Business Services division aids retail management

E-commerce and EPOS systems provider Actinic has formed a new business unit, Business Services, to provide dedicated, tailored sales, technical support and development resources to retailers.

The changes also see the introduction of Actinic Enterprise, Actinic's first true multichannel product integrating e-commerce, mail order, telephone order and EPOS systems.

Business Services provides: pre-sales consultancy and needs analysis; tailored Actinic solutions; high-level technical support with the option for an on-site service; expertise in areas like system development and integration, site design and management, hosting and payment services and search engine optimisation.

Actinic Enterprise is Actinic's first dedicated e-commerce/mail order/telephone order/EPOS product.

Supported by a new underlying Microsoft SQL Server database platform, Enterprise offers retailers increased capacity and scalability, together with significant changes to the way offline orders are handled.

The main benefits Actinic Enterprise offers over existing Actinic solutions include: saving time, improving efficiency and integrating sales from multiple channels with an integrated offline order entry screen for mail order and telephone ordering; increased flexibility for the user through order processing improvements, such as the configurable summary screen, enabling order information to be displayed in a way that suit the back-office processes; increased speed, capability and scalability of the system due to a database switch from Access to MS SQL Server; allowing multiple users to manage the catalogue, update customer details and process orders makes the system more efficient and flexible for busy companies; time savings and accuracy improvements for taking offline orders through integration with Postcode Anywhere and YESpay, which provides real-time credit card processing; streamlining and greater control of online and offline business areas, with Actinic Link integrating e-commerce and EPOS systems.

Phil Rothwell, director of Actinic Business Services, explained the theory behind the restructuring move: "Many of our customers have the same issue - success.

"They have built a thriving e-commerce or retail operation using Actinic solutions and have now reached a point where the next level can only be reached by making a significant investment in a new system they have no experience of - this is a big risk for a small business.

"By creating a dedicated division within Actinic and developing a more capable, faster and scaleable solution in Enterprise, we can give peace of mind to retailers that they can move their business forward with a well-established, stable and reliable specialist they already trust".

The Cake Store, which has been using Actinic for its ecommerce operations since 2001, has recently updated its systems following consultations with the new Business Services team.

MD Tim Slatter said: "What we have now is brilliant - Enterprise has totally streamlined our order processing, which is critical for us, because we have orders coming in from many sources.

"Actinic gives us an excellent service and extremely good value".

Founded in 1996, Actinic is widely regarded as the UK's leading supplier of e-commerce software to small and medium sized businesses.

Research shows that over 50 per cent of UK SMEs using packaged software applications to run their e-stores use Actinic - more than any other supplier.

Actinic EPOS systems are designed by former retailers and give a comprehensive feature set that is straightforward to operate at great value prices.

The range covers everything from a low cost, single till installation to integrated multitill and multisite systems with head office functionality, for centralised product, stock and price updating and reporting.

In addition to its packaged products, Actinic also supplies tailored multichannel solutions to high-volume retailers via Actinic Business Services.

Based on Actinic Enterprise and integrating with Actinic EPOS, these solutions enable established retailers to sell through multiple channels (web, mail, phone and store) and take their businesses to the next level.

Back to top