Xansa and Akamai offer guide for better e-commerce

How should firms improve their e-trade processes?

Retail outsourcer Xansa and application performance specialist Akamai have launched a new guide to help e-commerce firms deal with unpredictable peaks and troughs in demand for their services, and optimise multi-channel strategies.

Keeping in Peak Condition, available by email request argues, that poorly-performing or unavailable sites not only cost firms' revenue in lost sales, but can also damage brands, which might, for example, discourage consumers from visiting the high street branch of an online retailer.

Outsourcing the good site maintenance would help many firms achieve a flexible and stable infrastructure to cope with unpredictable changes in demand, which is a common problem for e-commerce sites, according to Xansa's market development director, Mark Collyer.

"The core message is that you can have your cake and eat it," Collyer said. "[Firms need to] take a deep breath, look at the things they're best placed to cope with and give up, from a process and service point of view, the things that aren't differentiating them."

Collyer added that many firms don't do enough to ensure their entire sales system can cope with demand, leaving back-end order processing, stock replenishment and delivery unable to match the performance levels of the front-end web site.

"Efficiency of processes and the interaction between front-end web apps and back office processes and applications [must be good]," said Collyer.

The guide also says firms could do better with their marketing, using targeted campaigns to drive traffic at certain times and thus making demand more predictable. Firms should also consider whether they should do more to make the online and offline shopping experience consistent, according to the guide.
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