IDEASOFT’S LATEST App Store initiative will provide categorized solutions by IdeaSoft partners for companies seeking a more integrated e-commerce experience. The intiative, launched just a week ago, will, according to Eray Senturk, Partnership and Business Development Manager of IdeaSoft, create a world where everyone wins, from business partners to customers.
Founded in 2005 by three partners, IdeaSoft is a startup that offers software solutions to a variety of e-commerce companies, from technology giants to small enterprises. “There are nearly 25,000-30,000 e-commerce companies in Turkey and Ideasoft has nearly 11,500 active customers,” says Senturk. “We serve a wide variety of companies, from big brands like Xiaomi to a single person selling their own handmade products and thirty-year-old shoemakers. Everyone uses the same software and security levels. Our competitors serve nearly 11,000 of these companies and the rest use open-source software.”
But IdeaSoft’s role is not only to provide software solutions to these companies, according to Senturk, who sees e-commerce as a very complex structure. There are too many tools for e-commerce companies to use in their businesses. “For example, you have to use the banks and there comes virtual pos, then you have to use wallets, then you have to find solutions like BKM or Masterpass,” Senturk explains. “When you add logistics, digital marketing, SEO agencies and so on to the mix, an ordinary SME which hasn’t been involved in e-commerce faces a very complex world. As IdeaSoft, we wanted to make all these processes easier and so we came up with the partnership management solution.”
WE NEED A SMOOTH AND CONTROLLABLE WORLD
Senturk had been working on the App Store idea for four years and presented it to IdeaSoft two years later. The company needs it since it needs to be integrated with its partners in the complex world of e-commerce. “Since we make a profit based on the companies operating in the e-commerce sector, if we make online operations easier, we all win more when they win,” Senturk says. This is the masterplan, we want to create a world where everybody wins. IdeaSoft has 254 active partners right now and it’s not possible to manage them simultaneously through e-mails. When, for instance, a customer has an issue with Trendyol, the complaint comes to us so we need a smooth and controllable world where everything works instantly. App Store is that world.”
UNINTENTIONAL GLOBALIZATION
IdeaSoft App Store allows users to reach solutions related to their e-commerce businesses. Digital marketing applications such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Google Analytics Integration or social media apps such as Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp can be integrated into users’ websites instantly. The store also makes it possible to see information about the applications, developer companies and other details. Also, the app store allows global companies to enter the Turkish market through their solutions and vice versa, Senturk says. “For example, one of Russia’s top tech companies added an app to the IdeaSoft App Store. Also, some consulates from countries like Singapore, Indonesia and China reached out us to add their products to our app store. So, the app store extends IdeaSoft’s reach overseas and opens Turkey’s doors to the world.”
Next stop: Logistics
The company tried to go global, and attracted investors like Ali Sabanci, but IdeaSoft Partnership and Business Development Manager Eray Senturk says the company has some stiff global competition. So while still keeping an eye on the global market, IdeaSoft will instead rioritize logistics. “We want to offer the full spectrum of services in logistics and carry out studies in this sector,” Senturk says. Although the logistics sector seemed to be performing well during the pandemic, this wasn’t the case for e-commerce companies. Growth in volume means growth in storage and that leads to problems. We plan to make investments to provide solutions to this issue.” E-commerc had to transform one way or another and the pandemic accelerated this change, Senturk believes. “12 million new consumers entered the market in Turkey. And our data suggests that these consumers are steady buyers, with the majority of them shopping three times on average in a month. I believe the Turkish e-commerce sector will complete this year with around 65% growth.”
