If you’ve been on the same enterprise ecommerce platform for a long time than you may already know that some systems were setup without expansion plans for long term growth. Let’s just put it this way; it’s not uncommon for a successful business to outgrow the software that allowed them to grow in the first place.
So if I may, let me go out on a limb with a personal, yet conceptual analogy I recently stumbled upon that’s akin to this kind of ecommerce growth.
I have a niece who is 13 years old, and every time I see her she’s just a little bit more grown up. So while I was spending some time with my family this past weekend my sister got to work bending my ear about the amount of time, effort and money she spends keeping her oldest daughter in clothes that are fashion forward, and that fit. She went on to lament that because my niece was now old enough to know the difference between designer brands and the “un-cool” alternative, they were buying clothes that undoubtedly won fashion points, but it was costing my sister a small fortune.
Like any ecommerce oriented mind would do, I suggested she try a few trendy, online stores that would let her get twice the amount of clothing for the same price, and in the process keep my niece’s social status in tact. She laughed at me. Then she dared me to say that to my own daughter someday when she becomes a teenager.
It was later in the day as I was retelling the story to my wife that I realized most of us spend a good part of our teenage years, and then our adult lives, outgrowing or outlasting the things that help make us who we are. When I was a kid it was my Converse All Star’s that provided street cred with the cool kids, the Girbaud Jeans that made me popular with the girls (at least that was the goal) and my first mountain bike with front fork suspension that made me jump higher and crash harder than ever before. Indeed, these are the kinds of things that helped define our individuality, and like my niece, I was a bit unnerved and demanding when those things no longer fit, or stopped fulfilling their intended purpose.
If you started a business 10 years ago on a system that can no longer embrace your growth then it’s probably time to go shopping, and that’s where this tale of teenage fashion shares a common theme with a company expanding beyond its capacity.
A lot of online businesses might think that the only way to get a high end look, feel and functionality is to pay a proprietary software vendor a huge amount of money. While that used to be the truth, it’s simply not the case anymore. If you shop right, shop smart and end up with the right partner, then outgrowing your current ecommerce platform doesn’t have to come with concerns over scalability, integration and overpriced solutions.
The truth is, HotWax Media offers complete open source solutions through Apache OFBiz that are designed to simplify and streamline internal processes while providing the means for seamless integrations and the capacity for growth. That means making the transition to a system that will provide flexibility, control and the ability to automate ERP, CRM and other business functions.
Now it might be a stretch to contrast ecommerce expansion to the demands of a teenage girl, but I’ve heard crazier comparisons. And when you work with HotWax Media you’ll not only get a ‘designer’ enterprise ecommerce platform for a fraction of the cost, but you’ll also control the reigns of your own ecommerce individuality.
Contact us today to find out how we can grow your business together.
—Jared—
Jared Matkin is a staff writer forHotWax Media with a background in PR, Branding and Marketing. He’s also a light-hearted and an opinionated character who will join other HotWax Media employees and advisers in periodically posting his thoughts on topics ranging from enterprise eCommerce to business and technology.
