Four51 Opens OrderCloudTM Platform and Launches Development Center Providing an Unprecedented Way to Build B2B eCommerce Solutions
November 10, 2015 | By Business Wire News
MINNEAPOLIS
Four51, which powers B2B eCommerce for over 3,000 customers and nearly 20 million users, today announced that it has opened its OrderCloudTM platform along with the simultaneous launching of OrderCloudTM Dev Center. The all-new development center empowers businesses to create custom eCommerce solutions faster and easier than ever before, while enabling them to deliver the straightforward online and mobile buying experiences their customers demand.
OrderCloud is the only cloud-based B2B eCommerce platform live in general release and was built on 16 years of eCommerce intelligence gathered across thousands of complex business solutions. The OrderCloud Dev Center is a comprehensive online resource and toolset dedicated to helping developers get up and running quickly with building and deploying apps on top of the OrderCloud platform.
In the report, “The Forrester Wave™: B2B Commerce Suites, Q2 2015,” published in June 2015, Forrester states, “The number of B2B buyers expected to complete at least half of their work purchases online will nearly double from 30% today to 56% by 2017. B2B companies must therefore move quickly to build a world-class digital buying experience. The business case is clear — moving offline-only customers into a partially or fully digital environment reduces cost to serve and increases customer spending.”
OrderCloud empowers businesses to deliver on customers’ omni-channel demands, and changes the way businesses buy and sell online by providing a better way to manage B2B eCommerce through:
- A flexible platform: Every business is different with unique processes and commerce challenges, yet other B2B eCommerce providers rely on inflexible packaged and on-premise solutions. OrderCloud was architected from the first line of code to be quick to implement, fast and flexible.
- Speed to deployment: OrderCloud’s multi-tenant architecture, extendable data model, REST API, rapid development tools, seeds, SDKs and components allow partners and customers to quickly test and deploy B2B eCommerce solutions. Since the API exposes OrderCloud’s functionality, developers can actually build their own fully custom eCommerce solutions or even complete SaaS solutions with the OrderCloud Dev Center.
- Deep domain expertise and experience: Four51 has solved thousands of business ordering and B2B eCommerce challenges. Forty-thousand commerce sites have been created with the platform, many of which solve the complex needs of manufacturers, distributors, retail operations and third-party logistics providers.
“Businesses in the past – and many still today – have either propped-up expensive in-house systems or adapted to inflexible eCommerce platforms, but there’s a better way,” said Mark Johnson, Four51 CEO. “We’re at a tipping point; cloud-based platforms and APIs are enabling companies to get to market much faster and integrate all of their internal systems – ERP, CRM, analytics, tax systems and more. This is the way forward for B2B eCommerce, and we believe that in the next five years, every business will be doing it this way.”
“With the implementation of OrderCloud, TurtleWax, Inc. completely eliminated fax and manual order entry by the customer service team,” said Laurie King, VP of Supply Chain & Operations for TurtleWax. “This contributed to significant cost savings and ease of use for many individuals across the organization, for our sales reps and, ultimately, for our customers.”
Four51 partner, Echidna, Inc. – an eCommerce agency specializing in user experience, technology and optimization – also sees the possibilities the new open development center affords OrderCloud business users and developers alike. Ranjana Sharma, VP of Retail and Digital Services at Echidna said, “The capabilities that come with an eCommerce development center, paired with the open API structure, make for one of the most mind-blowing things I’ve seen in my 12 year eCommerce experience. Without this, it’s hard for companies to keep up with the changing demands of technology.”
Another Four51 partner, Prograde, which counts Time Warner and Glatfelter among its customers, echoed that sentiment stating, “Not only is the OrderCloud Dev Center a huge coup for us, but also for our customers. Nothing like this has existed in the market, until now.”
To learn more about OrderCloud and the new OrderCloud Dev Center, visit www.four51.com.
About Four51
Based in Minneapolis, Four51 powers B2B eCommerce for thousands of businesses worldwide such as Papa John’s and TurtleWax. OrderCloudTM by Four51 provides business and technical users the ability to create custom eCommerce solutions faster and easier, while empowering them to deliver the straightforward online and mobile buying experiences their customers demand. Learn more at www.four51.com.
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