K3 supplies, installs and supports Microsoft based business planning and management software principally to retailers, manufacturers and distributors, this is termed ERP software (Enterprise Resource Planning). ERP software is business critical and provides companies with an integrated software solution to manage inventory, resources and business processes. Once installed these software systems remain in place for typically 12 years or more.
K3 required a web portal to provide customers with a real time view of their support calls. The data for the portal is held in a SQL database, and the look and feel of the portal needed to be in a similar style to the K3 website,
www.theretailpeople.com.
The portal is accessible to customers who have a login for the welcome page, and consists of a username and password which current support customers already have allocated to them. The solution provided links on the landing page for easier access to each section of the portal. The three sections of the K3 Web Portal allow customer to access a support area, an account management area and general accounts page.
K3 implemented a SharePoint 2010 environment and appointed ICS Solutions to develop and deploy the Customer Portal Application into this pre-existing SharePoint environment. The first phase of the portal was to design and build the support section which includes the customer landing page complete with links, the ability to log calls, views of open and closed customer calls and a FAQ section. Phase 2 will cover the accounts management area and Phase 3 will cover the general accounts area.
The Customer Web Portal utilises SharePoint 2010 and improves collaboration between the K3, and their customer.