Ignify eCommerce Version 6.30: What's new

1. INTRODUCTION

The information in this document describes the features that are either new or enhancements to previous releases. Self-service to the store manager has been the key driving factor for the majority of features in this release. Apart from that, there were several functional enhancements done to improve shopper experience. Another key focus area has been performance improvement in the platform across the board, including Dynamics ERP Integrations.
- 1.1 Symbols and Conventions
  Throughout the manual, the following conventions are consistently followed:
  
  • Significant points are bulleted. • Names of Features/Fields/Buttons are italicized.
2. COMMON FUNCTIONAL IMPROVEMENTS

We have continued our focus on eCommerce platform’s core modules for improving both the end customer’s and merchant’s experience in executing tasks with minimal efforts. Significant enhancements have been made in various modules of the Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel, such as the Customers and Catalog Management Modules offerings improving the Self Service experience for the store manager.

The Promotions Module has been strengthened via Social media integration with Twitter and Facebook. Features like Store Locator can help increase sales by directing shoppers to the nearest point of sale. Store locations have been made configurable via Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel. Similarly, Image Domain has also been made configurable where the store manager can improve webpage performance by specifying different domains while loading different images on Store Front. The logo on the Ignify eCommerce Store Front has also been made editable.

The shoppers’ experience has been enhanced via enhancements in the B2B Quick Order Entry Module and Sales Quote Edit Facility in the Store Front. Merchant-friendly Search Engine Optimization Page has been added to help Merchants focus their SEO initiatives with minimal efforts.
- 2.1 Enhancements in Customer Management Module
  
  Assigning Customer Number Manually to Customer Accounts
  
  One of the cardinal rules of eCommerce or direct marketing is that the more you know about your customers, the better you can sell to them. Many times, you may have the customer already existing in your database and the customer still performs a New Registration.
  
  The Release 6.3 offers the store manager an option to assign manual customer numbers to Customer Accounts. These account numbers can be the same account number that the customer has in the Dynamics ERP system, allowing the Manager an opportunity to link an existing customer to a new registration. The store manager can assign customer numbers while creating a new account or during registration approval, which helps prevent duplicate customer creation.
  
  Manual assignment of a customer number during New Account creation
  
  Editing the customer number for customers during Registration Approval
  
  Ordering from Customer’s Wish List and Purchase Order History
  
  In Ignify eCommerce Release 6.3, single-click Quote or Order creation facility has been provided from the Customer’s Wish List and the Purchase History tab inside the Customer profile. This permits the sales representative to create orders quickly in case a customer calls up and wishes to order from his wish list.
  
  Shopper’s Wish List on Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  The customer profile also displays the purchase history of the shopper for a CSR’s reference. Purchase history shows the items bought by the shopper in the past and allows their reordering or quote creation from purchase history.
  
  Shopper’s purchase history on Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Quick Order Lists
  
  The Quick Order Entry feature that was available I on the store front has now been made available in the Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel as well. Quick Order Entry lists contain SKU codes and item quantity lists that can be ordered via a single click. The lists can be created against a specific customer or can be globally shared across all customers.
  
  Quick Order Entry Lists created by customers themselves are also available on the store front for the customer, and similarly lists created by CSRs are available to customers for quick ordering purposes.
  
  Quick Order List option on the customer profile page of Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Quick Order List with Add to Order/Quote on Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Force Reset Password
  
  In order to make transactions more secure, Ignify eCommerce Release 6.3 provides an option for CSRs to force a customer to change his password. This is desired if the account is created by a CSR.
  
  The shopper is redirected to a change password screen when he tries logging into the store front, but he may choose not to change his login password. Even if the shopper does not change his password, he can browse the catalog, make a purchase, and complete the checkout process.
  
  A new field called “Force Password Change” has been introduced in the Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel, and the store manager can set it to Yes/No. This field right now is manually set but can be used during a mass import of customers – including customer integration.
  
  Force Password Change in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Force Password Change as visible on the store front
  
  Guest Customer Creation
  
  Ignify eCommerce Release 6.3 allows the store manager to place orders and sales quotes on behalf of “guest” customers. Guest customers can be created with lesser effort since there is no need to enter the security details that are otherwise mandatory for the creation of new customers.
  
  Guest Customer creation from Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
- 2.2 Social Media Integration in Promotions Module
  
  Social Media Integration with Twitter and Facebook
  
  Social media has made it possible for business of all sizes to reach an indefinitely expanding audience. With this release, Ignify eCommerce provides social media integration for Twitter and Facebook with the ability to automatically tweet/post promotions configured in Ignify eCommerce. This connection of your eCommerce store front with social media tools allows even a small shop to reach a growing customer base via its Facebook wall or Twitter feeds.
  
  Offers created by merchants can be posted on the Facebook wall or tweeted on their Twitter profile along with promotional advertisements, and the store manager can choose the landing page for social media visitors who visit the promotion. The landing page can be either a category/product landing URL or a promotion landing URL. The landing page URL is auto-generated for social media visitors, but the store manager can override it manually in case a landing page already exists.
  
  The store manager can also associate a relevant name, caption, description and upload a picture displaying promotional offers for the Facebook post. Visitors can click on the Facebook and Twitter post and go to the landing page directly to avail the promotional offer.
  
