Delphi
InterBase
VCLChallenges
From the very beginning, it was a progressive approach to integrate both merchandise management and the checkout and shopping systems into one solution. The key factor was the requirement to eliminate the need for ongoing synchronization.
Results
The e-vendo solution is so flexible that it can be used in very different sectors ranging from specialized trade to retail and wholesale. However, three areas needed to be emphasized: the manufacturing sector and the bicycle and the miniature model-making shops.
Based on this, the idea of bringing together different retailers and supporting them with a joint online marketplace was developed within the network groups.
360°-Cloud-Omnichannel-Solution
Omni (from the Latin omnis) is a prefix meaning "all," "everyone," or "everything" and describes a cross-channel business model for companies under the term omnichannel. It combines physical locations with online systems and thus offers a 360° all-around solution for companies.
Company
With this goal in mind, e-vendo AG, based in Berlin, has created a software solution to bundle all of a retailer's business processes in one system and one database. The company was founded in the early 1990s, and today, with more than 30 employees, serves over 300 corporate customers from all sectors.
This has recently led to the development of another very comprehensive module that not only handles sales, but also enables the rental of bicycles via a bike-rent portal. In Switzerland, for example, this is used by Rent a Bike AG with 5,000 bikes at over 150 stations.
THE APPLICATION - A ONE-STOP SOLUTION
The volume generated by retailers using the e-vendo system ranges from a few to 6,000 orders per day. The entire e-vendo omnichannel platform is therefore the basis for a trading volume of approximately 40 to 80 million euros per year.
The basis for the e-vendo system developed in Delphi is the consistency and LIVE sharing of all data. The merchandise management system and the self-developed online shops are the backbone together with the content and product database. This means that all retailers participating in their respective networks can access centrally maintained product information, such as multilingual content, images, or accessories, and offer these via the POS system, online, or on their own or external marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.
Rent a Bike Switzerland uses the e-vendo system for the rental management and for selling its bikes.
Velo Collect marketplace with items from various dealers and manufacturers
A special feature here is the e-connect interface, which allows communication among the different retailer systems. In this way, external inventories can also be accessed on demand, and orders can be executed via other warehouses through dropshipping if required. This is particularly useful when a company specializes in certain brands or in supplying spare parts.
The experience has shown that it is precisely this overarching communication that has led to an active community. It is practiced to a great extent, and therefore the joint appearance is a great advantage for everyone.
To avoid burdening the participating dealers with technical and administrative tasks, the entire application written in Delphi runs in the cloud, in a dedicated data center. Access is via either a terminal server or a web browser.
In addition to the merchandise management modules developed in Delphi, the web applications are developed using NodeJS, PHP, and the Quasar framework. NodeJS was chosen as the de facto standard for web development.
Retailer website with product descriptions from the shared database.
If you consider the maintenance effort between Delphi code and JavaScript code in Node.JS, we have about three times the workload for web development because sometimes a new version is released every three months for security reasons, and this version is no longer fully compatible.
Frank Tonert, CEO at e-vendo AG
Conclusion
As a pioneer in the omnichannel sector, e-vendo AG was one of the first systems to implement a complete solution for stationary retail and e-commerce. Thanks to this modular all-in-one solution with merchandise management, cash registers, online shops, and the integration of marketplaces, e-vendo has created a perfectly interlocking system with Delphi and InterBase/FireBird that is unrivaled.
As a fun fact, it should be mentioned that development of the e-vendo system started with the beta version of Delphi 1. This once again clearly demonstrates the high level of investment protection in Delphi and the upward and downward compatibility of the Delphi code. The code is the capital.
Further information on e-vendo AG and the omnichannel software for the specialized and retail trade can be found at https://www.e-vendo.de/
It is a very strict requirement for us that the programme code is maintainable and reusable in the long term. Delphi plays a major role in this and therefore brings many synergy effects.
Frank Tonert, CEO at e-vendo AG
Simple and intuitive POS system written in Delphi