Eagan, MN - As the rapid pace set by the computer industry takes hold in more aspects of business, keeping up has become a matter of utmost importance. Seeing this as the case, Capitol Sales Company, a hybrid distributor of emerging technologies, was the first such company in the electronics industry to offer extensive online ordering capabilities way back in 1997. Seeing how those offerings expedited the ordering process for their customers, the company has continued to upgrade its website regularly, with a very recent major upgrade to a Microsoft.NET platform for e-commerce.
"Not long ago, a personal computer could barely balance a checkbook, but today if your power goes off you can't operate," observed Curt Hayes, president and CFO of Capitol Sales. "That's the speed at which we're currently living. People need to receive information quickly and accurately, so my philosophy has always been that only the fastest and most accurate technology is going to work."
Seeing how installers frequently complete orders late in the evening when they've returned from the job site, Capitol Sales ships online orders within a few hours of receiving them. "Integrators and installers can enter their order and they can be assured that we're going to fill the order that day, or the next day if the order is placed after 6:00 p.m. CST. That's the speed at which our customers need to operate in order to serve their customers." Capitol Sales provides free UPS shipping for online orders delivered to customer business addresses.
With the upgrade to the Capitol Sales website, customers now have faster access to information including the ability to search by vendor name, product model, keyword or product category. A recent improvement also allows dealers to find products by retail price or dealer price. Optional accessories for key items are more easily found with the new software technology, such as compatible telephones for telephone systems.
The new e-commerce platform assists Capitol Sales in their internal operations as well. "In the past, to add a vendor we had to contact our web designer, and it took two or three days to make the change, but now we can do it in two minutes," noted Cheryl Johnson, vice president of merchandising and marketing for Capitol Sales.
