The debut division sells specialized aftermarket wheels for classic cars.
“Targeting new markets is a key strategy in the company’s growth in the next few years,” says Rich Boone, CJ’s director of sales and marketing.
“We were impressed with how quickly this site started generating new business even though we have not been actively promoting it,” Boone reports.
E-commerce software firm Kalio, Inc. spearheaded the endeavor. Both the CJ Pony Parts and Shop Vintage Wheels sites share the same integration with back-end systems, including product catalog management, site administration, inventory, and in-house order fulfillment. Reusing the existing integrations significantly reduced development and testing time, cutting expenses and accelerating the launch schedule. Kalio provided the technology and was an active consultant and best practices advisor, according to Boone.
“This project proved that we can leverage existing assets, integrations, and Kalio tools to get a new branded site up and running in a very short time,” he says.
In addition to being the driving force behind the initial development, the Shop Vintage Wheels staff has full control over all everyday business functions including promotions, product catalog, graphic look and feel, online merchandising and other features.
Boone specifically praises the product data import/export tool, which quickly shifted its large product database onto the site with minimal effort using an Excel spreadsheet.
“This project shows we have succeeded in giving online retailers the independence they need to manage their sites as part of their everyday business,” says Kalio CEO Larry Kavanagh.
“Our on-demand software makes online retailers more self-sufficient, which is vital to their ability to engage customers and sell effectively. After all, it is their store and they should be able to make it do what they want rather than pay us to implement every change.”
For more information, visit www.shopvintagewheels.com, www.cjponyparts.com and www.kalioinc.com.