  ✔ The store manager needs to configure an account with Twitter and Facebook before he can use it to send promotional offers.
  
  Social media integration on Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
- 2.3 Improvements in Ignify eCommerce Catalog Module
  Ignify eCommerce Release 6.3 offers an improved Catalog Management Module that provides easier navigation and search facilities to the store manager. The new web-based Catalog Management System is cross-browser compatible and supports devices like iPad1 and iPad2.
  
  Improved Search in Product Listing Pages
  
  Product search in the Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel has been improved in the current release, with the store manager being provided more efficient ways for searching a product. There is an alphabetical index search for product codes in the product listing page. Clicking on a letter in the alphabetical index quickly retrieves all products starting with that particular letter. Apart from that, he can also filter products using various search conditions like product code, product name, template, attribute class, status etc.
  
  The store manager can also export the filtered products in a PDF format/spreadsheet/CSV/formatted Microsoft word document.
  
  Alphabetical index search- product listing page in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Product search using search conditions in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Product export from Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Improved User Interface for Product and Related SKU Display
  
  Catalog Module now provides a more user-friendly display of product and related SKUs. On selection of a product from the listing page, available SKUs are displayed in the sub grid with all relevant data like SKU code, name, product code, attribute class, tax category, weight, warehouse, stock status, etc.
  
  Both product and SKU can be edited by clicking on Product Code or SKU Code respectively on this page.
  
  Product and related SKU display in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Improved User Interface for Recommendation Management
  
  The release has also come up with an efficient way of managing recommendations. Featured Products, Most Popular, Manual Best Sellers and Customer Who Bought Products for a particular category along with their count are displayed on same page. This combined view allows the store manager to configure various recommendations for a specific category in a single location.
  
  Recommendations management on a single screen
- 2.4 SEO and Cart Conversion Tools
  
  Search Engine Optimization Page in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Release 6.3 has added a new Search Engine Optimization (SEO) page that explains all SEO features present in Ignify eCommerce and how a merchant can use them. This single page gives merchants a unified page for all SEO tools within Ignify eCommerce. The store manager can use them judiciously to maximize the reach of his store front content. These mechanisms include:
  
  ✔ Page Title, Meta Keywords, Meta Description, Short and Long Description for products and categories. The store Manager can control them by going to individual products and categories and mentioning the correct details in the details tab. ✔ Canonicals tags are out on box implementation incorporated in the Ignify eCommerce store front. ✔ Page URL is controlled by the URL rewrite module. The store manager can use vanity URLs or system generated ones. ✔ Virtual pages are HTML pages that the store manager can generate on his own. The store manager can control them by going to virtual pages and creating content pages. ✔ Sitemaps are generated automatically by the Ignify eCommerce store front. An XML sitemap helps search engines to see the complete structure of the store front and retrieve it more efficiently.
  
  This SEO page also provides the mechanism to view how various Ignify eCommerce store fronts look like when a shopper/guest customer views it or when various search engines crawl it.
  
  Search Engine Optimization page
  
  SEO-Friendly Tags
  
  SEO-friendly tags have been added to various Ignify eCommerce HTML templates. These tags display product review ratings in various search engines.
  
  The Store Manager can visit http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets and enter a web page URL to preview how it may appear in search results on Google. E.g. A product that has ‘customer reviews’ (http://ecom1.ignify.net/apple-iphone-3g-8gb-black-unlocked) displays on Google as shown below:
- 2.5 Improved Shopper Experience and Cart Conversion
  
  Enhancements in Quick Order List
  
  In the last release, the Quick Order List Module in Ignify eCommerce was completely rewritten, allowing shoppers to quickly create a list or copy it from Excel containing product SKU codes and quantities, transfer the list to an order, and complete the purchase. There was no need to navigate various catalog pages to locate products.
  
  In the current release, various features have been added in the module to enhance the shopper experience. An item lookup has been added where a shopper can search the item in the catalog master or within the order history. Automated promotions are now supported, and discounts on any SKU are displayed as soon as a shopper transfers his list to an order. Credit Card Wallet is also supported in the module, and it is possible to save a credit card during checkout via Quick Order Entry. The shopper can also use PayPal as a payment method while placing the order. The feature also supports quantity based pricing, which enables the price to change on the fly when a shopper changes the quantity to be purchased. Backorder validation is also added, and if the store manager has set the backorder check to ‘Yes’, the shopper cannot add backordered product in his item master.
  
  The feature offers an excellent shopper experience via its highly usable user interface. The shopper can maintain more than one list. He can also sort the various fields, control the number of lines that display per page, change the quantity, or delete/add a line even after the list is transferred to an order.
  
  Shopper creates a list or pastes it from Excel with the SKU code and quantity
  
  Shopper transfers the created list to an order and proceeds to checkout
  
  Item lookup to search within the catalog master or order history
  
  Automated discounts in Quick Order List
  
  Checkout with PayPal in Quick Order Entry
  
  Credit Card Wallet in Quick Order Entry
  
  Quick Order Lists are also available in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel as described earlier is this document. These lists contain product SKU codes and quantities, and can be created against a specific customer or shared lists across all customers. These lists allow single-click creation of new quotes/orders provided in the list.
  
