Informix Puts the Pedal to the Metal for JC Whitney
3 April 2000
Informix Puts the Pedal to the Metal for JC Whitney
MENLO PARK, Calif.--April 3, 2000--Informix i.Sell(TM) Supports Sales of 60,000 Products to Automobile
Enthusiasts, Driving One of the Top Auto E-Commerce Web Sites
Informix(R) Corp. , the technology leader in the software infrastructure for the i.Economy, today announced that JC Whitney, Inc., the largest direct marketer of auto parts and accessories, has seen enormous success with its Informix-driven, next-generation e-commerce Web site, www.jcwhitney.com, one of the automotive industry's top e-commerce sites.
Powered by Informix i.Sell(TM), a complete end-to-end, e-commerce solution, JC Whitney's new e-commerce Web site was deployed in November 1999, and now can cater to automobile enthusiasts shopping for parts and accessories, handling up to 80,000 hits per hour during peak usage periods.
The robust Informix system handles JC Whitney's broad line of over 60,000 products, each of which may come in several variations for different automobile models. i.Sell streamlines the online sales process by enabling easy navigation through the maze of possible auto accessories and parts.
"With more than 60,000 products available for millions of variations, across thousands of different vehicles, our online commerce and navigation requirements are incredibly complex and ideally suited to a full-featured e-commerce solution," said Rich Lange, manager of Internet Operations and Development for JC Whitney.
"We evaluated several Web-based commerce systems and concluded that Informix i.Sell provided the scalability and robustness we need to sell our broad product line to tens of thousands of users every hour. i.Sell is also based on advanced technologies, and its Java extensibility and compatibility ensures that the site will continue to meet our growing demands going forward."
i.Sell provides a robust and flexible infrastructure that enables contextual merchandising on the site. A shopper interested in parts and accessories for a Ford Mustang, for example, will be shown items for that specific automobile. This same flexibility opens sponsorship opportunities for JC Whitney vendors, who can feature their products at strategic locations throughout the Web site.
By maintaining peak performance on the JC Whitney site, even when dealing with high traffic volumes, i.Sell gives JC Whitney a competitive advantage, improving customer service and boosting sales by minimizing customer wait times. "Informix's scalability means that we can add processors and servers as needed and instantly benefit from the increase in performance," added Lange.
Informix Powers JC Whitney's E-Commerce Initiatives
The new e-commerce site continues JC Whitney's 85-year tradition of leading the industry with the latest distribution methods. It was one of the first companies to use a direct mail catalog to sell its automotive wares, and currently mails out about 40 million catalogs each year. JC Whitney launched the first generation of its corporate e-commerce Web site in 1997, based on a shared server environment.
This site proved definitively that car hobbyists are avid online shoppers, but the shared environment lacked the power JC Whitney needed to sell its full line of products over the Web.
Success with the initial Web site spurred JC Whitney to launch a second e-commerce Web site in August 1999, www.phatspeed.com. Targeted at young car enthusiasts, this site is powered by JC Whitney's own server hardware and Informix's i.Sell e-commerce solution and consulting services. (Editors' note: separate press release titled "JC Whitney Picks Informix i.Sell to Drive Sport Compact Car Site" issued July 20, 1999.)
In August 1999, JC Whitney and Informix began development of the next generation of www.jcwhitney.com. The i.Sell-powered site was launched just three months later, with Informix providing intensive consulting, programming support and project management services.
"The word partnership is often overused, but I would definitely characterize the relationship between JC Whitney and Informix as a close working partnership. Informix really understands our business issues," stated Lange. "Our relationship with Informix has definitely paid off -- we are more than meeting our ROI expectations for the first year of online sales operations."
Informix Delivers Next-Generation Capabilities
Now that Informix has provided a next-generation foundation for JC Whitney's e-commerce initiatives, Lange's group is looking forward to taking its Web-based business to the next level. By taking advantage of the personalization tools in i.Sell, JC Whitney can deliver personalized content and marketing messages to individual customers, tailored to their specific interests and needs.
This will require tracking the activities of thousands of visitors per day, but Lange is confident that the Informix solution will scale to handle the increased volume of information.
"The personalization tools in i.Sell are a perfect fit for our e-commerce strategy. We rely heavily on repeat business, and personalization will allow us to track customer interests, suggest appropriate products and deliver customized online content for each user," added Lange. "It's one more way Informix and i.Sell are allowing us to improve customer service and increase online sales."
About Informix i.Sell
Informix i.Sell is a complete end-to-end e-commerce solution that combines the most powerful database transaction engine, Informix Internet Foundation.2000(TM), with best-of-breed e-commerce applications, i.Informix enterprise consulting services, and global support.
i.Sell has added more business-critical personalization, security and global operations features to give a compelling shopping experience, scalable transacting to support a growing business, and the sophisticated analysis needed to help improve sales.
About JC Whitney
Established in 1915, JC Whitney & Co. is the largest direct marketer of name-brand automotive parts and accessories, providing "everything automotive" with more than 60,000 items covering more than 4.2 million automotive applications from the latest model year back to the 1920s.
JC Whitney offers products for virtually any vehicle -- automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, and more -- through its comprehensive family of general and vehicle-specific catalogs and on the World Wide Web at www.jcwhitney.com
About Informix
Based in Menlo Park, Informix Software is the technology leader in software infrastructure solutions for the Internet. Informix is the first and only company to integrate e-commerce and business intelligence on a true Internet infrastructure. Informix provides a complete, fast and simple way to bring businesses to the Web, personalize content management, and analyze information real-time.
This, with Informix's highly scalable Web engines and media asset management capabilities, gives Informix's customers a unique competitive advantage. For more information, contact the sales office nearest you or visit Informix's Web site at www.informix.com.
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The following are trademarks of Informix Corp. or its affiliates, one or more of which may be registered in the U.S. or other jurisdictions: Informix(R), i.Sell(TM)and Informix Internet Foundation.2000(TM).