Kiln-direct.com



The original SalesKite

The old saying rings true “necessity is the mother of all innovation” and certainly extends to the development of OmniAdministrator, which is the backbone of SalesKite. I, Niels Jorgensen, as part owner of Kiln-direct and OmniAdministrator, developed this concept to meet the needs of the rapidly growing organization of Kiln-direct.

Kiln-direct produces pallet and lumber kilns for heat sterilizing and curring wood products. As Kiln-direct found it's niche in the market for delivering small turn-key kilns to the industry, it was swept along in the current of new international requirements for heat treating solid wood packaging materials.  As we assessed our internal structure, we realized we had some unfulfilled needs.

The initial needs were defined as

 web-based; all you need is a browser with internet access to be fully functional.
 CRM = Contact Relationship
 Management; accessed from nearly anywhere.
 Develop a comprehensive communication history with each contact.
 Inventory and order handling system.
 Procurement with integrated costing for each product.

As we achieved the goals above, we began seeing the potential for helping other small to mid-size companies with a comprehensive system and began laying the ground work for this web-based business administrative platform. We continue to use Kiln-direct.com as the live test site.

The next set of features were defined

 Full financial integration; so we developed a full feature financial accounting system.
 CMS web-site; so Kiln-direct.com went from a static site with an off-site e-store to a managed content site inside the OmniAdministrator/SalesKite system.
 Total Email integration into CRM and communication history notes for each contact.
 VoIP phone system for a truly flexible work force, since Kiln-direct personnel travel regularly.
 Virtual faxing directly from the system and receiving faxes electronically directly into the system. All faxes become part of the contact notes in the CRM section.
 Fully integrated E-commerce.
 Fully integrated Merchant account for web-site and regular orders (all one system)
 Fully integrated FedEx shipping linked directly to the FedEx server for quotes and shipping labels.

Kiln-direct was a very stream line organization that was able to share critical customer information, enter orders, check the status of orders and provide better post-sales service from anywhere at anytime due to the OmniAdministrator/SalesKite system. This is made possible by the all web-based structure including mobile access to most data through a smart phone. From 2001 to 2007 Kiln-direct solidified its market position from a 15-25% market share to having about 55-60% in 2007. I cannot imagine having done this without OmniAdministrator.

As we began to set up other companies, we soon realized the challenges many companies had in handling a total transformation virtually overnight. The biggest problem was the financial integration, because it can be a lengthy process. They lead us to develop the entry level and market this under the SalesKite brand. The fact SalesKite is a sub-brand of a complete business administrative platform allows you to gradually move up the ladder as your business grows and matures.

Starting with the right partner for your web-needs is very important. SalesKite allows you to start with a CMS for your web-site, then add web-based CRM+communication history. Later, you can add Order handling and inventory control plus extend this into an E-commerce section of your web-site. Finally you can grow into the full system as an OmniAdministrator customer.

SalesKite gives you one more very important thing; the ability to control your web-design and branding. You no longer have to choose between low cost, template designs versus very expensive customer web-sites.