  Editing Quotes from Store Front
  
  Ignify eCommerce has now extended Sales Quote Management by providing the facility for the shopper to edit his finalized quote before converting it to an order. The shopper can add/remove line items to the quote, and can edit quantity, shipping and billing address.
  
  Item lookup has been added where the shopper can search the item in the catalog master or within his order history while editing his quote. Later, he can convert the quote to an order when he wants to do so. This conversion requires only a click of ‘Convert Quote to Order’ and adding the payment information. The store manager or CSRs can also do this conversion on the customer request via Manager Panel.
  
  Note that the prices quoted by the CSR during quote preparations are honored during these edits, if a new item is added to the quote, then pricing as per store setup would apply.
  
  The validity period for sales quotation is visible to the shopper under My Account. The store manager or the CSR can control the validity period from Manager Panel. CSRs also have full control on quoted prices and can use system prices (from the ERP system of your choice or from the Ignify eCommerce Pricing Engine), apply a discount coupon, or manually override unit price and shipping charges to provide a competitive quote. The sales quotation is emailed to the shopper once it has been finalized by the CSR.
  
  Editing a quote from the store front
  
  Editing quote details from the store front
- 2.6 Improved Store Setup
  
  Configurable Store Logo
  
  The store logo that is visible to shoppers on the store front has been made editable from Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel. The logo editor can also be used to edit logos on the quote/order printouts. The store setup now offers a more user-friendly API. Various store parameters would be consolidated in this screen in future releases.
  
  Configurable Store Locations
  
  Store locations have now been made configurable from Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel. An online facility has been provided to find out longitude and latitude of the typed-in address. These locations show up as “Store Locator” powered by Google Maps in the Gadgets Online theme.
  
  Ignify eCommerce Store Locator is incredibly easy to use. It encourages the shoppers to find the stores in their vicinity and make a purchase at the physical retail store, saving on shipping costs and reducing chances of return. The shopper can find a nearest store to a particular location and find the direction using Google maps. The directions can also be printed for ease of use. The Store Manager can also add notes for a store, so that they are visible on the user interface.
  
  Configuring Store Locations on Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Store Locations displayed on Ignify eCommerce Store Front
  
  Image Domain
  
  The store manager can instruct the store front to load catalog images from different domain URLs for parallel download of catalog images on the browser.
  
  These URLs need to be configured by the store manager before they can be used for the store front.
3. ORDER ENTRY & MANAGEMENT

The Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel contains an Order Entry Module that provides a web-based order entry solution for call centers or CSRs who are supporting eCommerce operations. Ordering, fulfilment and payment processes are integrated with the Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions, offering a seamless experience to end customers as well as call center reps/CSRs - and leading to a higher level of customer service.

First launched in 2011 with Release 6.0.1, Order Management and Order Entry Module has been improved in Release 6.3 with the goal of providing a 360-degree view of the order to store managers/CSRs, helping them service and sell to the existing customer base.

ACH Payments and Credit Card Wallet are now available for CSRs in a PCI Compliant manner, allowing CSRs to use all customer details available on file. CSRs can now also accept eCheck transactions. The store manager can also Void any Transaction done through credit card to avoid unnecessary blocking of funds in a shopper’s account.

Features like Write in Product and Adding Inactive SKUs to an Order allow the preparing of quotations or orders with SKUs which are not yet present in the item master or are currently inactive. Once a real SKU is created, associated quotes or orders can be released for further downstream processing. Manual Shipment is also supported in this release, which is helpful for merchants who have simple fulfilment needs with tracking number recording and email notifications to the customer. Order Entry now supports line level shipping addresses and line level shipping methods using Multiple Shipment feature.

ACH Support in Order Entry Module

ACH payments can be submitted by the store manager using the Order Entry interface now. ACH payments are electronic checks that usually take between 3 to 5 days for clearance. The order can be processed after the ACH payment has cleared. ACH is a very popular payment method for B2B merchants since the credit card fee is not involved in eCheck transactions.

The store manager has to fill in the bank name, ABA routing number, account holder name, account number and account type when the customer tries to make payment through ACH, which are standard inputs needed to make payment by ACH. This information is saved in the database, however the sensitive information- account number and ABA routing number- is stored with only the last four digits. The information is needed to refund the payment made in any scenario.

ACH details are transmitted on a secure SSL network connection. Data storage is managed similar to card holder data where secure transmission is one of the requirements for compliance with PA DSS and PCI DSS standards.

Pay via ACH on Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel

Credit Card Wallet Support in Order Entry Module

The Release 6.3 provides Credit Card Wallet support in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel. The store manager can store credit card data within the Ignify eCommerce platform or choose Authorize.net CIM service for credit card storage- Authorize.net CIM service reduces the PCI Compliance cost for the merchant. He can add new cards to the CC wallet as well.

The feature is in compliance with PCI standards. Wallet Card data is transmitted over HTTPS from the shopper’s browsers to the web server. Ignify eCommerce application then stores card data in an encrypted format in the eCommerce Database. Customer service representatives can access this card data in masked format using Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel.

