Jeff Brunings, USWeb/CKS, 408-986-6721 or
[email protected]
Jodi Gershoni, VarsityBooks.com, 202-667-3400 or
[email protected]
USWeb/CKS Debuts New Commerce Site For VarsityBooks.com
Enhanced automation, efficiencies, and capabilities help students save time and money when buying academic course books
SANTA CLARA, California - February 3, 1999 - USWeb/CKS Corporation (Nasdaq: USWB) today announced a fully redesigned commerce site for VarsityBooks.com, the leading online seller of discounted college textbooks. Providing strategy and development services, USWeb/CKS constructed a robust technical architecture and interface designed to help students save time and money when buying college textbooks.
The project included the deployment of a new enterprise-level e-commerce platform, the integration of e-commerce services with existing business systems, real-time ordering and tracking, and augmented inventory management controls. Additionally, USWeb/CKS designed sophisticated search capabilities that help students find textbooks by accessing the course curricula of colleges and universities nationwide.
The $3 billion U.S. college textbook market is recognized by industry analysts as a largely untapped opportunity to deliver Internet-based services to an estimated 15 million students nationwide. Last year, VarsityBooks.com became the leading company dedicated to helping students save time and money by selling new college textbooks online. As an alternative to campus bookstores, VarsityBooks.com provides discounts up to 40 percent on approximately 400,000 ready-to-ship new book titles.
USWeb/CKS built http://www.VarsityBooks.com/ to provide complete process automation, scalability, and reliability to support the site's high volume of transactions. In addition, USWeb/CKS helped VarsityBooks.com streamline internal order processing procedures and provided VarsityBooks.com total control of their business, merchandising and processing logic. USWeb/CKS also redesigned the navigation and user interface to dramatically improve the student's online experience.
"VarsityBooks.com reflects the emerging disintermediary role companies are playing by providing new services to traditional markets," said Toby Corey, president and COO of USWeb/CKS. "By providing a robust set of services specifically designed for the online consumer, VarsityBooks.com is building long-term relationships with customers, while differentiating itself in a competitive marketplace."
For constructing an e-commerce platform, USWeb/CKS used Microsoft Site Server, Commerce Edition. The integrated platform enables VarsityBooks.com to easily manage financial transactions, payment settlements and provides a secure transaction environment. The site was built on Microsoft's Windows NT platform with IIS and uses SQL Server as the product database.
About USWeb/CKS
USWeb/CKS (Nasdaq: USWB) is a professional services firm that works with clients to define strategies and implement innovative ways to build their businesses through the combination of expertise in strategy, Internet technology and marketing communications. USWeb/CKS helps clients differentiate their products and services, strengthen customer relationships, leverage human capital, and improve business efficiency in the new electronic economy. With more than 2,000 professionals, USWeb/CKS has helped hundreds of businesses advance their marketing communications programs as well as their traditional IT and Internet systems. The Company provides a broad selection of services from brand development and advertising to business process automation and e-commerce solutions. The Company headquarters are in Santa Clara, California. Additional information about USWeb/CKS is by calling 408-987-3200.
About VarsityBooks.com
VarsityBooks.com, the leading online college textbook seller, provides students with a reliable and affordable way to buy new books. VarsityBooks.com is a convenient alternative to the campus store, offering university booklists and a wide range of titles for immediate shipping. Based in Washington, DC, VarsityBooks.com was founded in December 1997 by Eric Kuhn and Tim Levy, fellow alumni of The George Washington University Law School.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" (as defined under securities law) regarding USWeb/CKS' work with VarsityBooks.com. There can be no assurance that this project will be successful or that it will contribute positively to the company's results of operations. Further, this project does not necessarily indicate that the company will be able to secure additional similar projects. For additional information about factors that could affect the business of USWeb/CKS, see the documents filed by the company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.