Department of Forestry Online Seedling Store

Overview:

The Department of Forestry began using Virginia.gov’s Enterprise Online Store application in 1991 to sell their tree seedlings during their Fall/Spring seedling season.  The Department of Forestry also operates a separate online store to sell their publications year round.

Description:

The Virginia.gov Online Store Application is an enterprise shopping cart system that generates unlimited individual and customized stores, as well as contributing inventory to an overall State Store, Shop eVirginia. Virginia.gov’s Online Store provides a user-friendly store interface with familiar eCommerce features as well as an intuitive, web-based administrative area for managing orders, inventory and design.

Benefits:

• Time 
  Quick and Easy to Set Up and Manage - The Department of Forestry simply provided Virginia.gov with a graphic banner and entered their inventory to start selling seedlings in a matter of days.   From the administrative area, the Department of Forestry can create and manage store categories, subcategories and temporary collections.  They can fulfill orders including changing quantities, approving, rejecting and adding comments.  Automated email notifications inform customers about their order status.  The Department of Forestry was able to minimize phone orders and manual processing – creating significant savings in their resources’ time.
  
  
• Money 
  Reduced Mailing Costs - The Department of Forestry does not have to produce catalogs or publications in order to sell their seedlings.  They no longer need to send out mass bulk mailings that could incur high postage fees.  The starting price for just one piece of bulk mail shipped within the U.S., weighing one (1) pound or less begins at $2.23.*  If 500 catalogs were shipped at a postage rate of $2.23 each, the shipping costs alone (and that doesn’t factor additional costs associated with production/printing fees) would cost $1,115.00!
  
  
• “Green”
  Saves Paper - No catalogs or publications are needed – all seedlings can be sold via the web.  The online store is a perfect fit with the Department of Forestry’s conservation efforts to protect our commonwealth’s forests:  The Department of Forestry processed approximately 700 orders in 2008.  If these orders were processed manually and each order consisted of one sheet of paper, 700 pieces of paper would be wasted.  Instead of wasting paper, the Department of Forestry’s customers can buy seedlings online and plant trees! 
  
  

Department of Forestry’s Online Seedling Store Link: 

https://secure01.virginiainteractive.org/shoppingcart/cgi-bin/shopva.cgi?store=506

 *http://www.usps.com

Virginia.gov Open House 2009 | 1111 East Main Street, Suite901 | Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 786-4718 | Toll Free: 1-877-4VA-EGOV (1-877-482-3468)