Store Manager adding a credit card in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel

Credit Card Wallet

Void Transaction Capability

Release 6.3 provides the store manager the capability to void any transaction previously authorized using Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel.

This permits store managers to unblock the funds in a shopper’s credit card as and when required. A situation may rise where the shopper is not able to use his credit card for any further transaction if it has reached the credit limit. The feature avoids blocking excess funds in a customer’s bank account. Re-Authorizations that are done on the order automatically void previous authorization before doing a fresh transaction.

Payment history showing a Void transaction

Store Manager can void a payment transaction

Write In Product

A new feature called Write In Product has been introduced that allows preparing quotes or orders for SKUs that are not yet present in the item master. These quotes or printed orders can be sent to a customer without waiting for a real SKU to be created, allowing your sales team to respond quicker to a customer request.

Once a real SKU is created, the write in SKU is converted to a real SKU – associated quotes or orders can then be released for further downstream processing. While these quotes are sent to customers via email, the quotes are not shown on the store front unless Write In Line is converted to a real line.

In case of multiple store fronts, the feature has to be enabled for a particular store before the store manager can use it.

Order with Actual SKU and Write in SKU

Write in SKU Form

Adding Inactive SKUs to an Order

The SKU lookup has been modified to allow ordering inactive SKUs if needed. By default if inactive SKU codes are entered in the line then the system would not allow such SKU, but if picked from Inactive SKU lookup, they are allowed. There are times when an SKU is inactivated due to adhoc reasons, and some customers still need to be serviced while the SKU is inactive. This feature allows CSRs to service such customers.

Inactive SKU entered manually shows N/A

Inactive SKU view in SKU lookup

Manual Shipment

Release 6.3 supports manual shipment of the order lines through Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel. The store manager selects the line items in an order to be shipped, and enters the ship to method and a tracking number. An email confirmation is sent to the shopper and the store manager can also edit this prefilled email template to include promotional offers etc. while shipping the order.

Manual shipment through Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel

Email notification for manual shipment

Multiple Shipment Orders

Holiday season sees customers place a single order while wanting to ship it to multiple friends and family members. Multi-shipment support helps avoid the frustration that can occur when a customer is shopping for multiple people at one time. Instead of forcing them to place multiple orders, they can now quickly and easily ship to multiple addresses with different shipping methods from a single order. This feature is likely to help increase sales during the holi day season when more and more people are doing their shopping online.

Multiple shipment support previously available in the Ignify eCommerce store front has now been extended to Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel as well. The store manager can place orders with line level ship to address and ship to methods. Order lines also allow adding new addresses at a line level. These addresses are defaulted from the header and can be edited while a line is being added. A shipping method can also be selected at the quote/order line level.

In all such cases, the shipments are prepared and shipping charges are calculated as per shipments. From Address (Warehouse), To Address and Shipping Method is used to determine what lines can be clubbed together into a single shipment. The same facility has been provided for Quotes. Such quotes when converted to an order copy the relevant shipment details as well.

Order with multiple line items with different ship to address and ship to methods

Single shipment with multi shipment support

Restrictions in Order Editing once Order is Submitted

The Ignify eCommerce Release 6.3 makes the orders read only after orders have been submitted and are getting shipped. Same applies to quotes that have been finalized and sent to the customer.
4. PRODUCT CATALOG
We have continued our focus on eCommerce platform’s core modules for improving the end customer’s experience in executing tasks with minimal effort. Two new store front skins are getting released with R 6.3
– “Light Basketball Theme” and “Tools Theme”.

Grouped Products as been extended to Gadgets Online theme and HTML templates have been added to showcase them.Another improvement is store front compatibility with various tablets like iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 7.
- 4.1 HTML Templates via Additional B2B and B2C Skins
  
  Basketball Light Theme
  
  A new B2C skin has been introduced (preview available at http://ecom3.ignify.net ) in the current release. This theme is a modified version of the earlier Super Basket Ball Theme. The skin is built for a basketball store retailer selling sport apparel and accessories. This skin has various HTML templates as described below to showcase your catalog to retail consumers. These HTML templates can be re-skinned for your store/brand and can be reused with minimal efforts. A few new HTML templates have been added – they are described below:
  
  Home 3 Category HTML Template – Home 3 contains an advertising banner that allows you to advertise multiple categories along with place holders for catchy advertisements, Coach’s Corner, Best Sellers, Most Popular, and News. Customer support using Live Chat and eCommerce News are also a part of this HMTL template.
  
  ✔ For reference, Home 3 is assigned to Basketball Light store (http://ecom3.ignify.net ).
  
  Home 3 HTML Template
  
  Category Home 1 Category HTML Template – This is a category landing page HTML template that displays the list of subcategories within a category, along with featured offerings within the category. The layout is simple but impressive, and contains the images and names of all subcategories. This HTML template also displays the Best Sellers, Most Popular, Featured Products, On Sale, New Arrivals – which can be managed from Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel.
  
  ✔ For reference, category home 1 HTML template is assigned to category listing in Basket Ball Light store (http://ecom3.ignify.net/apparel ).
  
