NetSuite (News - Alert) a vendor of on-demand, integrated business software suites that include ERP and CRM, has announced the introduction of two new vertical editions -- NetSuite Ecommerce Company Edition and NetSuite Ecommerce+ Company Edition.

NetSuite has also added new Web Store functionality including PayPal Express Checkout integration and "Tell a Friend," "Log in for Price," enhanced eBay (News - Alert) integration and Fraud Protection tools.

According to a Forrester research report issued in January 2008, e-commerce has an exponential growth opportunity, projecting that the industry will add $30 billion per year for the next 5 years. The report also finds that the compounded annual growth rate for traditional retail is projected at 2.6 percent through 2012 while in comparison, CAGR for e-commerce is 14 percent, due to the fact that online retail is less sensitive to economic shocks.

However, "limitations in traditional software have forced many companies to build their own custom Web Store capabilities," NetSuite officials say, adding that many products created specifically to build e-commerce Web sites "result in isolated, bolt-on systems that are difficult and costly to integrate into core business processes such as accounting, fulfillment, inventory management, shipping and marketing promotions."

The NetSuite Ecommerce Company Edition is billed as being useful for e-tailers "looking to grow beyond selling via stand-alone shopping cart products, eBay stores and Yahoo! stores." And the NetSuite Ecommerce+ Company Edition is made for e-tailers with "substantial inventories of a large number of products spread across multiple warehouses."

Late last month SPS Commerce, a vendor of Software as a Service EDI products, announced a new industry-specific application for manufacturers who need supply chain management visibility. Built using the NetSuite Business Operating System, this Supply Chain add-on for NetSuite uses SPS Commerce's multi-tenant trading partner network to build an app targeting companies in need of EDI services.

It "allows for end-to-end visibility and automation in one system when working with trading partners," according to the SPSers.

The new product uses the NS-BOS platform, including the SaaS (News - Alert) infrastructure, SuiteFlex, and the core NetSuite application. End-to-end visibility within the supply chain is particularly important for manufacturers, who tend not to like delayed shipments from trading partners, late orders for customers or costly production flow management.

The combined SPS and NetSuite product provides a B2B business exchange with EDI capabilities layered on top of the CRM, Accounting / ERP and E-commerce core of NetSuite.

Earlier this year B2BGateway, a product of Shannon Systems, and an integration product partner of NetSuite Inc. since 2001, announced the release of the B2BGateway client portal.

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David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

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