AppDirect Makes Case for Blended Approach to Multiple Channels

AppDirect announced it has revamped its e-commerce platform as part of an effort to make it simpler for IT vendors to meld multiple channels.

Announced at the distributor’s Engage 2018 Digital Economy Summit, the latest version of the AppDirect e-commerce platform is being touted as a platform through which IT vendors can more rapidly add, bundle, price and distribute new products or services that are sold both through the channel and directly to end users.

IT vendors today require a modern multi-dimensional approach to the market because most end customers now employ a wide mix of channels to sell products and services, says Dan Saks, President and co-CEO of AppDirect.

“We want to enable any type of channel on the fly,” says Saks.

To enable IT, vendors, to achieve that goal the AppDirect e-commerce platform has added checkout services based on an application programming interface (API) through which IT vendors can create custom checkout experiences on and off the platform, which Saks says will enable vendors to more easily bundle third-party solutions. The platform also now features improved customer-facing invoicing options that allow for the addition of custom visuals and data objects.

AppDirect has also revamped its Store Front Builder software to make it simpler for IT vendors to customize the user experience they share with partners and end users alike.

Other new capabilities include shipping address handling, fulfillment services, shipping cost information, purchase history, physical device management, and device configuration during checkout. There is also a Report Builder that provides a self-service tool to analyze trends and transactions on the AppDirect Marketplace.

AppDirect is making a case for an approach to channel management spanning a combination of direct and indirect sales. A customer may have initially purchased a product from a channel partner, but that doesn’t mean they want to go through that partner to acquire every add-on service. The latest AppDirect platform is an acknowledgment that customers these days routinely make use of multiple channels, says Saks.

Naturally, not every channel partner may enthusiastically greet this omnichannel approach. But in the age of digital business transformation, Saks contends vendors need a more fluid approach to selling products and services that are already all but inevitable.