Microsoft Dynamics, Hansaworld Enterprise, Sage X3 and others.

The company's arrival in the local market has already generated considerable interest, from businesses seeking a solution to their e-commerce aspirations as well as ICT providers looking to expand their portfolios and online solution providers looking to boost the effectiveness of their own offerings, he concluded.