Your Business: Web company strutting its stuff in fashion world

Danny Ing wants more investment to grow Datum Connect and is looking overseas for opportunities to expand. Photo / Richard Robinson

It shows real devotion to his cause that Datum Connect entrepreneur Danny Ing went to the New York fashion shows to research the industry he wanted to take his business to next.

"I like market research, I like trying to figure out human behaviour first before I build anything," says the Waikato marketing and accounting BMS graduate turned e-commerce expert.

Ing, who is self-taught, established Datum Connect on February 14, 2002.

Over the years the company has evolved from content management to being a second tier e-commerce company.

Today it claims to be one of New Zealand's leading e-commerce web development firms. Datum Connect won a Vero Excellence in Business Support Award in 2009 and has created more than 1000 customised website design and web developments for 800 clients including Standard Issue, the Baby Factory and EGG Maternity.

It has 15 full-time staff and a two franchisees.

"Datum specialises in crafting websites that create sales," says Ing. "We do all of the background technical work to make shopping systems work smoothly and attract customers."

Datum Connect helped EGG Maternity double its sales on its website, allowing it to upload daily deals and special promotions themselves to keep the website fresh without relying on a third party to do it.

The company's multi-currency website now allows New Zealand and Australian customers to buy in their local currency and customers in other countries to view prices in US dollars.

At the moment, Ing and his team are concentrating all their energies on selling its new product, the CIN7 online inventory system, which allows companies to offer real-time visibility and accessibility to staff, customers, and suppliers.

It is one centralised location for all product and inventory information.

"We get a three-year window of opportunity to do what we can with CIN7," says Ing.

The product is a natural evolution from e-commerce to where e-commerce and retail become one and the same, says Ing. The system, which allows mobile and online ordering, returns management, batch numbers and expiry dates, will also have free Trade Me integration.

Ing has strong beliefs about multichannel marketing.

"When you're selling online, it makes sense to be able to put your products in front of as many eyeballs as possible. The greater the exposure your products get, the more you are likely to sell.

"We want our customers to be able to exploit our inventory management system CIN7 to its fullest potential by selling their product just about anywhere - not just on their online shopping cart, but on Trade Me too," Ing says.

With CIN7, Ing is targeting specific industry sectors. Fashion is one of them, hence the trip to New York.

Food manufacturers, accountants and the made-to-order manufacturing industry are other potential customers Ing is talking to.

"With the fashion system we've tried to make it simple," says Ing. No mean feat when a fashion house brings out 40 to 60 styles a season in a variety of fabrics.

"The challenge for us is to make something that deals with all that complexity and is easy to use, and doesn't take 10 steps to do it."

For food manufacturers, the CIN7 inventory system allows companies to record batches in the event of a recall.

If all goes well, Ing, who wants more investment to grow the business, would like to be in San Francisco towards the end of next year, taking the company to the next level.

The Canadian, Australian and US markets most appeal to him.

DATUM CONNECT

* E-commerce web development firm

* Established by Danny Ing in 2002

* 1000 web projects for 800 clients

* 15 full-time staff

* Two franchisees.