News

This article originally appeared in ComputerWorld 

Christchurch based EstarOnline, which provides ecommerce platform and solutions to Australasian customers, is planning to grow its headcount in New Zealand and Australia.

“We have been growing strongly over the years and we will be looking to continue that growth. We want to add to our headcount both in NZ and in Melbourne. Around 50 per cent of our revenue is international in nature, and most of that is from Australia. We are currently in a recruitment process and will look to add people there,” says Andy Brown, CEO of the firm.

“Ultimately we work on a SaaS model. Being able to provide services from anywhere means more of the globe is an aspiration for the company. However, I am not yet sure how that will work in terms of timelines. The key thing now is to get established and have a foothold in Australia, and then look to expand beyond that,” he adds.

The company recently released a new API suite after completing a Callaghan Innovation-funded R&D project. The API provides direct access to EstarOnline’s ecommerce engine and is intended to give retailers greater control over their own data, offering new ways to utilise product, customer, sales and delivery information.

“We wanted to give customers the capability to take advantage of all their data, and be able to use that in strategies to grow sales. Customers had a wealth of data sitting in websites and we wanted to give an interface to be able to pull that and use it in ways that could drive customer acquisitions and innovation. We wanted to provide a richer tool set to excel in the online space,” says Brown.

According to the company, the project took around nine months development time but retailers are already leveraging the API to integrate physical POS, ERP and CRM systems and obtain a single view of the customer.

According to Brown, the company continues to work on further additions to its ecommerce platform and these will be launched as and when they are seen to be ready.

“We want to give our customers a new interface to mange their system and richer tool sets to increase conversion and generate more sales, while reducing their cost to fulfil those. We are working on a refresh of the administrative interface of the platform to enable that.

“Another significant project that we are undertaking is a stand-alone logistics solution. This will be made available to the market around July next year as a service,” states Brown.

“We have good key brands and it is all about enabling our clients to excel in the online retail space, gain customers, increase sales reach and work on efficiency. It is about partnership and our clients as we move forward,” Brown concludes.

EstarOnline was established in 1998 and its clients include EziBuy, Country Road, Briscoe Group, TS14 Plus and Rodd and Gunn.