Web Fulfillment University of Minnesota Case Study Kevin Becker Martha Hoppe

Goals of the presentation Background Fulfillment Process Physical Setup Staffing Credit Card Processing Interfaces with UPS Interface with RATEX Feedback Tools Future Directions Open Discussion

Background

$1.65 Million in sales in (7%) $113,500 in shipping in handling $1.65 Million in sales in (7%) $113,500 in shipping in handling

Background Fall Rush Textbooks – 4075 orders between July 15 and Sept. 30 – 1191 (30%) came the week before rush – 700 came the Wednesday before rush – Average textbook order price $175.00

University wide authentication – Common user name and password – Extra security University wide authentication – Common user name and password – Extra security

Multiple store units – Users are assigned default store – Can change stores

Background Exports from RATEX nightly No intentional backorders No reservations Ship to residence halls without specific room number Substitute new/used automatically

Background Server Background – Two servers (web and database) – SunOS – Oracle9i – Remote/Outsourced administration

Fulfillment Process Step 1 – Print orders

Fulfillment Process Step 2 – Pull Books Step 3 – Adjust order if needed. Delete Backorder Switch new for used

Fulfillment Process Step 4 – Post Order Charges credit card Prints packing list/receipt

Physical setup Dedicated area for packing with supplies nearby Easy access to scale Easy access to computer Handle each package as little as possible Have enough space to avoid mixing up paperwork

Staffing Dedicated staff during rush Shopping shifts to staff from customers Shipping and packing increases Technology staff increases

Online Credit Card Processing No declined cards after picking No bad credit card numbers More fraud protection (CVV2) No credit card number stored in RATEX No credit card numbers printed on pick lists.

Online Credit Card Processing YourPay (formerly SurePay) processes card information. Created a tender for YourPay Settlement is done on-line. Balanced against register reports Can exclude numbers, names and domains Can alter orders before finalizing Can charge at time of shipping not purchase

Online Credit Card Processing Negatives – Refunds are complicated – Two different settlements – Final shipping order must be precise

Interface with UPS Steps to interface – Create a view in Oracle with the database fields needed. – Install UPS WorldShip – Load ODBC client onto PC – Configure WorldShip – Open key entry window – Enter order number – Ship – Customer is ed shipping notification and tracking number

Interface with UPS Production increase –M–Max orders per day before interface –T–Theoretical max per day after interface Data entry errors are gone Label sensor stops mislabeling. Pitfalls –“–“highway hypnosis” Entering wrong order number Wrong paperwork with package

RATEX Interface Preliminary work – Registers need to be created in POS and SALES (special range of numbers) – Web registers are created based on IP addresses – Each workstation is given a register number – Export cashier numbers daily

RATEX Interface Web fulfillment closed, file created ED SALES.MPQ SM-PROCESS.LIBERTY – Enter code below, before the line [SALES.MPQ BUILD.SALES.CRD.LIBERTY 0020: HRUN USER.BP PROG.NAME 0021: P – The program reads the text file and creates records in the VST format and writes them into POS.VST.UPLOAD and POS.VST.YTD – Sales processing runs and updates TMF’s and SALES files

RATEX Interface Drawbacks – Major - disrupts real-time inventory – No POS.EJF file – File not getting loaded correctly Save copies of transaction files

Feedback tools Web Statistics Web reports Surveys

Web Statistics - Webalizer

UBIT Report

Revenue Report

Customer Surveys follow ups Pop-up Surveys

Future Directions More frequent product update Moving to “real time” updating Student account charges Normalizing data for export from RATEX Auto transfers from warehouse to store UPS address verification up front Textbook pre-orders Customer order status and history online Pop-up surveys Gift registry

Group Discussion

Thank you Questions can be directed to: – Technical Kevin – Operational Martha