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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Archived) / Need recommendation fo...
Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Archived)

Need recommendation for e-commerce web site with NAV integration

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Posted on by Bruce Peterson 500

We are a wholesale distributor trying to integrate a web site with NAV 4.0 (we're upgrading later, but this is it for now).  We don't allow just anyone to log into our web site.  Only qualified customers can order from it.  We do not allow account creation on the web site.  We are not interested in search engine optimization.  First we tried a product called StoreFront.  DO NOT BUY STOREFRONT FOR ANY INTEGRATION WITH NAV.  Now I've been pointed to a product called ExpandIT by a company in Florida.  Their demo looks good, but I'm going to be much more cautious this time.  Does anyone have any experience with ExpandIT or can anyone recommend a good product to use with NAV?  I would appreciate any input anyone has.

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  • epernst Profile Picture
    epernst 1,122 on at

    Hi Bruce,

    Selecting the right webshop product is not easy. Often you have to select between a solution from company which know everything about internet and webshops, but nothing about Navision. Or you can get a solution from a company which know everything about Navision, but not much about eCommerce.

    You really need to find someone who knows both.

    I have known ExpandIT for many years. They are good people. They are actually a Danish company, and most of their original people came from Navision Software (now Microsoft). So they really know Navision in and out. I have implemented their eCommerce solution, but that was about 10 years ago. Back then it was one of the best products on the market. And just the fact that they have been doing this for so many years and they are still in the market, that's a sign of quality.

    But it's not enough that the product and company behind is solid and has a proven record. The partner you choose to implement your solution must also show a good number of references delivering ExpandIT's webshop solution. Otherwise you'll end up with a great product, but not a great implemenation. If the partner you're talking to have never implemented ExpandIT, then stay far away. Then you're better off with someone who knows how to implement a different product against Navision.

  • Bruce Peterson Profile Picture
    Bruce Peterson 500 on at

    Erik:  Thank you very much for the advice.  Our Partner is Congruent Software in Redmond, WA.  I have two people there that work with us - Kelli Odom and Warren Huckabey.  I don't think Kelli has worked with ExpandIT, but Warren is the one who recommended it.  I got a web demonstration from AJ at ExpandIT and it looked good.  He said that the price would be "turnkey".  Warren sat in on the demonstration, and AJ said he knew of Warrent previously.  My understanding is that AJ works for ExpandIT, and they would assist in the integration, but Congruent would be the Partner that did it.  My only previous experience with an e-commerce site was about five years ago when I worked for another company.  We hired someone I know who was a web developer who gave us a turnkey site for about $5k that worked well.  Right now we're over $20k and no end in sight.  I've suspended further work while I look for another back end solution (I understand we will use StoreFront on the public side, but ExpandIT would handle the store, cart, etc).  The owner of this company wants more than one option, so I thought I could get some ideas on this forum.  Yours is the only one so far.  Over a year ago I first tried a custom solution, and contacted 20 firms.  Nobody was interested.  That's why I went with StoreFront.  I had looked at about 10 off-the-shelf packages, and hours and hours looking at software and getting references, and StoreFront was the only one to promise integration with Navision (although not in writing).  I appreciate any knowledgeable help I can get at this point.

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member on at

    Hi Bruce,

    I have come across Nav-to-Net (from Digital Vantage Point) which is certified for Nav. Again with a lot of offering the turnkey price tends to increase as you find you will have "non-standard" requirements.  The thing I like about Nav-to-Net is that the web page content is managed in Nav itself. I would agree with Erik that ExpandIT have a good reputation and it's probably best to stick it out.  "Far away field are always greener"

  • Bruce Peterson Profile Picture
    Bruce Peterson 500 on at

    Dave:  Thanks for the information.  I will check out Nav-to-Net.  I've been doing searches, but everything seems to come back to Microsoft and they want to sell CommerceServer.  So, as Blanche DuBois said, "I rely on the kindness of strangers".  We haven't bought ExpandIT yet.  After my initial fiasco with StoreFront I'm going slowly, although the owner is VERY frustrated, and even brought it up in the staff meeting again this morning.  The headquarters company does web promotions and we, as a distributor, are expected to follow suit, but can't until this issue is resolved.  He wants it done yesterday with no cost.

