Today we asked industry veteran Oliver Prothmann, Managing Director and Founder of chartixx to tell us how online retailers can get what only big enterprises have, your own Business Intelligence Tool giving your Business Numbers and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Oliver shared how the chartixx business tool came about, what the company does and how it can assist you.

Oliver Prothmann and founding chartixx

It was in Richmond in September 2009, when I was there for two weeks as the EU Coordinator PayPal Business Seller on eBay, that the time came to start a separate project for the online retailers:

In the seven years prior I had worked closely with business sellers on marketplaces. I launched the T-Online-Shop (electronic shop of German biggest Internet provider) on eBay and Amazon and then brought in the sales department of ElectronicScout24 (subsidiary of T-Online) and in particular the CRM system and managed the sales team.

In 2006 I started at eBay Germany Seller Development Team and built up the account management team. Does anyone remember to eBay Express? I was at the time Head of Sales but, unfortunately, the product was turned off too early. Then in 2007 I moved to PayPal to build the Marketplaces team and was also responsible for the business sellers on eBay.

The most intensive contact I had with the online retailers was in 2008 in preparation for compulsory PayPal on eBay. It became clear at this time that the dealers have a great need to evaluate and analyze their metrics on eBay. In April 2010 I founded the company Applet-X GmbH and started with the development of chartixx, the first business analysis tool for online retailers. My goal is to help retailers have better business information.

What can chartixx do for you?

chartixx brings the business transparency they desperately need for online retailers, on marketplaces and other channels. Today, it’s really not about multi-channel but rather multi-platform business. But each platform the retailer uses only shows different metrics on the sales and developments and only for that platform. For example eBay provides its online retailers only the data from one eBay account and not all accounts held by a retailer. chartixx wants to make the analysis simpler and clearer, so that the retailer can focus on what matters most – increasing sales and revenue.

Why it’s important sellers know their stats

Only those who know their numbers, know their business. e.g how dependent are you on your bestsellers? If your top 10 bestselling items account for 15% of total sales, the danger when sales of one drops is less than when they represent 60% of total sales. chartixx profiles show quickly whenever there are fluctuations or dips and the dealer can take countermeasures quickly.

It is also important to have the format mix under control. Knowing your metrics also means having the numbers to know how to stay on or get the Top Rated Seller Standard.

chartixx is not about research of marketplaces. chartixx is about knowing your own business and seeing the potentials and risks.

How sellers can keep on top of their stats?

With chartixx the retailer´s financial results are always at hand. chartixx will offer a perfect view on the metrics, either on the desktop as an optimized display on mobile devices and as an app for iPhone and iPad, Android will follow soon. Thus, the retailer has access to all their business metrics at any time.

You’ll need to link chartixx to give access to your marketplace data, but that’s just entering a few data connections. chartixx uses but does not store retailers passwords, it uses tokens for each platform – data security is chartixx’s highest priority.

Instant access to Business Intelligence and KPIs

The big advantage of chartixx is that everything is instantly available. There is no waiting for data downloads and no need to select the data for analysis. chartixx provides the online retailer with ready prepared up to date metrics instantly available. In chartixx the retailer only needs authorise connection to the marketplaces they trade on and then they have access to the data analysis and trends in Chartixx.

chartixx is always up to date as a SaaS (Software as a Service) application, the retailer will always have the latest version of chartixx in use. Almost every month new analysis and interfaces are added and these can then be used immediately without any upgrades. Currently chartixx supports data from Amazon, eBay, PayPal and Google Analytics.

To access chartixx you only pay for what you use and it starts from as little as €5 per month for chartixx business intelligence.

I can remember this collection craze beginning early in my childhood with those beautiful plastic Breyer horse models, which I happily unwrapped every birthday and immediately created a special place on honor on the shelf for the newest steed. Oh, how I wish I had that collection now!

My latest craze has been these German TV tower replicas from the 1950's - 1970's. First stumbled upon on eBay, I have been on a quest to acquire examples of each tower, expertly hand-crafted in solid chrome and brass, sometimes with lucite or jewel adornments, and ranging from 6" to well over 24" in height. I have found conflicting reports on the origin of these beauties - most believe they were crafted by German metal smith students honing their craft, others say they were lathed as models for city planners as tactile examples for possible construction or as mementos for the tower architects and city dignitaries.

Search flea markets for the best prices (I've heard they are common finds at German antique fairs) or battle it out with me on eBay, using key phrase "German TV Tower replica or model" or the German term, "fernsehturm." Prices on eBay range from $50 to over $400 a tower.

Images: Models - The Invisible Agent, Berlin Tower - Shutterstock