Nova Libra
Simplifying E-Commerce for Retail Enterprises

Tom Greenhaw, CEO

An effective e-commerce website helps retailers gain complete control of their brand and meet evolving customer expectations. However, just like a house needs a solid foundation, a company requires a website that is functional, intuitive, reliable, as well as user-friendly. When a competitor site is just one click away, brands cannot afford to test their customers' patience with a substandard online experience. The onus is on the retailers to create an easy-to-navigate website that guides customers to the product they need quickly, provides them with accurate and up-to-date information, and allows them to choose the delivery and payment option of their choice.

To this end, retailers often seek the expertise of a reliable partner that can help them develop a website that meets evolving customer needs. This is where Glenview-based Nova Libra grabs the spotlight. As a trusted retail technology partner, Nova Libra builds e-commerce sites for businesses of all sizes and specializes in the maintenance and distribution of product information. With over two decades of experience developing e-commerce solutions for enterprise customers, Nova Libra offers a variety of options, from complete Software as a Service (SaaS) turnkey solutions with no up-front costs to fully customizable enterprise solutions deployed either on the cloud or on-premise data centers.

CORAL: A Comprehensive Platform for All E-Commerce Needs

"The primary challenge for retailers today is providing a fully integrated e-commerce solution along with their point-of-sale solution," says Tom Greenhaw, CEO at Nova Libra. "Our CORAL e-commerce platform, with complete API for Point of Sale (POS) integration, is designed to support omni-channel capability whereby end-users can buy online and either have the order shipped directly to them (including curbside delivery) or pick up at the store. The platform offers mobile application support with email and text messaging communications," he adds.

Nova Libra's CORAL system is built to support clients looking for a predesigned website ready to go live. The platform is also geared toward the needs of enterprise clients that have specialized requirements. "While we support an API to work with POS systems, we understand that not everybody uses the same type of POS system," mentions Greenhaw.

CORAL e-commerce platform, with complete API for Point of Sale integration, is designed to support omni-channel capability

This enables Nova Libra to provide a turnkey solution so that when orders are placed online, they are also sent to the POS system. If the customer comes to pick them up at the store, the cashier can retrieve those orders, charge the card, and even process additional items the customer selects. If the client is using a POS system not supported by Nova Libra, the company can integrate that POS too. Nova Libra also facilitates automatic integrations with other major retail channels such as Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Etsy. The company's solutions are designed to feed product information into those platforms and automatically process the orders with them as well.

Another major issue retailers face with modern e-commerce solutions is the need to cobble together different components, plugins, and add-ons from a wide variety of third-party sources. Nova Libra's e-commerce platform builds all of those tools into one cohesive unit. Instead of patching together a whole raft of third-party solutions, retailers can leverage all capabilities built in the company's platform, which are designed to work together seamlessly and securely. "We have designed the industrial-grade CORAL system for speed, reliability, security, and the efficiency needed to keep clients' operational costs low," says Greenhaw.

"As Technology Continues To Evolve, Mobile Has Taken The Center Stage In The World Of E-Commerce. We Are Highly Focused On Supporting Mobile Environments For Our Retail Customers So That They Can Capitalize On This Trend And Derive Maximum Benefits"

Nova Libra makes it easy for retailers to manage all product information, helping them present product details to customers in an effective manner and streamline order fulfillment processes. Moreover, Nova Libra's solutions provide powerful search technology that makes it easier for end-users and customers to locate the products they need. The company leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to enhance search engine operation and validate product information, such as dimension, weight, and price.

Driving More Mobile E-commerce Sales

Nova Libra is not only experienced with and relied upon for designing apps but also for consulting with businesses looking to break into the market with an app. For instance, the company provides mobile apps that enable end-users to scan barcodes using mobile phones to search and purchase items. Nova Libra also delivers similar tools for retailers to manage their inventory and support curbside delivery. "As technology continues to evolve, mobile has taken the center stage in the world of e-commerce. At Nova Libra, we are highly focused on supporting mobile environments for our retail customers so that they can capitalize on this trend and derive maximum benefits," comments Greenhaw.

Nova Libra also provides flexible payment options for the customers, including credit card processing, account integration, quote requests, and pay in-store with POS integration. "For credit cards payments, we utilize Stripe—a leading payment processing platform—as our preferred solution. Stripe effectively manages all of the security aspects and makes PCI data security standards much easier to handle for us and our customers," explains Greenhaw.

Nova Libra's solutions offer a flexible and easy-to-use capability to extend customer-specific pricing and drive repeat orders for business-to-consumer and business-to-business transactions. In addition, retailers can leverage the tools included in the company's platform to manage all their web pages, add web pages and capabilities, as well as change the appearance and functionality of their website.

Nova Libra's software platforms and developers are fully equipped to develop the complete technology stack needed for e-commerce, which includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, graphics, large-scale database management, application development, and cloud computing. By leveraging Microsoft Azure for cloud computing and hosting, Nova Libra ensures that its solutions are reliable, geographically distributed, and capable of handling large workloads at reasonable costs. Leveraging custom-built machine learning technology and Microsoft Azure cognitive services, Nova Libra's platform delivers the latest capabilities in language translation, forms development, text to speech, speech to text, and more. The company also offers integration with Oracle Retail Merchandising System (RMS) supply chain management solution, which streamlines complex inventory management, product data, and ordering processes for large-scale retailers.

Building a website with Nova Libra can be as simple as filling out a form and using the ready-to-go automated site builder. The company also houses a custom application development and project management team. The team works with retailers to understand their requirements, develop a project plan, and provide a complete solution, including graphic design and software development for conventional e-commerce and mobile apps - all under one cohesive umbrella. Whether it's a start-up business with a single web store, a franchise with hundreds of sites, or a high-capacity site that's running ads on TV, Nova Libra can build e-commerce sites for all.

Meeting and Exceeding Client Expectations

Over the years, Nova Libra has taken hundreds of projects from concept to reality and has become a renowned name known for reducing overall costs for its retail clients. One of the company's greatest strengths is the ability to analyze existing processes and recommend the appropriate technology to improve the existing capabilities of its client.

Nova Libra prides itself on being an extremely low turnover company. The company assigns individual roles to its team members, who will fully understand the client's business and develop the desired solution while acting as their primary point of contact. This helps in forming long-lasting relationships, as the client saves a lot of time and effort directly working with the same representative for years. In addition, the company only employs U.S.-based certified developers, designers, and project managers with a proven track record. "We provide solutions that are solid and don't necessarily require a lot of support. We reduce the number of layers between the people that our clients contact when they need help and the ones who get the work done," states Greenhaw.

Nova Libra's commitment to full-cycle support and excellent customer service is validated by its list of long-standing clients, including True Value Hardware, Michaels Stores, Navistar, and more. Nova Libra's capabilities were in full display when they managed hundreds of sites from one seamless location for True Value Hardware, a stalwart of the hardware industry with over 4500 retail stores worldwide. Today, the company helps True Value Hardware to manage its e-commerce website effectively.

As e-commerce experienced an uptick during the pandemic, Nova Libra was perfectly poised to help retailers cater to the surge in demand. Currently, the latest generation of Nova Libra's e-commerce solution, CORAL, is considered feature complete. Having gained popularity in the hardware market, including hardware stores and similar establishments, the company aims to introduce its products to new markets for catering to a broader customer base. "We will continue to enhance our solutions to adapt to the changing marketplace, especially with ML and AI, to reduce labor costs for customers in managing their sales channel and fulfillment processes," notes Greenhaw.