Duck Head Launches E-Business Initiatives On AS/400
Duck Head Apparel Company Inc. (Winder, Ga.) has been around since 1865, but the sportswear manufacturer is keeping up with the times, having recently made online consumer purchasing possible via its AS/400 platform.
By implementing an IBM e-business solution, Duck Head Apparel expects to bring its regional brand to a broader national audience in time for the holiday shopping season. According to a Nielsen Media Research and CommerceNet study published earlier this month, clothing is now one of the top items purchased on the Web. Approximately 2.7 million people purchased clothing online during the first six months of 1998, up from 1.8 million during a similar period in 1997.
The Duck Head e-business solution incorporates IBM software, hardware and services, including IBM's commerce server software, IBM Net.Commerce and IBM Net.Data. Duck Head called upon IBM Global Services to implement and customize the Net.Commerce solution which runs on two IBM AS/400 servers: one that hosts the Web site and stores the Duck Head catalog in an IBM DB2 database for AS/400, and one that handles the EDI transactions and back-end production.
--L. Greenemeier