The Merchant VPN is designed to provide retailers with a low cost method of communicating with their stores over the Internet. The network can also be used to communicate purchasing and sales data to their suppliers.  If the retailer or their suppliers have a web site, it can be linked to the Merchant VPN server to locate products or place orders.  In addition, because the network is secure and always connected, retailers can use it for credit/debit authorization and eliminate the time required for dial up connections.

 

Retailer Benefits

·         Send purchase orders automatically to supplier

·         Receive shipping confirmation supplier

·         Product information can be downloaded from the supplier

·         Any store can see the on hand quantity at any other location

·         Gift certificates and credit notes can be validated in real time

·         Customer’s purchase history is always available

·         Retail web store can have product locator

·         Retail web store can accept customers orders

·         Credit/debit authorization without dial up delays  

 

  Supplier Benefits

·         Receive purchase orders from retailers

·         Send shipping confirmation to retailers

·         Get daily flash reports from retailers

·         Suppliers web site can have product locator

·         Suppliers web site can accept customers orders

   

 

Internet Benefits

·         No long distance telephone charges

·         No special hardware (routers etc.) needed at head office

·         Virtually unlimited number of stores can poll

·         Software updates can be downloaded from the web server

·         Support can be handled by PC anywhere over the internet

·         First line support receives an e-mail if problems are detected at a remote store

Retailer1

A single store retailer with dialup communications to the internet

Retailer 2

A multi-store retailer with only its head office having a dialup connection to the internet.

Retailer 2 Stores

Stand alone stores for retailer 2 that use a dial up connection to poll their head office.

Retailer 3

A multi-store retailer with its head office and all of its stores having a dial up connection to the internet.

Retailer 3 Stores

Stand alone stores for Retailer 3 that use a dial up connection to the internet to poll their head office.

Supplier Head Office

Any back end system that the supplier uses to run their business. This system would communicate with the suppliers Merchant system H.O. via the CIF interface.

Supplier Merchant Head Office

This system controls any of the suppliers own retail stores and also process orders from other retailers and shipments to those retailers. It also contains the product information for transmission to other retailers.

Supplier Stores

Stand alone stores that are owned by the supplier having a dial up connection to the internet.

Supplier Web Store

A web site owned by the supplier, which allows their customers to find locations which have the supplier products and place orders for those products.

Retail Web Store

A web store owned by a retailer which allows their customers to locate a product and place an order for it.

Merchant VPN Server

A server which handles multi-store polling, tracks sales and on hand quantities for any location, and processes orders and shipments between retailers and their suppliers.