TAKE A JOURNEY INTO GRAVIT-E

We're often asked if our shipping matrix can handle "Highlands and Islands", as many of our customers use couriers that charge extra to reach the more "further flung" areas of the United Kingdom. Of course, our answer is a resounding "YES" - our shipping matrix can handle banded shipping right down to an individual street level for the UK - but we're very much aware that the days of charging more to customers based on their postcode are seriously numbered.   In recent months there have been a number of high profile cases, including complaints about Halfords and Lloyds Pharmacy, that have prompted a response from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in First Minister's questions "The level of charge that Richard Lochhead has outlined today is shocking. Certainly based on what he has said today, it seems vastly out of proportion and, yes, I am in full agreement that excessive charging for parcel deliveries is unacceptable." It certainly feels like shipping is becoming a "postcode lottery" with little more than a few miles separating standard and exceptional areas in terms of pricing and some courier treating the "Highlands and Islands" like a trip "North of the Wall". Shipping isn't just about postcodes though - here are some tips from the Gravit-e team on making your shipping matrix better reflect the real costs of shipping. Use a weight matrix Your Gravit-e system can calculate the total weight of an order and you can create multiple shipping bands based on weight. Light parcels may not attract the same charges as larger items with your courier and you can reflect these lower charges in more competitive shipping for customers. Use a sliding scale for charges If you don't want the hassle of maintaining a fine-grained set of weight bands, think about using the "Scaling" option in your Gravit-e shipping matrix instead. With Scaled shipping charges, you can start with a lower initial charge and then increase the charge based on weight up to a ceiling value. Some customers may still receive higher charges, but you guarantee that you are only charging what is required. Offer Free Shipping on Larger Orders Everyone loves free shipping - consider offering free shipping on larger orders even if they are heading to one of the more outlying regions of the UK. Your Gravit-e shipping matrix can be configured to offer free shipping based on a variety of factors including order value. Improve the Accuracy of your Postcode Matrix As we mentioned above, sometimes it is a matter of just a few miles between what is considered "Highlands" and what isn't. You aren't restricted to working with just the first part of the customer's postcode - consider using the full postcode in your shipping matrix to make shipping costs more accurate and make sure you're up to date with what charges your courier has in each area. Take the shock out of shipping costs One of the most common places to lose a customer during the checkout process is when you add shipping charges to their basket. When charges are high, you're at extra risk - customers hate the "bait and switch" routine.   Gravit-e lets you pre-select shipping rates that are previewed to your customer in their shopping basket, fully calculated based on the customer's basket contents. There's no reason for the customer to get a nasty shock during checkout and no reason for you to risk losing their order.   Overall, whilst there's nothing we can do from behind our desks at Gravit-e to change the shipping costs for customers in the Highlands and Islands of the UK, we're definitely doing all we can to make sure our customers can treat their customers as fairly as possible and make sure that shipping charges are calculated fairly.

We take privacy and security seriously at Gravit-e and we know our customers do too.   With this in mind, we've been keeping a close eye on the General Data Protection Regulations that will enter UK law in May 2017.   We're already working on making sure that all our internal processes are GDPR ready. We are also updating our eCommerce platform with new tools that will make it easier for our customers to fulfil GDPR requests from their customers.   As part of our preparations, we've already written to all of our customers with advice and guidance on how they can approach GDPR.   If your website provider hasn't done this yet, we think they are leaving it late to start preparations. Under GDPR the definition of "personal data" has been considerably widened, as have the responsibilities of "data processors" - which will include your website provider.   The clock is ticking.

Vacancy: Web Developer We are looking for a web developer to join our dynamic and exciting team. Personal Skills All our developers are customer facing - you will need to be confident, courteous, and customer focused. We speak to customers every day - you will need excellent communication skills and a high standard of written English. Technical Skills This is a technical role. We are looking for candidates who are able to understand complex problems and work from detailed specifications to create functional, robust, software. We have an in-house CMS/platform and training will be provided. Essential Technical Skills HTML CSS JQuery PHP MySQL Desirable Skills Technical Skills Apache Linux Administration Hybrid App Development iOS or Android App Development Portfolio and Experience Past experience in an agency or freelance environment will be of benefit.  We have a long standing commitment to working with graduates and we would be very keen to meet any graduates who can show a portfolio of freelance work or sites/applications they have developed to further their professional development. Salary and Benefits We are offering a salary of £18,000 to £25,000 depending upon experience. Your package will also include private health insurance, pension plan, and 20 days paid holiday. How to Apply If you think you're the person that we're looking for and would like to meet us, please email your CV as an attachment with a covering note to jobs@gravit-e.co.uk

At Gravit-e, we believe that great eCommerce solutions begin with partnerships. We treat all our customers as our partners in business, working together to build successful integrated eCommerce solutions that deliver great return on investment. We couldn’t do it without them. We also believe in building partnerships with businesses who have skills and services that complement our own, ensuring that our customers always have access to the people and the tools they need to thrive. Unlike others, we don’t want to be a “jack of all trades” but masters of none. We want to do what we do brilliantly, brilliantly, and then have the right partners in place to offer our customers the widest possible range of services delivered with all the passion and commitment that we pride ourselves on. Introducing partners to our customers is something we take extremely seriously. It’s our reputation on the line as well as theirs, so when we select our partners we do it with the utmost care. We’re therefore very proud to announce the first of our Premier Partners – J Squared Marketing. J Squared offer a range of creative services and are experts in branding, media planning and buying, social media management, design, and PPC. Most importantly to us, J Squared share our passion for ensuring that clients achieve a return on investment whenever they invest their time and energy in a new project. We’ve already completed projects working with J Squared ranging from building mobile and web applications to consulting together on the technology and marketing requirements of one of South Wale’s hottest new technology start-ups. We’ve also got some irons in the fire ourselves, with joint product launches planned through 2017 and beyond. We’re extremely excited to be entering this next phase of our evolution and look forward to introducing J Squared and their services to all of our customers in the very near future. What is a Gravit-e “Premier Partner”? Gravit-e Premier Partners work closely with Gravit-e to provide customised, combined services to shared clients. Projects are co-owned, so you’re never stuck in between the “marketing guys” and the “web guys” or the “SEO guys” and the “server guys”. Whilst your project may be delivered by specialists from more than one company, what you experience is a seamless project delivery by a single combined team. If you think you have what it takes to work with us as Premier Partner, with access to our technology stack and expert services for your clients, please contact us. We’d love to meet you.