Neto Helps Australian Small Businesses
Get Online
In 2011, Australian entrepreneur Ryan Murtagh saw an
opportunity to help get small businesses online. Having been
an e-retailer, he realized the struggle involved in scaling up an
e-commerce store efficiently. This set him on the path to
developing an end-to-end e-commerce platform designed to
automate and streamline online trading for small to medium
sized businesses. By focusing on the ‘pain points’ he had
experienced himself, he assembled a team and set about
solving these problems through software, calling the company
called Neto. Five years later, thousands of businesses use
their platform to run online stores, and cumulatively they have
turned over more than €1 billion through the service. One of
these companies is Bicycles Online.
Founded by Jonathon Allara and James van Rooyen, Bicycles
Online is an Australian owned, online speciality retailer of road
bikes, mountain bikes, bike parts, accessories and clothing.
As the business began to grow, the two were faced with a
number of business obstacles. They sold their products
through multiple channels: their own website, eBay, a number
of shopping comparison websites and industry specific
marketplaces. They also had just expanded from one to two
warehouses. They needed an e-commerce solution that
allowed them to accurately and effectively manage stock and
fulfil orders across multiple warehouse locations and multiple
sales channels, preferably one that integrated well with freight
providers and Australia Post. Searching online they stumbled
across Neto.
‘With Neto, all integrations that we need are built into the
system and we also have the ability to build custom
integrations with Neto to other marketplaces if need be. The
in-built shipping labelling and manifesting as well as the real-
time shipping quotes and multi-carrier support have had a
significant impact on our business. The time taken for us to
fulfil orders has halved and we have also experienced
significant cost savings with our freight charges by being able
to have the option to choose the most cost effective freight
option on an order by order basis’, said Mr Allara.
Using Neto, www.bicyclesonline.com.au/, they were able to
create and customise what Neto refers to as their ‘e–
Telstra Corporation Limited has taken notice and recently
invested in Neto. Speaking in 2015, Telstra Business Group
Managing Director, Will Irving, said, ‘We estimate that by 2020,
82 per cent of SMEs will have a web presence, rising from 58
per cent today. The role of e-commerce will only become more
important in the competitive retail environment. The Neto
platform allows businesses to meet the needs of customers at
their convenience: where they want and when they want’. Mr
Murtagh said, ‘With the technical expertise and scale that
Telstra brings, I believe that this partnership will allow us to
accelerate our development plans and to provide Australian
SMEs with an even better product and a higher level of service
and support’.
Questions
1. Why is it important for Bicycles Online to integrate with
freight providers?
2. How can a company’s social media presence integrate well
with its retail website?