InformationWeek

October 20, 1997

Toshiba Debuts Extranet

The goal: better service to dealers

he photocopier and fax industry is the latest to use the Internet for business-to-business commerce. By the end of this month, nearly all of Toshiba America's 350 independent U.S. dealers will be ordering machines, parts, and supplies from a secure site on the World Wide Web.

Toshiba will officially launch the extranet site for its dealers, Internet FYI, on Oct. 28. In August, Toshiba began converting dealers to the Web from a four-year-old DOS-based ordering system running over GE Information Services' proprietary value-added network.

Moving to the Web will reduce Toshiba's annual online selling costs by more than 50%-from $1.3 million for the GEIS system to $600,000 for Internet FYI. But improving service to dealers was the company's primary motivation .

"In our business, gaining and retaining dealers is our most important success factor," says Lisa Richard, VP of business planning and operations at Toshiba America's electronic imaging division in Irvine, Calif. "We're thrilled that the Web saves money, but if it cost $1.3 million, we'd still do it." Toshiba adds that 85% of its dealers say Internet FYI is their preferred ordering method.

Web orders for parts and supplies placed by 5 p.m. are sent via guaranteed overnight delivery. Ordering information goes to Toshiba's warehouse in Memphis, Tenn.; products are transferred to Federal Express' nearby hub.

Toshiba's focus on the back end is critical to successful Internet commerce. "You can have a Web site that does all kinds of stuff, but the whole key is fulfillment," says Jim Balderston, an analyst at Zona Research in Redwood City, Calif. "You have to deliver the product quickly."

Toshiba gives each dealer a customized Netscape browser, local Internet access from MCI, and a discounted Toshiba note book computer, if necessary. The Internet FYI site uses transaction processing software from NovaQuest Information Systems in Torrance, Calif. Web site development services were provided by Internet Outfitters in Santa Monica, Calif. For financial processing, orders are stored in an Oracle database running on Sun Microsystems servers and sent in batch to Toshiba's legacy accounts-receivable application on an IBM AS/400.

Also, HuskyLabs Inc. in Shepherdstown, W.Va., began shipping the first 100% Pure Java extranet software package, called Chakra, this month. Initial versions are intended for information sharing by universities, law firms, and research organizations; a version for commerce is due shortly.

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