Since 2001, HotWax has been at the forefront of eCommerce. We have worked closely with our clients to deliver a wide range of enterprise-grade custom solutions for eCommerce, Product Information Management, Order & Inventory Management, and Warehouse Management on top of Apache OFBiz. Over the course of this journey, our team has seen firsthand the challenges that retailers face from order capture to delivery. With a background in engineering but a passion for retail, our team is dedicated to prompt adaptation, continuous improvement, and a commitment to meeting customer needs.
Big-box retailers like Walmart and Target have changed the game for eCommerce brands. Today, their customer base (more than 80% of US consumers) expects a seamless, smooth customer experience and lightning-fast delivery from every brand. But mastering the omnichannel fulfillment and delivery game is a multi-year effort and multi-million dollar investment.
Not all brands have the time and resources of Walmart to invest in such an initiative. HotWax recognized a huge opportunity in offering effective omnichannel solutions to small, mid, and enterprise retailers alike, democratizing an excellent omnichannel retail experience for all to enjoy.
Towards the end of 2019, we launched a SaaS product: HotWax Commerce Order Management System. Our aim was to deliver focused and cost-effective omnichannel solutions for same-day Buy Online Pick-Up In Store, Ship From Store, and Pre-Order Management in order to increase return on inventory, conversion rates, and overall profitability for retail brands. The SaaS model provides a better buying experience for retailers because they get predictability on the timeline, cost, and business benefits.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, strategies like same-day Store Pickup, Ship From Store, and Pre-Orders have become incredibly popular and the demand for omnichannel solutions has skyrocketed. But delivering our omnichannel solutions was still taking months, a timeline that is too long for many retailers.
HotWax recognized an opportunity in the Shopify space after speaking with many Shopify merchants. We found that these merchants were dying to implement omnichannel journeys, but that the Shopify core product team was not moving with the agility necessary to meet their needs. So, in 2021, we launched plug-n-play omnichannel solutions (Shopify apps) for Shopify and Shopify Plus merchants. Using these apps, Shopify merchants can implement best-in-class omnichannel solutions in a matter of days instead of months.
We on-boarded Steve Madden as our first enterprise SaaS customer. Steve Madden rolled out HotWax Commerce pre-integrated with Shopify Plus to facilitate omnichannel retailing strategies such as same-day Buy Online Pick-Up In Store (BOPIS), Ship From Store, and Pre-Orders.
Looking towards the future, HotWax is on a mission to continue democratizing excellent omnichannel retail experiences and radically simplifying that path to excellence. Our product team is working on plug-n-play solutions for the top eCommerce and ERP platforms to empower retailers with the best technology, at their fingertips, and ultimately increase their profitability.