NCSU-IES Opens Online Store
North Carolina State University (Industrial Extension Service) awarded a contract to Beacon Technologies in late 2002 for its Integrated eCommerce Solution in response to an RFP to effectively promote and sell IES products online. The site, www.ncsu-engineering-resources.com was launched in April of 2003 and is entering into its peak season as students return to school.
The North Carolina State University Industrial Extension Service (IES) was established in 1955 to help industries grow and prosper. During the fiscal year 2000-2001, it provided services to over 38,000 people and firms, conducted industrial education programs for more than 10,000 industry managers, engineers, and key staff, and provided help on more than 10,000 technical assistance projects. Based on client responses, IES services led to a direct annual gain of $209.5 million for North Carolina industries alone.
IES sought out vendors to provide an e-commerce web site to effectively allow sales for books, video classes, class notes and other educational and productivity materials. With a relatively small budget, IES needed a vendor that could provide the high-end eCommerce software and services to establish a firm and dependable foundation for its Internet business.
As a result of the bid process, Beacon won the contract due to technical experience, creative pricing, and demonstrated ability to deliver strong eCommerce software, trusted and dependable hosting services, ongoing maintenance, and proven search engine marketing capabilities. “Essentially, NCSU needed our Integrated eCommerce Package with a performance-based pricing model” says Mark Dirks, Beacon’s President. “There were specific features that required customization to our base eCommerce software, but our engineers have really made the software flexible. So this wasn’t an issue.”
Beacon integrated its base e-commerce software with new features that are only accessible through a secure NCSU-IES administrative site. The administrative access allows the IES sales team to easily maintain product categories and product details, while also meeting special business needs regarding fulfillment and settlement. “Like most of our eCommerce customers, IES experienced good sales through its brick-and-mortar store model. They just needed a company to help them jumpstart the eBusiness side”. Beacon has performed IT services for many projects in Higher Education (Texas Southern University, Duke University, UNC-Greensboro, and the U.S. Department of Education) and eCommerce (ExclusivelyWeddings.com, FlowersIncBalloons.com, KaplanCo.com, GetAwayAgent.com, ChairsByMacThrift.com). “It was great to combine our experience from both verticals in a single project,” says Dirks.
As a result, NCSU’s Industrial Extension Service now operates an easy to navigate, fully functional e-commerce web site. Dan Lucas, NCSU-IES Business Development Specialist, stated "Of the 40+ companies that answered our original RFP, Beacon Technologies was the only group to fully understand what IES needed and wanted." Consequently, a strong partnership has been established whereby NCSU-IES provides the business expertise and products, while Beacon provides the technical expertise…a case that truly demonstrates effective outsourcing of IT services.
About Beacon Technologies
Beacon Technologies excels in providing internet search engine marketing services, primarily through search engine optimization (organic placement) and paid placement strategies. The company provides varying levels of services to companies of all sizes and verticals nationwide. Beacon also delivers high end web graphic design, web software development, content management solutions and dependable hosting services.
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