Staples is putting kiosks in its stores to let you order online before your order ardor has cooled. So are other major retailers. It used to be that hot Web server companies like Vignette were seen as the torchbearers for e-commerce. But even those leading-edge Web vendors peddle technology that's often hard to use. Such software lacks tools for customization and doesn't hook into back-end databases and transactional systems, and there's a short supply of skilled techs who can customize it.
Customers use much stronger language.
It's not the Web server companies that are really making the difference on the Web these days. It's the supply-chain technology that lets customers check the stores' inventory before ordering and track their orders online. It's the customer resource management software that lets you know when a valued buyer hits your Web site. It's the Web connections on mainstream corporate IT applications that make it easier for existing customers to do business with you. Picking new ones from a list of untried pups on a blind exchange is the last thing they want.