Akopia has debuted Interchange 4.6, which combines the firm's e-commerce services package, formerly known as Tallyman, with systems gained from its recent acquisition of software firm Minivend.
The new offering merges the technical Web-building features of Minivend with Tallyman's marketing applications, allowing firms to set up full e-commerce sites.
On the front end, Interchange allows multiple promotional or up-sell capabilities. Shoppers looking for hammers, for example, can be offered nails or more expensive hammers when they reach checkout.
Interchange also shows inventory status for each item as well as a link to courier services to get shipping estimates. Coupons and discounts can be programmed into any part of a site as well.
On the back end, in addition to standard features such as content management, traffic reports and payment processing, the system allows companies to create secure Web pages for each department.
This feature lets fulfillment managers track orders and inventory while merchandisers and other marketing directors can monitor and alter promotional efforts happening within a site.
Additionally, firms can integrate e-mail list management as well as other database administration chores into the workings of their site.
Interchange's open source software allows it to easily integrate with other systems, said Charles Gold, vice president of marketing. He said that the software's platform allows employees to make necessary adjustments online without having knowledge of HTML coding.
The system comes without a licensing fee. However, it will be used to lure longstanding firms that generate over $1 million annually into Akopia's technical and marketing strategy services.
Typically, Gold said, a company should expect to spend in the neighborhood of $250,000 on setting up a Web site. Otherwise, pricing for the services depends on the order.
