Autumn 2007

Sterling Commerce claims to have created the industry's most comprehensive solution for managing the enquiry-to-cash cycle in the manufacturing, retail, distribution and communications sectors.

Its Selling and Fulfilment Suite is made up of a set of seven applications for managing the process of 'enquiry to cash'. They are called eStorefronts; eCatalog and Offer Management; Configure, Price, Quote; Order Management; Warehouse Management; Transportation Management; and Supply Chain Visibility.

Sterling has also added new merchandising and marketing capabilities to its Sterling Multi-Channel Selling solution. They support multiple business models Ñ business-to-consumer, business-to-business and a combination of the two.

The added capabilities allow retailers or merchants to track important 'behaviours' and purchase history, and make those events actionable for merchandising and marketing purposes. Built-in merchandising and marketing processes have also been added to allow users to personalise the experience for individuals and businesses, and can target customers precisely with applicable offers, taking advantage of cross-sell/up-sell opportunities.

Sterling has also added support for new cross-channel merchandising and marketing activities. They cover availability, store-pickup, gift cards, split payments and order-fulfilment integration for the web. Other new features apply to advanced pricing and promotions in the call centre and store; customers' personalised merchandising and marketing data; shopping cart and enhanced 'wish list' access to call centres and stores; and gift-registry capabilities.

Sterling has also added a Sterling Inventory Replenishment to its Sterling Selling and Fulfilment suite. It aims to create a collaborative replenishment process with customers and suppliers.