  Category Home1 Category HTML Template
  
  Product Search Output 1 Category HTML Templates – Contain listing of products within a category or search results. The display is simple and uncluttered and available in grid or list view. You can show six, twelve or eighteen products per page and sort the results by brand, price, new arrivals, rating, dollar sold, unit sold, etc. The side bar allows narrowing down the search results on every click like a drill down. Product Search output 1 provides filter function with single selection in a narrow down fashion.
  
  ✔ For reference, Product search output1 is assigned to product listing in Basketball Light store. You can preview it at http://ecom3.ignify.net/apparel/athletic-gear.
  
  Search Output 4 HTML Template for Gadgets Online store
  
  Apparel 1 Product HTML Template - This product HTML template is designed for merchants selling apparel or similar products. The color, size and material attributes have values in drop downs. This HTML template can be assigned to any apparel with ‘Size’, ‘Color’ and ‘Material’ attributes. The HTML template also showcases various cross selling features like Related Products, Customer who bought this product also bought, Recently Viewed, Customers who bought the items in your recently viewed also bought, and Customer Reviews. The shopper can also save the product in his favorites or share it with a friend/ Twitter/Facebook/Google Plus, etc. The product information is shown in tabs. The ‘Show all’ tab displays all the SKUs of the product.
  
  Apparel 1 Product HTML Template
  
  Apparel 2 Product HTML Template- Apparel and fashion products sell via product imagery- product images influence the buying decision of the shopper. Apparel 2 is a product detail HTML template that provides a bigger section for image display. The SKU and product pictures are displayed vertically supported via a vertical carousel, allowing larger image libraries to be uploaded. The ‘Swatches’ feature has been utilized to offer a shopper-friendly mechanism for selecting the correct size and color before adding the items to the cart. This template has an additional functionality of adding video of a product- videos communicate more than pictures. This HTML template also displays accessories that the shopper may choose to purchase with the product, which is a common requirement in the Apparel industry.
  
  ✔ For reference, Apparel 2 size and color is assigned to various products in Basket Ball Light store http://ecom3.ignify.net/apparel/jerseys/all-about-jerseys-team-player-jersey.
  
  Apparel 2 Product HTML Template
  
  General Sporting Equipment 1 Product HTML Template - This template showcases sporting equipment merchandise to the shoppers on the website. The template displays product description and its features, which shoppers use heavily while purchasing products in this particular category.
  
  ✔ For reference, General Sporting and Equipment1 HTML template is assigned to various products in the Basket Ball Light store http://ecom3.ignify.net/accessories/gym-accessories/performance-first-basketball-net
  
  General Sporting Equipment 1 Product HTML Template
  
  Tools Store – A B2B Theme
  
  The Tools Store theme (preview available at http://ecom4.ignify.net) has been introduced in the current release. The highlights of the theme are:
  
  ✔ The B2B skin does not allow shopper to see the catalog without first logging into the store front. ✔ There is also capability to display the posted blogs on the website. ✔ Shop by brand is another focused area in the website offering drill down by brand. ✔ Quick Order Entry module is offered as Quick Order Entry Pad, where the shopper can punch in an item code and quantity to add them to an order. The Quick Order Entry Pad is shown on all catalog templates for ease of use and offers a single click to start the checkout process. ✔ Shopper’s account is accessible from the horizontal menu and easily accessible throughout the website.
  
  Various HTML templates used in the theme are mentioned below. These HTML templates can be re-skinned for your store/brand and can be reused with minimal efforts:
  
  Home 8 Category HTML Template: Contains horizontal category navigation with navigation path to customer service centers and stores. End customers can search for their orders, quotes, invoices, etc. on the home page itself.
  
  The HTML template also has the quick order pad where shoppers on the store front can simply add items to their shopping cart by entering item numbers and quantity. The template also has top sellers and uploaded videos displayed on the home page.
  
  Home 8 Category HTML Template
  
  Product Search Output 6 HTML Template: This HTML template contains a list of products within a category. The shopper can narrow down his search results/recommendations using the product filter, and can compare various tools before finalizing his selection. Quick Order Entry pad is available on this template as well. The HTML template also shows the product brand next to it.
  
  Product Search Output 6 HTML Template
  
  Tools 1 HTML Template: The HTML template has out-of-box capabilities for downloading attachments or specifications attached to the product. The shopper is shown reviews as well as related products configured by the store manager.
  
  Tools 1 HTML Template
  
  Grouped Products on Gadgets Online Theme
  
  In previous releases, grouped products were made available on the Global Apparel theme. The current release extends it to Gadgets Online theme as well with new examples on electronic merchandize. New HTML templates have been added that can be easily customized or used as based on merchant requirements.
  
  Grouped products allow a store manager to easily organize items in their store so that they are offered as a ‘group’ for shoppers to easily create a combination. Options chosen by shoppers are saved in the order and integrated when the order is sent to Dynamics ERP for fulfilment. HTML templates made available in Release 6.3 are:
  
  Computer Configurable Group HTML Template – Computer Configurable Group HTML template helps the shopper configure his own laptop. He can choose options from different groups like operating system, processor, memory and hard disk. He may choose not to buy ‘Popular add-ons’, which is nothing but ‘Accessories’ in Ignify eCommerce. A summary of price details and total price is updated instantly as soon as the shopper changes any selection. The HTML template has a fresh look and feel with a highly usable user interface.
  
