Mazda selects IBM to transform web presence

IBM (NYSE: IBM | PowerRating) announced on Friday it is helping automotive company Mazda North America Operations transform the way customers buy accessories and service for their automobiles through a dynamic web presence.

No financial details were disclosed.

According to the company, Mazda North American Operations is working with IBM to make available an easy-to-use template that helps dealers rapidly develop a branded and customised website. Dealers can then add content and sales incentives, including product descriptions, coupons, promotions and links to social networking sites. The result is an increase in sales as well as customer traffic in dealer showrooms.

The template and content management is delivered as part of IBM WebSphere Commerce, which also manages customer requests and scheduling for car repair and servicing over the web.

To automate the online sales cycle, the IBM software connects to legacy systems for order creation and fulfillment in real-time through MazdaaEUR(TM)s distribution centre. By linking to MazdaaEUR(TM)s parts distribution centres, dealers can access an online catalogue of over 8,000 individual products that is continually updated by Mazda North America.

The system also enables dealers and customers to use PayPal for payment processing and UPS for order fulfillment. Links to the services on the dealer websites provide customers a simple and familiar way to complete transactions. Because it is all automated, dealers do not need to process credit cards and merchandise pick-ups by carriers are simplified, the company said.