The automated order fulfillment system was designed by Jorge Garifuna to automate the ordering process via the Internet. The system keeps track of all customers’ orders, automatically notifies suppliers of orders placed on their products and it allows the administrator to manage all the aspects of the ordering process, from product management to tracking customer search queries to preparing statements all from a simple web interface.

The system was originally coded in the Perl programming language and MySQL database, while interfacing with the credit card processing company, PayPal & PayJunction. For further enhancement, the system is being ported to the PHP programming language.

The system is extremely flexible and very easy to customize. You can see the flexibility of the system on some of the following websites, to name a few:

Customers

Customers are allowed to browse for products, pay for their order by credit card, and track the status of their order. Additionally the system automatically notifies the customer of the status of the order. If the customer purchases a downloadable item, such as eBook or downloadable music, the system automatically allows for instant access for the item to be downloaded.

Suppliers

The system notifies the supplier as soon as a customer orders the suppliers product. The supplier is given password protected access to a secure area to monitor his/her product inventory from anywhere at anytime.

Products

The system is equipped to sell just about any kind of product. Currently, garinet.com is running the system with over 1000 different products, some of which are within the following departments:

Music
Videos
T-Shirts
Hats
Cultural Clothing

Books
Original Paintings
Recipes
E-Books
Downloadable Music
And more

Webstore Components

The webstore has been designed from the ground up to be rich in components for long term efficiency and expandability. There are current four major components, each packaged with a variety of modules. The four major components are:

The shopping component
The customer administrative component
The supplier administrative component
The main administrator component

The shopping component

This is the component that allows potential customers to browse the catalog of products available within the webstore. Products are easily categorized by departments and categories for convenient navigation and ease of use. The shopping component may be easily integrated into any visual interface to match the overall design of an existing website.

The shopping component has the following modules:

Top sellers

Automatically created from real time orders
Specific and targeted per department and category

New releases

Selected from the most newest products added to the system
Specific and targeted per department and category

Most popular products

Selected from real time data from the product reviews
Specific and targeted per department and category

Recommended products

Specifically selected by site administrator to guide customers in the purchasing decision

See also products

Random selection of products within the current department and category

Showing of products on special

Specifically selected the site administrator to keep customers happy

Random testimonial display

To improve credibility of the site based on what existing satisfied customers have experienced

Mailing list integration

To keep in touch with customers on general updates from the store

Banners integration

To advertise the most important products

Special offers ads

Additional advertisement sections to improve visibility

Company phone number visibility

To assist customers in the ordering process

Company general contact information

For easy access to customers for general information

Ordering by phone or money order guide

With customizable shipping information and company mailing address for customers that are willing to pay with checks or money orders

Tell a friend or recommend module

To have trusted friends refer the site to their friends

Integrated view cart and checkout button

For easy and faster order processing by customer

Browsing by department and product categories

To allow for navigation between the many available department

Browsing by manufacturer/author or artist

To easily access any categories within the selected departments

Display of company slogan

To let potential customers know what the company stands for

Automatic page numbering

To navigate between pages of multiple products

Current location identifier

For customers to identify where they are within the store and find their ways to specific desired sections

Organized image thumbnails

For fast identification of product

Integrated audio and video sampling of products

Automatic icons visualization for products with audio and video samples
Lets customers preview before they buy
Saves company resource time and minimizes returns of unwanted products

Integrated reviews posting and display

Customers may post reviews on purchased products
Reviews get verified my site owner prior to making it visible
New potential customers may read reviews to make informed decisions on purchasing the product

Integrated and customizable privacy policy

Informs customers of information they should know when using the site
Eliminates objections caused by insecurity
Minimizes legal problems for company

Built-in search feature

So customers can find products fast

Search engine friendly

Assists in page raking on major search engines for increased site traffic

The checkout process

User is asked to billing, shipping and credit card information
User is given option to:

Continue shopping

Redirect to shopping page

Edit cart content

Redirect to view cart

Continue the checkout process

Follow step below

Verify information and confirm
Authorize credit card transaction with merchant provider

On failure:

notify user and allow for corrections

On success:

Store customer order to database
Store customer order to database
Store customer order detail to database
Email administrator with order information
Email customer with order information

The customer administrative component

This component allows the customer to automatically view important information regarding specific orders. The customer administrative component has the following modules:

Automatic account creation upon order
Secure login section
Transaction history by orders being processed, shipped out or refunded
Integrated order tracking link for order status
Password update request
New password retrieval by email in case customer forgets
Formatted Order statement printing for customer record

The supplier administrative component

This component allows the supplier to stay on top of the activities of the orders placed for his/her products.

