This level of service allows sales staff to maximize the time they spend selling the products and minimize the time spent handling routine customer inquiries, says Bob Nash, Vice-President of Sales for Learning Curve International, a Chicago based toy company that also started as a bricks-and-mortar establishment.

"It is really an information and business management tool," says Nash of the site, MyLCI.com. "It is designed for the specialty independent retailer. They can get on the site, check on just how much they purchased from us by brand, what they have in open orders, how much was shipped to them this year, check on an invoice, back orders, product availability, back orders. If you are a sales rep, you get to see everything about your client. It has allowed the reps to focus a little more on making the sales call."

Nash admits the creation and maintenance of their site did not come cheap; MyLCI.com requires four dedicated staff to keep the information updated. However, because Learning Curve International showed commitment to the site from the beginning, it has become an integral part of the business.

"As retailers gain confidence in the site they are using it more. They will place fill-in orders. When they are home at night they can go and place an order," Nash notes. "It's an extremely valuable part of our business model. It is part of every business meeting."

Though online toy sales represent a small percentage of online purchases, McHugh believes the amount of business done via the Web will increase over the next few years.

"Retailers have been slow to go to that method," she concedes. "But I think that will replace a lot of the traditional order writing. It's just a fact of life."

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