WEB ORDERING - Charge of the site brigade

E-commerce is the future - if the industry gurus are to be believed. Shops will be replaced by Websites and heavy shopping baskets will make way for mice and keyboards. But how easy is it to navigate distributors' Websites? Armed with user IDs and passwords, we spent a day masquerading as a reseller - called PC Dealer funnily enough - unfamiliar with the e-commerce way of ordering. The task? To order a Hewlett Packard DeskJet 690C printer over the Web. Let the shoot-out commence.

ETC

arrison.he future - if the industry gurus are to be believed. Shops will be replaced by Websites and heavy shopping baskets will make way for mice and keyboards. But how easy is it to navigate distributors' Websites? Armed with user IDs and passwords, we spent a day masquerading as a reseller - called PC Dealer funnily enough - unfamiliar with the e-commerce way of ordering. The task? To order a Hewlett Packard DeskJet 690C printer over the Web. Let the shoot-out commence. The ETC site is still being piloted by a couple of resellers and should be ready within the next few weeks.

The first page has a pale blue background, with the ETC logo at the top.

It requests the account number, user name and password. The next screen shows big blue letters: 'ETC welcomes PC Dealer to ETC e-commerce.'

Along the top of the page are the following options: home, catalogue, orders, reports and news. We selected catalogue, which you can search by part number, category or description. We entered category, selected printers and then the subcategory of inkjets.

Category allows you to specify the manufacturer and colour of the product.

In our case, a table of HP inkjet printers came up on the screen. It included:

- product code - HEWLP218

- whether the product is active or discontinued

- description of the product - HP DeskJet 690C inkjet printer

- manufacturer code - C5890C

- manufacturer name - HP

- stock - 440

- recommended retail price - #129

- buy price - #105.85

The add icon says the order cannot be processed because we haven't registered ourselves yet. It requires the reseller name, location and telephone number before the order can be submitted.

ETC's Website was different from others tested because you usually have to search in the category first, then place the order. With ETC, you create the order first, then scan for products. Nevertheless, it was quite easy to use and only took about 20 minutes to place the order.

Colin McKane, developer in group management information services, working on the ETC e-commerce system, stresses that this Website is under trial. He adds that although some people still prefer to order over the phone, fewer mistakes are made if the reseller puts the details straight into the system via the internet.

INGRAM MICRO

Ingram Micro was one of the earliest distributors outside the US to allow online ordering, launching its Website on 1 December 1997.

This site was the most frustrating of the lot. It took about 45 minutes to navigate and figure out how to place our order, only to find the DeskJet wasn't in stock after all.

The initial screen is colourful, with a white background and four pictures to choose from - the reseller business centre, potential customer and share owner, the manufacturer business centre and a worldwide reseller. At the bottom of this screen, the potential customer is also greeted with: 'Welcome to Ingram Micro UK, part of the largest worldwide distribution of computer technology products and services. Please enter through the appropriate door above with a supporter browser. To sign up to become an Ingram Micro reseller, choose the potential customer and share owner door.'

So far, it's all quite straightforward, even for computer illiterates.

We click the top picture - the reseller business centre - and enter the user name and password.

Inside the UK reseller business centre are plenty of choices: realtime price and availability, TechNotes, full-text search, open order status by order, shopped order status by order, open order status by PO, shipped order status by PO, list all open orders and list all shipped orders.

Flummoxed, we pressed the first one, which took us into 'order'. Step one - requested information is: PO # and SKU. What are they talking about?

The helpline number provided at the bottom of the page turns out to be the Ingram Micro general line. It rings 10 times before anyone answers it and we are then put through to the sales operation.

A woman asks for the account number and is very helpful. Her advice is to go to search first, which will provide the SKU (this is, in fact, the product number). She then tells us to go into the guided search.

The guided search allows searches by category, subcategory, media or platform. From category, you can scroll down to printers and from there you can go to subcategory, which includes inkjets. Success seems closer.

'Search results for: printer, inkjet.' About three minutes later there is still a blank screen. There is nothing to point towards the next step, so we select the previous screen again.

It's all very confusing, especially since this is one of the first Websites we have tried and the procedures are still unfamiliar to us.

The other option is the power search, but by now, we have lost a good 20 minutes of valuable business time and frustration is setting in. Surely it would be easier to pick up the phone?

