At Boise Cascade, prices change daily for the 12,000 most frequently ordered items in the company's on-line catalog. The type of relationship Boise has with its buyers determines what it charges. Development started in June 1996 and Boise's site went live seven months later. I server and Oracle relational database. ECXpert software from Actra Business Systems links I-97 to an IBM 3090 host system, where product and ordering information resides on IMS and DB2 databases.
All processing takes place on the mainframe.
Customers using any popular Web browser log onto the company's home page by entering a user ID and password. Once in, they can scan an on-line catalog. The system knows who's making the buy and what he or she is allowed to buy. A customer can also set a purchasing limit, after which the system will process no more orders submitted by that company. Of crucial importance to Boise is the consistency with which its 44 U.S. offices provide pricing plans.