The Guardian recently ran an article on cloud computing that highlighted the considerations companies need to make when selecting cloud services. In the article, LHK Fine Wines, supplier of fine and rare wines, describes how it has replaced numerous back-office systems with a single software-as-a-service (SaaS) package from NetSuite to manage financial accounting, inventory and order management, as well as its ecommerce website to “punch way above their weight.”
In the article, Tom Mann, managing director of LHK Fine Wines, also explained how NetSuite partner First Hosted customised the system to reflect the "peculiarities and foibles" of the fine wine market.
Customers are able to place orders in multi-currencies including UK pounds, US dollars, Euros, Hong Kong dollars or Swiss Francs and, because real-time information on inventory and orders is kept in the same system, there's no danger of them ordering a product that an LHK employee in the company's offices has just sold over the phone to another customer.
Online customers are also able to learn about the origins of a particular wine, read critics' tasting notes, find out whether it's ready for drinking or should be "laid down" first, and view photos to check on the condition of products.
To view the article, please visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/2012/jun/13/cloud-it-right-choice.