According to the Website, the details requested are: The Ingram Micro SKU, supplier part number, UPC, description, supplier name and technical note. Two pieces of information are entered - printer and Hewlett Packard.

The next screen shows a big table, including:

- product description - DeskJet 690C UK

- Ingram SKU - 9432014

- supplier - HP, personal printers

The instructions tell us to click on price and availability - this is supposed to give the live price. But nothing happens. A few minutes pass and still no explanation.

We press the 'press add to order' button. Oh no: 'Error 3300, line 2, sorry this has been discontinued' comes up on the screen.

So, after all that work and with no explanation beforehand, no order can be placed. How very annoying and disappointing.

Peter Bannon, project manager for electronic services at Ingram Micro, says the existing Website will be replaced on 2 November.

The updated site will include multiple selection and searching devices - for example, it will be possible to search for network cards within a certain price range. It will also have virtual warehousing, where customers can have products delivered to their own customers.

Regarding the SKU, Bannon suggests using the online help button although he says SKU is a well known term. But in our capacity of first-time users, we had no idea what it was. Apparently, it stands for stock keeping unit, or part number.

Bannon's explanation for the blank screens on basic searches is the heavy traffic on the internet at certain times of the day. He suggests doing a reload, using the button at the top of the browser. He also says Ingram specifies using Explorer 4, not version 3 as we were using.

Bannon did not know why the 'error - discontinued' message popped up.

CHS ELECTRONICS

The CHS Electronics interactive Website has been up and running since February and at first sight looks quite friendly. As soon as you are inside, you hit the reseller square, a bright red screen that asks for your email address and password. The screen says: 'Resellers only. Welcome to the real heart of the CHS site, the reseller-only area. Using this site, you will ultimately be able to do all the things you would normally call us for, including products, preparing quotes for your customers and even realtime purchases.'

There is a choice of circular icons at the top of the screen: reseller home, product, interact, catalogue, amend personal details and exit. We select reseller home. From here, it is possible to search for a product.

We entered the category and vendor through scroll-down menus but left the description blank. There is a fast path option, but you need the exact CHS and vendor part number.

The Website came up with 52 items, but rather than showing a scroll-down list, it just presented us with the first five. We then had to click 'more' for the next five and wait for them to come up. When the system finds matches, it gives the CHS part number, vendor part number, description, reseller price and stock quantity.

We found this Website quite slow to use, especially as the DeskJet was number 31 on the list of 52. We tried an alternative tactic - narrowing the search and stipulating DeskJet. This time it found 22 and ours was ninth. The description was:

- CHS part no - 22995

- vendor part no - C5890C#ABU

- description - HP deskjet 690C (C5890C)

- reseller price - #90.30

- stock quantity - expected soon

The next page is 'basket contents' and restates the product details.

All that remains is to click the purchase button. The whole thing took about 20 minutes.

Peter Rigby, marketing director at CHS, says only five models are shown because not all PCs support scrolling. For a popular vendor such as HP, most resellers would know the part number. Resellers get agreed rates after putting in their passwords. Products can be delivered to a customer address.

WESTCOAST

Westcoast's introductory page is a colourful blue frame, packed with pictures of products and brand names.

On the left is a list of possibilities - search, products, resellers, users, hot news, e-trading, serious, fun and email us.

We selected e-trading, which brought up a green and blue page. So far, nice and straightforward. The site points out what to do: resellers that have an account with Westcoast, please go here. Very helpful. 'Welcome to the Westcoast reseller e-trading Website' comes up, with search highlighted on the left.

The product search lets you search for a part number or description.

It finds the 690C and lists the details:

- part no - C4562A#AKB

- manufacturer - HP

- RRP - #205

- trade - #143.50

- production group - HP deskjets

- description - HP deskjet 690C printer Czech

- availability - 0

There is a note at the bottom of the page: 'This product is not in stock.

You many still buy it but it may hold up your order.' We press 'add to order' and the price and delivery details pop up: Price: #143.50, delivery charge: #5, next day delivery by 10am: #10.

As first-time users, we found this site the fastest and most straightforward, with an order time of only 15 minutes. However, there was nothing to show how soon the product would be in stock. After searching around for a few minutes, we had to call the helpdesk.