  Computer Configurable Group HTML Template
  
  Mobile Plan Configurable Group HTML Template – This is another out-of-box HTML template for grouped products for the Gadgets Online theme. The template helps the shopper build his own cell phone plan.
  
  This HTML template differs from Computer Configurable Group HTML Template as there is a rule engine associated with it to display certain products based on previous selection. Based on the network provider chosen by the shopper, the phone options and rate plans available to him also change.
  
  The shopper chooses options from different groups like network providers, rate plans, and phone options. ‘Popular add-ons’ are offered as an optional cross selling tool. A summary of price details and total price is updated instantly as soon as shopper changes any selection. E.g.
  
  ✔ Shopper chooses “AT&T” plan, he gets “Samsung Galaxy S II” and “HTC Vivid 4G” as phone options and “FAV 5 -300 Minutes” and “FAV 5- 600” minutes as rate plans. ✔ Shopper chooses “Verizon Activation”, he gets “ Dell Streak 7 tablet” and “ T mobile Samsung Galaxy S II 4G” as phone options “FAV 5- 600 Minutes” and “FAV 5-800 minutes” as rate plans.
  
  The store manager can configure grouped products and SKU relationships. The HTML designer controls the display of appropriate SKUs based on the selected products.
  
  Mobile Plan Configurable Group HTML Template
  
  Serenity Mobile Catalog
  
  The Serenity theme that was offered for computer browsers in previous releases has now been themed for mobile catalogs as well. The layout is kept simple and touch-friendly to ensure ease of use. Special attention has been paid to performance to ensure that bandwidth and performance constraints on a mobile device do not come in the way of a great shopper experience.
  
  Category Home 1Product Search Output 1
  
  Cosmetic1Filters in Product Search Output1
5. MARKETING & PROMOTIONS MODULE

In the Promotions Module, a few existing features have been strengthened to attract the shopper and help merchants increase cart conversion. The user interface for displaying Bundled Promotions has been improved to follow a Groupon-like style. The Ignify eCommerce store manager can use bundled promotions creatively to promote launches and/or clear excess inventory.
- 5.1 Bundled Promotions
  
  Ignify eCommerce provides a store manager with the ability to set up promotions that allow chosen SKUs to be offered free or at discounted rates with the purchase of one or more items. For example: An offer like “Buy Lipstick, Get Lip Cream Free”. There are configurable rules to define what has to be bought and what has to be offered free, as well as quantity rules.
  
  Ignify eCommerce Release 6.3 offers a Groupon-like look for displaying bundled promotions on the store front. The display is eye-catching and tells the shopper that the deal is available for a limited period, which encourages him to purchase immediately. The shopper also has the flexibility to not buy the deal if he doesn’t want it.
  
  Bundled promotion on Ignify eCommerce Serenity Store
  
  Shopper has the flexibility to buy with or without the deal
  
  Bundled promotion display on shopping cart
- 5.2 Store Specific Newsletter Subscriptions
  
  It is important to inform your shoppers about new promotions and discounts on your store front. Newsletters help the business to maintain contact with its shoppers. The Ignify eCommerce Newsletter functionality now allows the store manager to filter the shopper’s email address based on the store name they have subscribed from. He can export these email addresses to an Excel or CSV file for sending emails.
  
  Path for News Letter Subscription on Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel – Store Specific News Letter Subscription
- 5.3 Content Blocks and Groups
  
  Ignify eCommerce Content Block functionality has been changed and given a merchant-friendly look. The store manager can specify the content id, which is non-editable and is a unique identifier for different content blocks. The content block contains rich HTML text. The store manager can also hyperlink a content block to a category/product or promotion landing page on the store front. Content blocks for advertising promotions with a corresponding hyperlink are made extremely simple now.
  
  ✔ Hyperlinking to a Category/Product or Promotion would override any existing HTML links in the content block.
  
  Creating a content block on Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel
  
  Another enhancement is the creation of content groups, which is a group of content blocks. The store manager can create store-specific content groups and associate various content blocks to them. The group content blocks can be rendered together and used in various jQuery advertising widgets, such as banner rotator.
  
  E.g. Serenity Home 3 content group contains content blocks like serenity_homebanner1, serenity_homebanner2, serenity_homebanner3 etc., and these content blocks display as banners on Serenity Store Home page.
  
  Creating a static content group
  
  Associating content blocks to a content group
6. INTEGRATIONS

With Release 6.3, Ignify eCommerce is offered as a Dynamics CRM module. This allows Ignify eCommerce to be accessed from within Microsoft Dynamics CRM without a second login.

Release 6.3 also includes support for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 and Catalog Integrations in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009. Significant changes have been made to improve integration performance wherein the store manager can run various ERP to eCommerce integrations in very frequent batches without any impact on store or manager performance.