Automatic instant notifications of orders
Secure login section
Transaction history by products
View paid and unpaid transactions
View all transactions
View all products current on system for specific supplier
Suppliers may carry products by multiple manufactures, authors or artists and view sorted or filtered list accordingly
Filter by viewing all orders placed on a specific product
Payment history, including how supplier was paid and how much
Password update request
New password retrieval by email in case customer forgets
Formatted Order statement printing for supplier record

The main administrator component

This component brings together all the administrative sections of the webstore. It’s the heart of the operation and the command center to manage and fulfill customer orders among many things. This component has the following modules:

Product management, adding, updating and removing
Orders management, fulfillment, pending and shipping administration
Order details to view the specific products ordered by the customer
Suppliers management, adding, updating and deleting
Suppliers payment, adding, notifying and tracking
Manufactures/Author/Artists management
Login management
Reviews management, viewing and approval for visibility on shopping component
Visitors search queries management, viewing and alerting of results not found to obtain products searched if highly sought for
Customer email management, to track customer emails communication
Downloadable products viewing to track how many times a user downloads a specific file
Suppliers login history
Customer login history
Customer management, adding, viewing, updating and deleting
Company configuration management, to customize logo, contact information and other essential setups
Department management, adding, updating, viewing and removing
Categories management for each department
Information resource management for configuration of policies, tell a friend module and other enhancements
Product features to easily update products specific information such as format, shipping price and inventory mode
Product colors and sizes management for those products that needed such as t-shirts
Automated letters management so that they can be typed once and used forever
Shipping companies management
Extensive reports for sales activities and visitors usage or clicks on products, audio and video samples
Integrated admin search for fast location and retrieval of data

Automated Webstore Overall Features

Bilingual (English/Spanish)
Categorized product catalog
Deluxe shopping cart
Automated new customer registration
Customer login
Forgotten password recovery
Customer profile editor
Customer order status
Admin: Departments
Admin: Categories
Admin: Products, prices, suppliers & inventory
Admin: Orders
Admin: Customers
Admin: Customer searches
Admin: Find products, orders, customer and more through built-in search
Admin: Product reviews
Admin: Suppliers
Admin: Suppliers payments
Admin: Authors/artist/manufacturers
Admin: New supplier registration
Admin: Supplier login
Admin: Credit cards acceptance (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover) Paypal & Payjunction Integration
Automated customer email notification on:

Order processing
Order shipping

Customer information downloadable for mailing list
Admin: Integrated Manual credit card payment w/Payjunction
Admin: Professional packing/receipt slip for customers
Admin: Professional packing/receipt slip for suppliers
Integration with shipping companies tracking:

FEDEX
UPS
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE (USPS)

Automated Supplier email notification on orders
Automate supplier email notification on payment from store owner
Admin: Email notification on new orders
Admin: Products on special
Admin: Featured products
Automated top sellers
Automated random “see also” products
Automated “most popular by vote” (needs review module)
Automated new released products
Admin: recommended products
Random testimonials (needs testimonials module)
Mailing list invitation form (needs mailing list module)
Admin: Reports

Orders by products
Orders by customers
Orders by country
Orders by States
Orders by Cities
Orders on products of authors/artists/manufactures
Orders by suppliers
Track product clicks
Track sound bytes clicks

Unlimited products
Unlimited departments
Unlimited categories
Supports:

Tangible products (CD, DVD, Videos, Books, Electronics)
Downloadable goods (MP3, recipes, ebooks)
Electronic goods (Event tickets, calling cards)
Services (Restaurant menu ordering online)

Integrates with:

Banner module (separately)
Front image/ads rotator (separately)
Search module (separately)
Feedback form (separately)
Tell a friend module (separately)

References & contact information

To initiate the integration of your E-Commerce system, please contact us through either of the following ways:

Attn: Website services

PO BOX 70073

Riverside, CA 92513

Phone

To contact us by phone, please call our toll-free number at:

1-800-385-2910