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United Stationers and ECi Continue Partnership to Improve Web Experience for Dealers and their Customers
United Stationers and ECi to Continue Improving Web Experience for Dealers and their Customers
DEERFIELD, Ill. -January 23, 2014 - United Stationers and ECi Software Solutions have reached an agreement to continue their collaboration to deliver cutting-edge digital ecommerce tools for resellers through 2014. The agreement paves the way for both companies to continue building on a strong foundation that aims to improve the consumer shopping experience on independent reseller websites.
The agreement extends the availability of United Stationers' suite of "Smart Services" for office products dealers using software solutions provided by the ECi family of companies. United Stationers' Smart Services are cutting-edge digital building blocks that enable ecommerce success, including search and content. SmartSearch offers a superior consumer experience, including:
· highly relevant results,
· search refinement options to more-quickly get to the desired consideration set,
· on-demand side-by-side comparisons,
· auto-correction of misspellings to eliminate frustrating “no results found” returns,
· display of full product details and multiple photo views for deep dives into product details,
· product suggestions to drive up order value, and
· individual reseller customization options, including
o driving desired brands and products in search results,
o adding non-United products, and
o controlling the product assortment by customer.
With the agreement in place, United Stationers and ECi will continue to collaborate on future enhancements in United’s Smart Services development pipeline, which include:
· improved relevancy with broader brand and price point variety;
· search usability improvements to match model numbers with compatible consumables, improved attributes, TypeAhead, and advanced refining options of search results;
· Ink and Toner Finder improvements; and
· product videos.
"We are very excited to have this agreement in place with ECi," said Girisha Chandraraj, Vice President, eBusiness at United Stationers. "It allows us to continue offering our dealers cutting-edge capabilities and works to develop additional enhancements over time to allow them to win online."
"Our continued collaboration with United Stationers means that ECi is able to expand the value delivered to our dealer partners," said Ron Books, President and CEO of ECi Software Solutions. "The combination of the ECi platforms, along with the content and capabilities from United, provide a powerful presence for our customers. We look forward to continuing this relationship."
About United Stationers
United Stationers Inc. is a leading wholesale distributor of business products, with 2012 net sales of approximately $5.1 billion. The company stocks approximately 130,000 items, including technology products, traditional office products, janitorial and breakroom supplies, office furniture, and industrial products. A network of 64 distribution centers enables delivery of these products to over 25,000 reseller customers. This network, combined with United's depth and breadth of inventory, enables the company to ship most products overnight to more than 90% of the U.S. and offer next-day delivery to major cities in Mexico and Canada. For more information, visit www.unitedstationers.com.
United Stationers' common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol USTR.
About ECi Software Solutions
The ECi Software Solutions family of companies provides business and e-commerce solutions, offering on-premise and cloud-based technologies. For 30+ years, ECi companies have served the manufacturing, office equipment, office supplies, contract office furniture, lumber and building materials, hardware and jan/san sectors. Privately held, ECi is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, with offices and companies throughout the U.S., Australia, England and the Netherlands. For more information, email , visit www.ECiSolutions.com, or call (800) 959-3367.