Ignify eCommerce with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 has been CfMD certified in Release 6.3.
- 6.1 Ignify eCommerce as a Dynamics CRM Module
  
  With Release 6.3.0, Ignify eCommerce is offered as a Dynamics CRM Add On Module for CSRs. Merchants already using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution can now add the Ignify eCommerce Module within their Dynamics CRM instance. This allows merchants to leverage the existing call center/CSR team to service eCommerce customers as well.
  
  A unified environment for customer-facing systems (Dynamics CRM and Ignify eCommerce) offers synergies across the entire sales and services efforts made by merchants.
  
  Ignify eCommerce within Dynamics CRM Sales Module
  
  Ignify eCommerce features available via Dynamics CRM Sales Module include:
  
  1. Real time account integration to Ignify eCommerce whenever a new quote or order is requested. This creates a customer in the Ignify eCommerce store front with access to a self-service portal. 2. Single sign on for CSRs already using Dynamics CRM. 3. Quotes and orders are saved in Ignify eCommerce as well as Dynamics CRM in real time. Dynamics CRM reporting (and any other read only operation) can be used on these quotes and orders. 4. Quotes and orders can use Dynamics ERP Price Engine and Ignify eCommerce Tax and Promotions Engine – enabling a unified system for end customers.
  
  The Dynamics CRM Account “List” Ribbon has been enhanced as shown below:
  
  1. Create a New Quote or Order using Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel for the selected Account. 2. Create Quick Order Lists for a selected account using Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel. Quick Order Lists are item codes quantities uploaded from an Excel to the system. 3. The Configure Menu allows all Ignify eCommerce Account Related Configurations to be done. 4. Reward Menu allows the Ignify eCommerce Reward Program to be configured. 5. Pricing Menu allows Ignify eCommerce pricing to be configured.
  
  The Dynamics CRM Account “Detail” Ribbon has been enhanced as shown below:
  
  1. Create a New Quote or Order using Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel for the selected Account. 2. View the Account/Customer’s detail in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel.
  
  Dynamics CRM Quotes/Orders “List” Ribbon has been enhanced as shown below:
  
  1. Create a New Quote or Order using Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel whenever you click on “New” button within Dynamics CRM. 2. Edit Menu in Dynamics CRM would launch Ignify eCommerce Quote for editing purposes. 3. Same features are available within Dynamics CRM Order List Ribbon as well.
  
  Dynamics CRM Quotes/Orders “Detail” Ribbon has been enhanced as shown below:
  
  1. One click Edit Access for Quotes/Orders created from Ignify eCommerce.
  
  Sales Module Area has been enhanced to offer an integrated view to Ignify eCommerce Sales and Catalog Modules.
  
  1. Unified view for various Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel Pages. All functionality (such as search, filter) is available from within Dynamics CRM.
  
  Ignify eCommerce within Dynamics CRM Marketing Module
  
  Dynamics CRM Campaign “List” Ribbon has been enhanced as shown below:
  
  1. Active Campaign integration with Ignify eCommerce is offered via Campaign Ribbon. 2. Abandoned Cart and associated email campaigns are offered via Campaign Ribbon. 3. These modules can also be configured from within Dynamics CRM.
  
  Dynamics CRM Product “List” Ribbon has been enhanced as shown below:
  
  Various Ignify eCommerce Catalog Operations can be performed from within Dynamics CRM.
  
  Marketing Module Area has been enhanced to offer an integrated view to Ignify eCommerce Catalog, Promotions and CMS Modules.
  
  Ignify eCommerce within Dynamics CRM Services Module
  
  Services Module Area has been enhanced to offer an integrated view to Ignify eCommerce Return Management and Services Module. This offers the merchant’s customer service folks to address RMA related requests from within the Dynamics CRM Service Management Module.
  
  Ignify eCommerce Settings within Dynamics CRM Settings
  
  Various setups required for Ignify eCommerce store front and manager applications are made available within the Dynamics CRM Settings Area. These are fully functional pages embedded within Dynamics CRM to offer a unified experience for the store manager who can operate out of Dynamics CRM.
- 6.2 Ignify eCommerce with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CFMD)
  
  Ignify eCommerce with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is now Certified for Microsoft Dynamics. Certified for Microsoft Dynamics ("CfMD") is a solution certification achieved by Microsoft Dynamics partners whose software solutions have met Microsoft Corporation’s highest standard for partner developed solutions to deliver comprehensive business management systems.
  
  Ignify eCommerce integration with Microsoft Dynamics complements the Microsoft Dynamics core products to fulfil eCommerce-specific needs of customers with trusted, lower-risk solutions for faster implementation and simpler maintenance.
  
  By achieving the Certified for Microsoft Dynamic accreditation, Certified solutions are:
  
  1. Designed to meet customers' unique business and industry needs. 2. Tested and seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Dynamics products. 3. Used and recommended by other companies.
- 6.3 Support for Various Microsoft Dynamics Integrations
  
  Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Integrations with Ignify eCommerce
  
  Ignify eCommerce provides a bi-directional fully integrated interface to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for eCommerce transactions. The eCommerce integration to Microsoft Axapta 2012 is implemented through Dynamics AX business connector and XML transactions.
  
