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September
11, 2000 By Mel Duvall The key to success for SpaceWorks, a Rockville, Md., software vendor, isn't so much in helping companies sell their products over the Web. It's in helping them port their current selling practices to the Web. SpaceWorks has solidified a deal with Somera Communications which will see the Santa Barbara, Calif., telecommunications equipment vendor begin selling products over the Web using SpaceWorks' OrderManager platform. It's the third major sale SpaceWorks has made to a telecommunications company over the past year. Key to the deal, said Somera executives, was the ability for SpaceWorks' platform to not only allow its customers to order products directly over the Internet, but to also allow its existing sales staff to work with customers when necessary to source used or hard-to-find products. “A lot of the value that we provide our customers comes from the experience and knowledge of our sales staff,” said Peter Blair, vice president of technology at Somera. The company sells telecommunications firms new equipment, but it also helps them locate and salvage used equipment. “Our sales people know where to source a product and how to get it at the best price. We're not trying to use the Web as a separate sales process, we're trying to integrate it into our overall process.” SpaceWorks' chief executive Dave MacSwain said it's relatively simple for companies to sell products over the Internet these days. What's much more difficult is to incorporate complex order management and customer service functions. The company has tried to carve a niche out of the crowded market by offering a comprehensive, out-of-the box offering that can be deployed quickly. “That's been our real strength,” MacSwain added. “We realized early on that we had to go from a narrow sales platform, to one that incorporated a much wider range of complex order management functions.” SpaceWorks is a private firm and does not release its revenue figures. MacSwain, however, said it kept up a 400 percent growth rate over the past year. It now employs 250, with a client base that includes Lucent Technologies, Primus Telecommunications, GE Aircraft Engines and Maytag.
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