Simon Newbury, Webmaster at Westcoast, says the e-trading side of the Website was introduced at the beginning of the year.

However, it is still being tested by about 15 resellers and will be fully available before Christmas. As yet, there is no facility to check when ordered products will be in stock, but looking in the back orders page will tell you if it has come in that day.

Newbury believes e-commerce will take over from phone orders for simple items. But he says where there is a more complicated configuration, resellers still prefer to call in orders.

He concedes that an integral part of a dealer's life still involves haggling over prices, which they can only do with another human.

COMPUTACENTER DISTRIBUTION

Computacenter's site is worth a look for its lovely lorry graphics alone.

The first screen lists the suppliers used. The options are: log in, open price list, apply (for password), CCD and IT news from Computacenter.

To log on, press the purple OK button.

Options on the next page include: open price list, view libraries (own history), special offers, product price guide, about CCD and IT news.

We chose open price list, helpfully highlighted in red.

The screen is packed with products - huge lists of hardware (including printers), access, licensing, networking/communications, consumables, telephony, software, services and peripherals. It's a bit of a strain on the eyes.

We entered 'printers', which took us to a list with another graphic - this time of a printer. The list was categorised according to manufacturer.

There is a plus sign by each machine for selection.

Once you've pressed your plus sign, you're back to the shopping basket page and some more graphics. It's all quite straightforward - give the system a name, then press 'order'. The details come up as:

- quantity - 1

- part code - HP DeskJet 690C printer

- unit net - #103.35

- total - #103.35

The next page comes up with the delivery code - CO93001 - and requires your address, order label, order number, contact name and delivery instructions.

You then press 'submit' to send the order.

The whole ordering process on this Website took about 15 minutes. It was straightforward, relatively easy to navigate, not too garish and the graphics were a bonus. And the printer was in stock, which was a pleasant surprise.

Mike Jones, general manager of European development at Computacenter, says the site is scheduled to go live from 1 November.

COMPUTER 2000

Resellers have been able to order over the Computer 2000 Website since September. It's another friendly site. The opening page greets you with: 'Welcome to the online product catalogue of Computer 2000.' It asks for your C2000 customer number, login name and password.

The second page welcomes you by name - another nice touch. It tells you when you last visited the site and how many orders you have on backlog.

The next screen takes you to the shopping baskets, where you give one a name and click on the shopping icon.

You then have to select a product class. When the menu appeared, we scrolled down to printers. With the help of the manual, it was all fairly easy.

You can also scroll down and select a product subclass - inkjets in our case.

Extra information can be entered to narrow the search - the C2000 part number, manufacturer part number, product description or manufacturer.

Only one of these categories has to be filled in. You can also specify whether you want products on promotion or just the latest releases.

Our search produced a list of 14 products and an extensive table appeared, which included product description, manufacturer, C2000 part number, manufacturer part code, list price, your price and stock. The final icon was slightly reminiscent of a shopping trolley. There was no HP DeskJet 690C available.

We clicked the trolley icon anyway, to see whether it could be ordered. It took us to the basket management page, which went over the order again:

- C2000 part no - 328054

- EAN no - left blank: what is this? (see reply below)

- manufacturer no - C5890C#ABU

- manufacturer - HP

- product name - HP DeskJet 690C/EN 32Kb 5ppm 600dpi A4

- price - #92.88

The screen also gives access to the HP Website directly underneath, which is convenient. You can then press 'purchase'. There is nothing to indicate when the stock will be available.

The whole thing took about 30 minutes. Without the booklet, it would have been almost impossible for anyone unfamiliar with the layout of distributors' Websites to find their way around.

Ed Ewing, general manager of corporate communications at C2000, admits it depends on how familiar you are with the internet as to how straightforward you find the site. A reseller fresh to ordering over the Web would need the user manual.

He agrees that in the past, resellers had no trust in ordering over the Web, which is why C2000 held off until recently. Fears should be allayed because the system is fully automated, with no manual programming at the distributor end. Staff at the distributors used to print orders off and re-enter them into the system - orders now go straight into the system.

The EAN number is the European article number for manufacturers, which enables them to use one number in different countries. It is blank because it won't be introduced until next year. It is possible to check when a product will be in stock by going into the back order online stock check.