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 The
business-to-business buzz is no news to Belmark, Inc., a
local converter of pressure sensitive labels. They have
been using the web to enhance customer service for more
than four years, and it has given them a definite competitive
advantage.
Mike
Michalski, Director of Information Services at Belmark,
had a vision. He was fascinated with the idea of bringing
the label graphics out of the art department and onto computers
in customer service and other internal departments. As he
started working on this, he realized that with the Internet,
he could not only allow employees to view the labels, but
he could take his company's customer service to a whole
new level. Web-to-Web®,
an interactive business-to-business Internet application,
was born.
Web-to-Web
has been successful because the application was designed
to serve the customer. Customer service and sales helped
define customer needs and the development team built them
into the product. The approach worked, and because it made
life easier for the customers, it benefited Belmark as well.
The sales and customer service departments could now spend
more of their time strengthening customer relationships.
It was a win-win situation.
The
application is individually tailored for each customer.
Mike Michalski says, "It is really important to the customer
that we build in their own purchase order numbers, part
numbers, and descriptions. We use as much of their business
language as possible to make it easy for them to use. We
become an extension, or another department within their
business."
Customers
say that Web-to-Web®
has allowed them to organize their business better and operate
more efficiently. Customers can view their labels online
for proofing. This allows them to eliminate the bulky label
books they have traditionally used. They can order the labels
online, view their order history, and track shipping. The
whole labeling process has been streamlined.
Scot
Colby, Packaging Manager of Fuji Hunt Photographic Chemicals,
Inc. in Chicago, is a long-time Belmark customer. Colby
is completely sold on using Web-to-Web®.
"We
use Belmark's Web-to-Web®
for online purchasing and online proofing. This has allowed
us to implement a flatter pricing structure to reduce our
costs, and it has also allowed us to reduce our inventory
by 25 percent."
Belmark
developed the entire application in-house. Donna Rowland,
Programmer Analyst, built Web-to-Web®
in HTML, JavaScript, and Perl. Functionally, it was modularized
to allow easy setup for new customers and open up the potential
for adapting the program for other industries. Belmark would
like to make Web-to-Web®
available to other companies. They have an agreement in
place with ZyQuest (formerly Aztech) to market, customize,
and install the program as well as provide integration services
to companies interested in purchasing Web-to-Web®
.
Web-to-Web®
has worked well for Belmark. It is an example of Internet
dollars that were wisely invested. Web-to-Web®
has become a strategic competitive advantage for Belmark
because it enhances their customer relationships while allowing
them to work more efficiently.
For
more information about Belmark's Web-to-Web®, email
to [email protected].
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