Implementing new e-commerce technology does not mean your employees have to become "techies," and it does not have to mean your sales reps become less personal in their customer relationships.

Consider the experience of Sid Harvey Industries, Inc., a wholesale distributor of refrigeration, air conditioning and heating parts and equipment. They carry more than 50,000 line items and manage 82 branch locations.

Their objective was to provide better customer service through the use of a Web-based e-business solution that could provide their customers with instant access to key account information as well as enable them to view inventory and place orders from their Web site.

A key component to their success was the ability to give customers the option to have merchandise delivered, or to be picked up at one of the 82 branch locations. This also enabled contractors who required parts for an immediate job to place orders anytime during the day and then pick up those parts on their way to the job site.

But taking full advantage of e-commerce can be more than simply opening up a new, online sales channel. It is also about using technology to streamline your business model, create savings, and increase efficiency.

For instance, Sid Harvey's customer service reps were spending a lot of time re-printing and faxing customers' copies of invoices. By allowing customers the ability to view and print invoices from their Web site, customer service representatives could take more calls and provide better service.

The technolo-gical transition proved to be an easy one. Sid Harvey decided they needed a system that would "shield" them from the technologies most companies would have to learn in order to deploy Web-enabled applications. They knew enough about themselves to realize that they did not need to learn code-intensive CGI, for example, or Java Servlets to build dynamic Web applications.

Vormittag's System 2000 e-business solution provided them with real-time access to data that, in Sid Harvey's case, included customer service and order-processing capabilities.

By taking such an approach, the distributor was able to use the table-driven interface to build and maintain data files and to generate the HTML or XML pages. By referring to these data files and interface settings, even their "non-techy" users had complete control of Web information and capabilities.

As a result, product specifications, descriptions, product images, pricing and availability became easier to maintain, update and support.

It is important to keep in mind that implementing this new technology doesn't have to mean less personal contact with customers. On the contrary, there are enormous advantages in using technology to deepen and secure relationships with customers and suppliers.

In today's on-demand world, businesses need to be able to share information throughout the extended enterprise to be successful. Customers demand real-time access to product availability and pricing. Your suppliers rely on you to provide information critical to the supply chain. Your employees need quick, easy access to corporate files and enterprise information to do their jobs effectively.

E-business applications can allow you to do more then open a Web-based storefront. Web-based applications provide all members of the value chain—from employees and customers to partners and suppliers—the information they need to make informed decisions.