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 NEWSOLM-Gold gets storefronts up fast By James R. Borck , For InfoWorld Test Center January 7, 2000 BY NOW, MOST companies are trying to figure out how to enter the electronic-commerce world, but not all have the financial means and human resources to do so. For companies with a limited budget and skill set, the beta version of StumpWorld Systems' Online Merchant Gold (OLM-Gold), Version 2.0, promises an entry-level alternative for developing and implementing an e-commerce presence.
Furthermore, the software lacks several important features, such as supply-chain management and accounting system integration, which large-scale e-commerce initiatives demand. In fact, it fails to offer even the most rudimentary capabilities suitable for ongoing inventory tracking or back-end database support. However, if you're looking for a quick and effortless way to organize an online catalog with customizable options and real-time credit card processing, OLM-Gold is an out-of-the-box solution that provides hooks to several partnered vendors, making it easy to design, publish, and launch a profitable e-commerce site. The beta version of the software that I tested was easy to set up, and administering and re-merchandising my sample catalog was equally effortless. I followed several simple steps to enter general site information with the form-driven setup wizard and then chose a look and feel for my storefront from the selection of provided samples. However, despite the fact that OLM-Gold allows you to customize your site layout to extend the supplied templates, its limited previewing capabilities require custom-crafted sites to be uploaded to a staging server to view development. OLM-Gold supplies catalog development tools based on a Borland Database Engine that stores and delivers product images, details, and pricing information. Its interface was easy to comprehend and made catalog setup a snap. Added perks to this interface included the easy implementation of a full text search against your product catalog. I was impressed with OLM-Gold's capabilities for organizing and updating the catalog. I was able to organize my catalog by product line through a tree-view interface that made it easy to add, delete, and edit items, in addition to building unique "sale" areas that featured product specials. Additional links can be associated with each product that can add the benefits of multimedia, such as sound, video, or Adobe Acrobat product specification sheets. Although OLM-Gold offers a number of customizable options for shipping and handling, I was disappointed by its lack of a facility to connect tracking and rate information for major shipping companies, such as United Parcel Service or Federal Express. In the absence of such integration, all shipping data must be entered and continually updated manually. Once set up, however, OLM-Gold made easy work of publishing my site to any Unix-based server capable of running Perl CGI scripts. The setup data, which was previously supplied, automatically generated meta tags used by search engines that crawl and catalog your site. OLM-Gold supports manual batch processing of orders, and now offers secure, real-time transaction processing through several vendors including Authorize.net, USA Merchant, and Secure Trading in the United Kingdom. OLM-Gold's offering falls short of enterprise-worthy consideration, as it lacks features for true electronic-business integration, such as inventory management. And, with no back-end database support, existing catalogs must be translated into a specific Excel spreadsheet format for importing. But it is well-suited to companies that want to peddle abbreviated catalogs on the Web with a minimal up-front investment in cost and skills. James R. Borck (james.borck @industrialart.com) is a regular contributor to InfoWorld and the IS director at Industrial Art & Science, in Connecticut.
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