  It enables zero touch fulfilment with Ignify eCommerce and Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. From the point of a customer placing an order on the website to the warehouse picking, packing and shipment, no manual intervention is needed. Automated integrations can be configured at pre-set frequencies. For example, Ignify eCommerce and Dynamics AX 2012 price integration may run twice a day while Ignify eCommerce and Dynamics AX 2012 sales order integration may run every 20 minutes.
  
  Ignify eCommerce supports integration with the following versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX:
  
  • eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. • eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. • eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0
  
  Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Integrations with Ignify eCommerce
  
  Ignify eCommerce provides a bi-directional fully integrated interface to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 for eCommerce transactions. The eCommerce integration to Microsoft Great Plains is implemented through the Dynamics GP eConnect interface and developer tool kit.
  
  It enables zero touch fulfilment with Ignify eCommerce and Dynamics GP 2010. From the point of a customer placing an order on the website to the warehouse picking, packing and shipment, no manual intervention is needed. The integration provides an automated integration between Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 and Ignify eCommerce by using a web service layer between the two applications. Automated jobs are setup that can run at different timed intervals. For example, Ignify eCommerce and Dynamics GP 2010 price integrations may run twice a day while the Ignify eCommerce and Dynamics GP 2010 sales order integration may run every 20 minutes.
  
  Ignify eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics GP now supports integration with the following versions of Microsoft Dynamics GP:
  
  • eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 • eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics GP version 10.0 • eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics GP version 9.0
  
  Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Integrations with Ignify eCommerce
  
  The Ignify eCommerce integration to Dynamics Navision 5.0 is implemented through the Dynamics NAV web services interface. This is powered by a third party product NET conductor for Dynamics Navision since Dynamics NAV 5.0 doesn’t offer web services out-of-the-box.
  
  The integration provides an automated integration between Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Ignify eCommerce by using a web service layer between the two applications. Automated jobs are setup that can run at different timed intervals. Ignify eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics NAV supports integration with the following versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV:
  
  • Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 (doesn’t require NET Conductor since Microsoft offers Web Services for Dynamics NAV 2009. • Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 • Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0
- 6.4 Catalog Integrations with Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009
  
  Release 6.3 makes it possible to fully integrate the ERP Item Master with Ignify eCommerce Catalog Product and SKU Masters. A mapping manager is provided for mapping all the fields of the ERP Item Master to relevant fields in Ignify eCommerce product and SKU, along with images. There are business rules to determine how product and SKUs would be created on Ignify eCommerce, as well as which template would be applied to each product to decide how the product would appear on the front store.
  
  It is also possible to bring these products as “Inactive” so they do not show up on the front store. Additional details such as HTML description can be added by a store manager before making these products active and available on the front store.
  
  This feature makes catalog management easier by synchronizing item masters between the ERP and Ignify eCommerce. This functionality was already provided for Microsoft Dynamics GP and AX and is now extended to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009.
- 6.5 Integration Pagination and Optimization
  
  Ignify eCommerce Release 6.3 optimizes various ERP to eCommerce integrations (Customer 2, Address 2, Sales order 2, Inventory Catalog, Price, Invoice, Catalog Integrations, Customer Age Wise Balance and Sales Order Fulfilment) in terms of performance. A pagination option has been provided where the store manager can specify the batch size to be queried, and based on the size the integrations run in batches. There is a default count specified in scheduled integrations and the store manager can override it manually as per his business need. This optimization makes the integration engine work on a smaller set of records (based on batch size) that are faster to select and process, leading to a performance gain in terms of total time taken by various ERP to eCommerce integrations to complete.
  
  The pagination option is right now available for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, GP10 and AX 2009. This will be extended to other ERPs in the future. Ignify eCommerce to ERP integrations would also be modified in the future to follow a batch pattern instead of running a single integration for all outstanding queue records.
  
  Pagination option in Ignify eCommerce integrations

Ignify is now part of Hitachi Solutions. More information here.

Ignify eCommerce Version 6.30

Assigning Customer Number Manually to Customer Accounts

Ordering from Customer’s Wish List and Purchase Order History

Quick Order Lists

Force Reset Password

Guest Customer Creation

Social Media Integration with Twitter and Facebook

Improved Search in Product Listing Pages

Improved User Interface for Product and Related SKU Display

Improved User Interface for Recommendation Management

Search Engine Optimization Page in Ignify eCommerce Manager Panel

SEO-Friendly Tags

Enhancements in Quick Order List

Editing Quotes from Store Front

Configurable Store Logo

Configurable Store Locations

Image Domain

ACH Support in Order Entry Module

Credit Card Wallet Support in Order Entry Module

Void Transaction Capability

Write In Product

Adding Inactive SKUs to an Order

Manual Shipment

Multiple Shipment Orders

Restrictions in Order Editing once Order is Submitted

Basketball Light Theme

Tools Store – A B2B Theme

Grouped Products on Gadgets Online Theme

Serenity Mobile Catalog

Ignify eCommerce within Dynamics CRM Sales Module

Ignify eCommerce within Dynamics CRM Marketing Module

Ignify eCommerce within Dynamics CRM Services Module

Ignify eCommerce Settings within Dynamics CRM Settings

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Integrations with Ignify eCommerce

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Integrations with Ignify eCommerce

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 Integrations with Ignify eCommerce