For more information call us now on

0845 3300618

Hosted e-Catalogue

Free Sample Catalogue

Manufacturer Categories

Categorising Products

E-mail Marketing tools

Web Store Solutions

Electronic Ordering

Data Importing

Frequently Asked Questions

Commercial Terms
Operation
Market Position
Partnerships

Commercial Terms
- How much does it Cost?
- Call us on 0845 330 0618 to discuss your requirements and obtain a quotation.
- Back »
- What is the minimum subscription period?
- Three months is the minimum subscription we accept. This ensures that you are not locked into a long term contract, yet still giving a reasonable time to enable you to evaluate the impact of having good quality product data on your web site.
- Back »
- What are the payment methods?
- The preferred payment method is Direct Debit. However, may also be possible to set up arrangements using your company credit or debit card.
- Back »
- How much do you charge for updates?
- We charge nothing for updates! All product updates are included in the standard price for our service - no matter how many changes to products there are - these are totally included. By having a standard, fixed rate, it makes it easy for you to budget for the service.
- Back »
- How much you charge for adding new products or manufacturers at our request?
- Nothing! We have never charged extra for adding new products or manufacturers at our customers request. As the service is continually expanding, adding new manufacturers or products is part of our normal service to you. We would only consider a charge if the products were so obscure that they were of no interest to our other clients.
- Back »
Operation
- Can we have a trial set of data?
- Yes. We can provide you with the complete Hewlett-Packard subset of the Get-the-Spec catalogue - which is current data. This includes data for:
  - Notebook Computers
  - PDA
  - Desktop Computers
  - Workstations
  - Servers
  - Printers of all types
  - Network Products
  - Accessories & Consumables
  You can use this data to develop the look and feel of your web store and gain experience of the Get-the-Spec service before you take out a subscription. To get the trial data package, apply here.
- Back »
- How often is the data updated?
- The data is updated every day. Daily update files are generated and the can be used to update your systems automatically using simple scripts.
- Back »
- Can we automate the transfer of updates from you?
- Yes. In most customers write simple scripts to access, download and import the daily and monthly update files. Our file naming conventions make it easy to do this. We can also transfer (known as 'Push') the data onto your server if you provide us with access & authorisation details. This is part of our standard set up proceedures.
- Back »
- Can we populate customer catalogues with your data?
- Yes. If you subscribe to one of our services, you are licensed to transfer the data to customer systems* (such as corporate procurement systems) and also to use the data to prepare electronic or paper catalogues. You can also populate any number of internal systems.
- Back »
- What are the main limitations of use?
- You cannot supply the data to other IT Resellers, you cannot re-sell the data. The principal of the licensing agreement is that you can use the data with multiple customers but not other industry partners - (for example, a distributor cannot distribute the data to all of its trade customers).
- Back »
- What do we do if there is an error in your data?
- We always work hard to avoid publishing incorrect specifications. The most common source of errors is in the manufacturer source data and we usually catch most of them. But despite best endeavors, some will occasionally get through. If an error is discovered, you can raise a query using a supplied query form which provides you with an automated tracking number. The error is flagged to our Quality Assurance team who check with the manufacturer. The outcome of this check (confirm there is no error, or error corrected) is transmitted back to you - usually within 24 hours
- Back »
- Are you liable for any loss incurred by us for such errors?
- Because the main cause of data errors is in the original manufacturer's data, we cannot be held liable for any errors and this is covered in our Terms & Conditions. We always advise any reseller to post a disclaimer on their web sites.
- Back »
- How reliable is your hosted service?
- The hosted service is from one of our public servers which all have high speed direct access to the Internet to ensure performance. Our servers are protected with the latest firewall, antivirus and anti - Trojan software. All relevant Microsoft security patches are applied. The servers are managed 24 x 7 and statistics show that we have had 99.98% uptime for the last year - it is highly reliable.
- Back »
- How do we get technical Support?
- The service is fully documented with easy to understand guides. Unlimited e-mail support and limited telephone support is available with the service. We can also offer a development or consultancy service based on a daily rate should you require it.
- Back »
- How long does it typically take us to get up and running?
- Typical customers are up and running in between two days to a week, depending on the skills you have in house and having the available time to put into development. This includes testing time - anyone with basic SQL / Database skills can easily integrate our data into internal systems.
- Back »
- Can we use Access rather than SQL?
- Theoretically you could. However, due to the very large quantity of data, we don't believe Access provides the performance that you need, which is why we recommend Microsoft SQL server or MySQL.
- Back »
Market Position
- What is Open Range's relationship with the manufacturers?
- The manufactures are aware of who we are and what we do - and they approve because they recognise that most of them don't have a comparable solution. They are keen to co-operate with Open Range closely to ensure that their data is represented in as many web stores as possible. We have direct relationships with virtually all the manufacturers in our represented database which enables us to access many sources of information not generally available outside the manufacturer.
- Back »
- If you're so good, why don't the distributors use you?
- Actually, increasing numbers of distributors are turning to Open Range. Historically, - Open Range did not exist when distributors first started using product data. In those days there was only a single supplier for product data and naturally, when you have a choice of one, who do you choose? Most distributors also operate in more than one country and we focus on the United Kingdom and Ireland. Because we are so focused, we believe this enables us to provide a superior service to the UK Reseller community - our target market. That is why several distributors such as C2000 and Ingram recommend resellers also check us out, as well as their incumbent data supplier. If Open Range was not an excellent alternative, would they risk their reputations in recommending us?
- Back »
- Do you work in any other industries?
- We our unique technology can apply to any industry so we can work in other industries.
- Back »
- Do you have any reference sites?
- Of course! We have many! From the largest to the smallest organisations. Contact our sales team and we will be pleased to provide contacts that you can speak with. And don't forget that we have provided both the Compaq and Hewlett-Packard UK e-Catalogues for the last four years - because of excellent feedback they have received from their resellers.
- Back »
Partnerships
- Can you recommend any web store applications?
- Yes, an increasing number of web store applications use our data.
- Back »
- Can you recommend a good source of internet specialist legal advice?
- Andrew Wooley & Co are a specialist solicitors who have much experience of Law and the internet. They are unusual in that they pioneered on-line marketing of their services (causing some controversy with their more conservative colleagues). The Directors of Open Range have met Andrew Woolley and can recommend the understanding and depth of knowledge he has. Full details are available.
- Back »
- Can you recommend any developers?
- We shortly hope to provide a list of independent contract developers who can demonstrate the relevant experience and knowledge to deliver successful projects. However, due to the uncertain nature of any bespoke development project, we cannot be held liable for the success or failure of such projects.
- Back »
- How do you produce the e-Catalogue?
- By working directly with the manufacturers, we have access to internal as well as public data. Our own software technology was developed in house from scratch. It is unique and involves cutting edge techniques such as Artificial Intelligence and Translation. Because we are in the process of applying for patents for some of the technology, the exact techniques we use must remain confidential.
- Back »

Register for eNews

Register with us for frequent updates, upcoming events and general advice on all product developments. Enter your email below:

Take me to:

Open Order – connect to your favourite distributors for super efficient XML ordering from just £150 plus VAT set up.

Integrating your ordering systems with your distributor's systems saves your company huge amounts of administration time and costs.

But until now, the expense and complexity of connecting to multiple, incompatible systems has been much too complicated and expensive for many resellers.

Open Order solves these problems. Open Order is a module which can work with most web store solutions, so at last, any company can afford the efficiency of XML ordering

More >>

Resources