SalesLogix Rolls Out E-Commerce Suite

Computergram International, Sept 16, 1999

US sale force automation software developer SalesLogix Corp is extending its product offering into the e-commerce market by rolling out a suite of products called CommerceLogix. The new suite consists of three packages. One is a template that enables companies to automate the reception and processing of business leads (eLeadSite); another that makes it possible to do online ordering (eOrderSite); and a third that configures a customer's product or service requirements (eConfigurationSite).

While the packages in the suite are not in themselves revolutionary, SalesLogix claims they are unusual by virtue of their target market, in that such functionality is normally available only in larger, high-end software applications used by big corporate customers. SalesLogix, on the other hand, targets the middle-market user.

Strictly speaking, the products are more a net-enabled extension to SalesLogix' sales force automation products than pure e-commerce tools, as the expectation is that they will be used mainly by the sales rep, albeit over the internet, rather than by the end customer. The new products are designed to be marketed, at least in the first instance, into the company's user base for its eponymous sales force automation suite.

The configuration part of CommerceLogix is the result of the company's acquisition earlier this year of Enact Corp in order to integrate its Selector software into the suite, developing it and taking it a next generation, said Greg Head, vice president of international sales at the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company.

This is the second time that SalesLogix has extended its product portfolio through acquisition. Last year's purchase of Opis Corp enabled it to add Optis' support suite to its own SFA offering to fill it out as part of its move into the customer relationship management market.