  • Jay_from_Canada Profile Picture
    Jay_from_Canada 220 on at

    Hi Bruce,

    I work for a software company that focuses on EDI and web store integration with the Dynamics product line. We have worked with numerous different web stores in the past including ASPDOTNET, LaGarde, Nexternal, Able Commerce and others.

    Like a previous poster mentioned it will be tough to find a company that knows the ecommerce side as much as the NAV side. Instead of focusing on a webstore that has integration as well, you can always look atthem as 2 different animals. This will give you the best of both worlds.

     

  • Bruce Peterson Profile Picture
    Bruce Peterson 500 on at

    Thank you for the information.  As for the integration, it's what the owner wants.  He wants our customers to have real time inventory information and for the order to never have to be processed by customer service.  He wants it to go straight from the customer's web order to the warehouse for shipment, payment already having been taken care of.  Also, he wants customers to be able to see account information, get tracking and order status information, etc.  The web site is not used for marketing per se.  We want to be able to provide information to customers and potential customers, such as seminar information and product information, but we do not seek customers through internet sources.  Our customers must have been qualified before getting an account and cannot order until they are.

  • Jay_from_Canada Profile Picture
    Jay_from_Canada 220 on at

     Bruce,

    Sorry for the confusion. I was not suggesting that you get rid of the integration, I was simply suggesting that you consider 2 separate solutions. Find the ecommerce company you would like to use to build the site and find an integration company to push and pull with NAV. This way you have a team that focuses on ecommerce handling your site and a team that knows NAV in and out working on the integration.

     

     

  • Bruce Peterson Profile Picture
    Bruce Peterson 500 on at

    No problem.  Actually, I have that situation at the moment.  When I purchased Storefront from LaGarde, based on their assurance that it was a quick and easy integration, they promised to provide the information and assistance to integrate the software with Navision.  So, my Partner, Congruent Software, tried to work with StoreFront, but in over a year they haven't been able to get it to work - StoreFront no longer returns phone calls, and when we call support they say they have to elevate the problem and then they never get back to us.  I then hired a developer/programming company to assist, who has someone on their staff who had worked on a StoreFront integration previously.  I had a couple of friends of mine at the UW look at the code, and they say it's a mish-mash and poorly architected, which explains why every time the programmer fixes one thing, something else quits working.  It's like herding cats.  My friends tell me it could take weeks of programming time to fix the serious flaws in the program.  There are two programs I've been told about here that are already in use and integrated with Navision.  Also, Storefront will never be able to do many of the things we wanted, like allowing customers to look at their accounts, track shipments, have real-time inventory, and several other items that I was assured it could do.

  • Jay_from_Canada Profile Picture
    Jay_from_Canada 220 on at

    Our company has integrated Storefront to NAV in the past. We developed a comm adapter that works with Storefront and then we would combine that with our NAV adapter that allows us to validate and push data as well as extract data out. If you are interested in keeping Storefront, which at this point it does not sound like it, we might be able to help you out with it.

    Alternatively, I can put you in touch with my counterpart that handles the NAV portion of our business. She may be able to put you in touch with other ecommerce sites that she has worked with in the past. 

     

  • Bruce Peterson Profile Picture
    Bruce Peterson 500 on at

    Thank you, Jay.  I will keep that in mind.  StoreFront has been a large disappointment on the commerce side.  The web pages are OK, but the shopping cart, catalog, and all that back end stuff is not well formatted for what we do.  Of course, that was the part they wouldn't show me before we bought it.  If other solutions prove unworkable or too expensive, I will contact you again.  Can you give me a ballpark figure of what your work ran?  You can also contact me directly at bruce@phytovita.com

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