Re: [Web-erp-developers] StoreFront/Catalog and webERP

[skaill <sk...@ro...>]

Hi Meraj,

I took a good look around your entire website.  Couldn't find Vector SOHO in
software though.  Here are a couple of comments to make a good site better.

1) The front page forces the customer to select a store section.  It would
be better for the customer to come right into that main menu and to put all
the text info on the "front page" into the area underneath on that menu
page.  That would then become the "front page"/Home page.  It would come up
again when the customer clicked on Home instead of home putting them into
software ejecting them from the menu.

2) Clicking on store front actually puts you straight into software.  Should
there not be a store front introduction that appears in the area below the
menu when they choose store front?  After they get into the store then they
could select one of the section in the second store front menu.

3) I would suggest changing "Store Front" to "Store", "Catalog", "Shopping"
or "Products".  The term "Store Front" is mostly used on the inside
technically.  Users/customers may not like that term as much.  Possibly some
use it but I haven't seen or noticed.

4) When I look at the site in Mozilla I get all kinds of mysql warning
messages.

These are just some suggestions to make something good even better.  It's
all just from my opinion too but maybe it helps.

Was the site custom done by somebody or is it produced through a generator
store front type software?

Here is how I would do mesh the webERP customer accounts and orders.

1) You could use the facilities of webERP for customers logging in and
ordering to a certain extent.  What you will need in addition is to give the
customers a way to create an account with the necessary information.  As it
stands the administrator setup area in webERP is where this is done but you
done want customers to have full access to that area.  So, you could take
the code from the user setup in webERP and modify it so that customers can
create their accounts.  You would make it so they always get customer access
and nothing else plus you may want to add some info that you or the web
store need in addition to what webERP has.  Possibly credit card info or
something.  This is all assuming customers create their own accounts.  If
they call in and you set them up then disregard this part.  It does make it
much more difficult for customers if they have to so that though.  If you
want time to approve them then when they create their account you could set
them to blocked, inactive or whatever and then after you take a look at
their info then you unblock them at which time they can then shop.  In the
process of copying and changing the webERP user setup I would change it to
have the website style/appearance.

2) Copy the webERP login script and modify to have the style of the website.
This copied and modified page is what the customers will see but it will do
the same as the webERP login.  I would probably modify it to only accept
customers and no other users who would have more access.  That's just added
security to prevent the small chance of anybody hacking into your accounting
system.

3) Copy the webERP order entry script and modify to work appropriately for
customers and to have only the fields and functions necessary for them to
use.  webERP probably already does this but if not, you may need to modify
that copied script to only display and create orders for that customer.  You
don't want them seeing and changing other customer's information.

4) I think there is a customer account section/script too.  Copy and modify
this to appear like the website.

5) If you want to go even further then you should have an add to order
button with each product.  When they click it the code would add a new order
line to their order.  If it is the first one then possibly you tell them to
create an order first or create it automatically and get them to fill out
the particulars when they want to submit it.

I think that accomplishes everything you need and in the easiest way.

Keep in mind that as far as I understand you can use the webERP code for
your own site but you can't use that code if you are going to sell it.  In
other words you can't take the code, put it into your store front package
and then sell your store front package to others.  It can be used but not
redistributed.  Plus you should display a credit to webERP.  In a corner of
the modified webERP pages you could have something like "Powered by webERP
accounting software" and a link so they can click to get to the webERP site.
It would really help all of us if you could do that as well.  The more
people know, the better for all of us including yourself ;)

Also, if you want, it could be a big bonus to webERP if you offered the
copied and modified scripts.  We may be able to use it to build in a store
front in the future with credit to you of course ;)

I knew this message was going to take some time in order to respond
thoroughly and that's why it took me a while to respond.

Hopefully this all helps...

Steve

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Meraj Rasool Khattak" <mrk...@ya...>
To: <web...@li...>
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 12:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Web-erp-developers] StoreFront/Catalog and webERP


> Hi,
>
> Steve/Phill thanks for your comments and help. Sorry
> for not replying immediately as I was trying to make
> store flow the way I would like it to function. I hope
>  looking at store will help convey better than I could
> express in words.
>
> Please read on for my reply which is inline.
>
>
> --- skaill <sk...@ro...> wrote:
>
> > Phil can correct me if I get anything incorrect
> > here.  It kind of depends on
> > whether you need customer access for ordering or a
> > pretty web storefront for
> > advertising, selling, ordering and paying.
> >
>
> We need both :-) if we can get away with it.
>
> >
> > webERP,
> > to the best of my
> > knowledge, is not setup to be a storefront, it is an
> > accounting/business/ERP
> >
>
> Agreed ! we wish if we could add a storefront to
> webERP  which is easy to use and maintain for small
> businesses.
>
> >
> > system so the way the customer is going to see the
> > products is the same as
> > the users in the company see them internally.
> >
>
> Please see www.salaama.com, I would suggest you to
> check the Software store and in that store Vector SOHO
> 3.2 as it has more complete flow of our store as
> compare to other products in any store.
>
> If you click at "Your Account" on top or "Login Here"
> on the right or if you select any product by clicking
> on "Buy This", all point to webERP login. Where you
> can check it with the user id "testy" and password
> "pakbill" (it is a customer login only account). Here
> again you will find what was outside (before logging
> in). Here if you select any item by clicking on "Buy
> This" it should open the webERP ordering page (where a
> user adds product in webERP to order).
>
> We would like here "Buy This" to add products to the
> customer's order. Any help / tip / suggesstions about
> the best way to acheive this.
>
> >
> > What webERP does already give
> > you is a common database for storage of products and
> > orders.  It has
> > mechanisms to create and access orders.   It has
> > authentication.  Plus
> > creating the web orders directly in webERP means
> > they are ready to move
> > through all the various accounting without any
> > double work and interfacing
> > being necessary.
> >
>
> Yes! this is the functionality which attracted us to
> go for webERP though our size of operation can never
> dream of using any ERP system. Thanks Phill :-)
>
> >
> > If a nice storefront is needed then that is a
> > separate beast.  You would
> > need to either:
> >
> > 1) Enhance webERP to present a nice web store front,
> > display product and
> > organize this customer site in the ways that are
> > appealing.
>
> Yes! you are right on dot.
>
> >
> > 2) About the same mission as 1 but you take an
> > existing store front and
> > combine it with webERP.
> >
>
> What about this one. It is simple and template based
> design.
>
> >
> > However, I doubt there is any cost effective
> > solution out there that
> > provides both full accounting/erp system and fully
> > functional storefront so
> > whichever system you used you would need to do the
> > work explained above
> > anyway.  In my opinion you want to go with webERP
> > because it's technology
> > and design make it easier to combine a storefront
> > with it than other
> > systems.
> >
>
> Yes.
>
> >
> > Hopefully this helps.
> >
> > Steve
> >
>
> Your comments and guideance were most helpful. Hope
> you could spare some time once again.
>
> Thanking you,
>
> -Meraj Rasool Khattak
>
>
> =====
> http://www.naqoosh.com
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage!
> http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
> This SF.Net email is sponsored by BEA Weblogic Workshop
> FREE Java Enterprise J2EE developer tools!
> Get your free copy of BEA WebLogic Workshop 8.1 today.
> http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=5047&alloc_id=10808&op=click
> _______________________________________________
> Web-erp-developers mailing list
> Web...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/web-erp-developers