"Suiter" Commerce for Texas, Lionel

Peter Devereaux
by Peter Devereaux 04 Oct, 2015

Everything may be bigger in Texas, but when it comes to legacy systems that's not typically a good thing.

 

NetSuite, a provider of cloud-based financials, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and omnichannel commerce suites, has announced that the State of Texas has launched on Suitecommerce to power its government-to-government procurement marketplace and with some impressive results - reducing costs by 77 percent in one year (from $11.5 million to less than $3 million), as well as decreasing help desk staff by 50 percent. 

 

The State of Texas has replaced its legacy procurement systems with NetSuite Suitecommerce as the commerce platform for its enterprise-scale TxSmartBuy (www.txsmartbuy.com), which, among other features, allows government agencies to search for items they need to buy to operate (see image). 

 

By replacing a collection of on-premise systems with NetSuite, the state has enabled nearly $1 billion of annual transactions, connecting 4,700 buyers from state agencies and local governments to more than 1,000 vendors selling 3.5 million items, from office equipment to road paving materials. 

What's more, according to NetSuite, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) delivers a modern and intuitive business-to-consumer (B2C) experience to all TxSmartBuy users. By improving the user experience, user adoption is expected to increase from 4,700 buyers in 2015 to more than 6,900 in 2017. This is important because business buyers are increasingly expecting the same ease of use in their business shopping experience as they do for the transactions they make in their personal lives. 

 

Government agencies are, of course, not the only entities suffering from fragmented systems that negatively impacts the user experience. According to NetSuite, Lionel Trains, the 115-year-old model train business, and Lionel Racing, the exclusive provider of die-cast collectible NASCAR race cars, endured challenges conducting business with consumers and retail partners on their separate Magento-powered ecommerce websites. 

 

In just four months, the websites re-launched onto NetSuite's cloud commerce platform, Suitecommerce. Lionel is now able to run its entire business, including two ecommerce websites, call center, inventory management, order management, marketing, customer support and financials from one, unified commerce platform. 

 

 

"Suitecommerce eliminated all of the challenges of trying to connect our systems," said Rick Gemereth, Lionel's VP Information Technology and Operations. "We now run on one unified commerce platform in the cloud, making us more efficient, more agile and better able to respond to the needs of our customers. With NetSuite, true inventory visibility across the entire organization allows us to keep up with the demands of our customers and retail partners. Plus, the entire user experience is far superior on our ecommerce websites."  

 

Other capabilities Lionel now has access to with Suitecommerce are branded, personalized shopping experiences with advanced imagery options (e.g. quick views, zooms, videos, etc.), mobile commerce (an optimized experience across all devices), support for multiple sites on a single-site interface, dynamic merchandising and more. 
Peter Devereaux
Peter Devereaux
As the Editor-in-Chief of Website Magazine and President of Website Services, Peter has established himself as a prominent figure in the digital marketing industry. With a wealth of experience and knowledge, Peter has been a driving force in shaping the landscape of digital marketing. His leadership in creating innovative and targeted marketing campaigns has helped numerous businesses achieve their revenue growth goals. Under his direction, Website Magazine has become a trusted source of information and insights for digital marketers worldwide. As President of Website Services, Peter oversees a team of talented professionals who specialize in SEO/SEM, email marketing, social media, and digital advertising. Through his hands-on approach, he ensures that his team delivers exceptional results to their clients. With a passion for digital marketing, Peter is committed to staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends and technologies, making him a sought-after thought leader in the field.