INTERSHOP Adds Customer Support and Shipping Features

INTERSHOP (Neuer Markt: ISH) is beefing up its online store software by adding email-based customer support from eGain Communications Corp., and product shipping technology from TanData Corporation.

The integration of eGain EMS and INTERSHOP 3 enables support agents to better manage customers’ relationships with the company, including customer history, registration, shipping, billing, order status, account balance, and other information, which can all be viewed on a single interface.

Customer Support agents can automatically insert data from e-commerce servers into the reply message and configure the system to automatically route messages according to the service level of the customer. It allows customers to access “self-help” information, such as order status, account balance, and user profile.

“Many enterprises have been successful at creating e-commerce Web sites and attracting online customers, but have been unprepared to effectively manage large volumes of customer interactions,” said Gunjan Sinha, president and co-founder of eGain. “We know that companies need the best customer service solutions available to effectively build profitable online customer relationships that give them sustainable advantages.”

Product Shipping Technology

In related news, TanData Corporation, an e-commerce fulfillment company, announced Wednesday the release of ProgisticsTM for INTERSHOP. The new product features shipping technology for online merchants using the INTERSHOP 3 e-commerce platform.

According to the company, Progistics is the first component-based shipping technology for e-commerce that provides accurate shipping information at the point of order entry. TanData explains that the new system is designed to “take the guesswork out of shipping charge calculation and service options at the front end of the online order process.”

“Last Christmas showed us that an e-commerce initiative is incomplete without a strategic plan for managing shipping,” said TanData president Peter Nicholls. “Our new relationship [with INTERSHOP] makes this technology available to their online businesses worldwide in the most efficient manner possible.”

According to Ed Callan, INTERSHOP’s vice president of marketing, “TanData’s solution adds value to our technology, putting the calculation of shipping costs and tracking of the order status at the fingertips of online customers.”