Just last week, Mail Boxes, Etc. (http://www.mbe.com) joined up with iShip.com (http://www.iship.com) to provide online shipping solutions for e-commerce Web sites. MBE has the bricks and mortar; iShip has the online tools. "We felt it was a great, synergistic alliance," says Thomas Herskowitz, MBE's executive vice president. "They have the Internet technology, we have the deliverability. We have to get into the Internet space as quickly as possible in order to capture market mind and market share."
Herskowitz insists that MBE could have developed the technology on its own. But why? The task would have taken several years, eons in the interactive world. By then, MBE would have missed the opportunity to grab such high-profile clients as eBay (http://www.ebay.com). The popular online auctions site recently became one of MBE/iShip.com's first clients.
The alliance underscores the continued importance of traditional commerce shops. MBE sees its storefront locations-3,100 in the United States-as key to its ability to deliver products purchased over the Internet. When consumers visit an MBE-iShip.com co-branded site, they can input their zip code, shipping location, weight, service option and credit card information. Then all they need to do is drop or pick up the product at their nearest MBE center. If they're sending an item to a buyer, the MBE franchisee will pull up the account on his new computer, verify the item's weight and send it on its way.
MBE is also developing a hold-for-inspection program that would allow online buyers to have a product sent to a local MBE center. That buyer's charge account would not be charged until he or she inspects and accepts the product.
"We think that one of the biggest challenges on the internet today is that people who are making transactions have to have total trust in the seller," says Herskowitz. "They can't see and touch the product itself."
Franchisees who purchase the new MBE point-of-sale system will enjoy the full benefits of the MBE-iShip.com alliance. The system includes a computer, touch screen, software, bar-code scanner and high-speed satellite system. It will give them access to a national database of accounts and connectivity with all other MBE centers. But it will come at a price. What the price is, MBE isn't saying. According to Herskowitz, MBE has a non-disclosure agreement with the company that makes the satellites. He adds that MBE is subsidizing the project in order to defray some of the cost to franchisees. And only new franchisees and those renewing their contracts will be required to purchase the systems.
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