Press Releases
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OverCoffee Introduces Drop Shipping Services and Virtual Stores to Portfolio of Value-Added Product Offerings for Manufacturers
2007-08-01
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Cedar Rapids, IA (August 1, 2007) — Drop shipping has long been considered a challenge for many manufacturers as it was time consuming and tedious although retailers often requested the option. OverCoffee Productions has discovered a way to not only make the process more streamlined for manufacturers and its retail clients, but an easy and enjoyable process for its customers, too.
“Drop shipping through our virtual stores has made the whole concept easier for manufacturers to be able to introduce this option to their retailers,” says Ryp Walters, president of OverCoffee Products, the leading Web design and integration firm serving the gift, home accents and toy industries. “By offering this option to their retailers, manufacturers can help increase the selection of their products in the marketplace while still allowing the retailer the recognition it needs with their customer.”
The Virtual Store and Drop Shipping program allows a retailer an inexpensive selling channel since the retailer isn’t directly responsible for the virtual store, thereby alleviating the need to manage yet another Web site in addition to their daily responsibilities of managing and running their retail operations.
OverCoffee is able to offer this option to retailers who have Web sites with e-commerce capability through participating manufacturers. A retailer would be able to customize a virtual store within their Web site through a special version of OverCoffee’s standard templates. The program allows retailers to customize their site by choosing from various templates and uploading their logo.
However, the truly unique part of the program is that the products, inventory levels and merchandising are all controlled by the manufacturer but the consumer still works directly with the retailers’ Web site – making it a turnkey program for the retailers and allows them branding control, too.
“Manufacturers are able to provide a great experience to their retailers by allowing their customers more opportunities to purchase from them without the retailer having to carry all of the manufacturer’s inventory in their shops or warehouses,” says Walters.
Several manufacturers are already beginning to use this program. A manufacturer using the program can determine how retailers can qualify to participate. For example, a retailer must be an established customer with the manufacturer and have their store stocked with a minimum of $5,000 in inventory over the past 12 months and a good representation of product such as three products from each line. Based on their qualifying tier, a monthly fee and commission fee will be determined.
Another benefit to OverCoffee’s clients is that this program will work well with OverCoffee’s Personalization Engine whereby a customer can customize a product online through a retailer’s Web site. The customer can see the product as it is being created and approve the final design before it’s ordered. The manufacturer can then take the designed piece, produce it, and ship it directly to the customer.
“The whole experience is a win-win-win solution,” says Walters. “A manufacturer can provide a level of service to its retailers that it’s never had before, its retailers can offer a level of fulfillment to their customers that they’ve never had before, and their customers are happy to receive their orders as quickly as possible. We’re delighted to offer this program to manufacturers and retailers.”
Customers will be able to find the virtual store mainly in two ways: one is through a retailer’s Web site and the second is if she visits the manufacturer’s Web site and clicks on the “Find an Online Dealer” link. The special zip code-based retailer locator will only list retailers participating in this system and indicates that they are “certified” online dealers that can guarantee delivery.
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About OverCoffee Productions OverCoffee Productions is the leading Web design and integration firm to the gift, home accents and toy industries. Since 1994, OverCoffee has produced more than 600 Web sites for suppliers, independent sales representatives and retailers. With more than 13 years of Internet development experience, OverCoffee Productions already possesses an educational advantage it uses to assist the industry with implementing Internet strategies.
With the acquisition of the Buylink Marketplace in 2002, OverCoffee makes it easier for retailers to source products from thousands of vendors and manufacturer's representatives that would normally be difficult to locate. Buylink provides vendors and manufacturers’ reps the opportunity to sell products, transaction fee-free, to a huge population of retailers at a fraction of the cost of traditional means.
Team members have participated extensively in the industry through trade show participation, affiliation with industry associations and relationships with key industry consultants.
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OverCoffee Productions, L.C.
222 3rd Ave SE, Suite 8
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: 319-221-1424
Toll free: 1-888-220-1300
Fax: 319-363-8280
For any questions or comments contact
webmaster@overcoffee.com.
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