Guidance

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Guidance Solutions, Inc.
Type Private
Founded California, USA (1993)
Headquarters 4134 Del Rey Ave.,
Marina del Rey, CA, USA
Key people Jason Meugniot, CEO & Owner
Jon Provisor, CTO & Owner
Anna Kennedy, Exec. Vice President
Jon Larsen, Vice President
Industry IT & Internet Services
Services eCommerce
Social commerce
Hosting & Managed Services
eMarketing
Website www.guidance.com

Guidance Solutions, Inc., abbreviated Guidance, is an eCommerce development company that builds and maintains online stores. Headquartered in Marina del Rey, Calif., Guidance specializes in all three layers of the eCommerce experience – user interface, order management and order fulfillment – providing fully integrated and customized eCommerce solutions.

Guidance clients include Foot Locker, Relax The Back, Hyundai, Bentley Prince Street, Z Gallerie and A.C. Moore.


Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings

Guidance was founded in Hawthorne, Calif. in 1993 by Joe Tang, Pillan Thirumalaisamy and Vijay Kotrappa. The company was initially launched as a systems integrator rooted in enterprise technology, delivering custom business solutions using client-server technology.[1][2] Within three years, the company established itself as an eBusiness developer for Fortune 1000 and mid-market clients.

From 1995 to 1998, the company focused strictly on Internet technology, and achieved early market recognition for its web application development. During this time, the company launched some of the first eCommerce sites - including that of international sports apparel retailer, Foot Locker - and began offering managed services for application support.

In 1999, the company raised more than $46 million led by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice[3] and began taking equity in joint ventures with clients. Later that year, the company built its Marina del Rey Campus - a converted warehouse retrofitted with modern architecture and open pod seating, created by the same firm that designed MTV’s L.A. offices, Felderman Keatinge + Associates.

By 2003, Guidance earned the Microsoft’s Managed Partner distinction and in 2006 it achieved the Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status.[4] During this time, the company became nationally recognized as a leader of Lotus Notes migrations to Microsoft platform, and focused on eCommerce, content management solutions, hosting and managed services, and business intelligence.

[edit] Present Day

In February 2008, Guidance employees purchased the company back from its founders.[5] The company is currently owned by Jason Meugniot, Guidance’s CEO, and Jon Provisor, the company’s CTO.

Guidance has now centered its focus on eCommerce solutions and has become one of the first to develop, support and promote social commerce, a subset of eCommerce in which the active participation of customers and their personal relationships are at the forefront.


[edit] Services

[edit] eCommerce

Since 1997, Guidance has specialized in eCommerce development, offering a variety of services and solutions to design and develop online retail sites, including:[6]

  • Site Definition – user interface, software architecture, database architecture, external system integration, system and network architecture, implementation planning, hosting and managed services recommendations
  • Site Development - user experience development, infrastructure set-up, code implementation, testing and certification
  • Application and System Support - production monitoring, application and database management, ongoing enhancements, issue resolution, stress testing
  • Reporting - website traffic reports, order conversion, cart abandonment, repeat customer analysis
  • Managed Services - SEO, eMarketing solutions

[edit] Social Commerce

To address the increase in popularity of social networking sites[7] and acceptance of social software, Guidance worked with clients like Skwibble to acquire experience in social technology development. In early 2008, the company began testing the integration of social applications and eCommerce to develop social commerce solutions, which allow online retail sites to provide shoppers with the ability to interact and share information with other shoppers.

[edit] Other Services

The company also specializes in Business Intelligence[8], and .NET integration and customization[9].


[edit] Corporate Affairs

[edit] Current Executives

Current members of Guidance’s executive team are:[10]

  • Jason Meugniot, CEO & Owner
  • Jon Provisor, CTO & Owner
  • Anna Kennedy, Executive Vice President
  • Jon Larsen, Vice President

[edit] Logos

The logo that was used from 1993 to 1996. The logo makes reference to the technology term Graphical User Interface (GUI).

The logo that was used in 1997. The logo is in a form intended to suggest a guiding lighthouse.

The logo that was used in 1998 and 1999. The logo represents collaboration and both sides of an ‘inspired brain’.

The logo used since 2000, which symbolizes synergy and the ‘meeting of minds’.

[edit] Guidance Green

In March 2007, Guidance created Guidance Green, a committee formed by Guidance employees who value the importance of living and working in a healthy planet.[11] The committee was established to help the company meet a specific goal: to operate as an environmentally aware, 100% carbon-neutral company by 2009. In January 2008, Guidance Green announced that the company achieved carbon-neutrality in 2007, a full 18 months ahead of its goal.[12]


Guidance Green was inspired by one of its clients, Bentley Prince Street, a U.S. manufacturer of broadloom and carpet tile products for commercial interiors. Bentley Prince Street supports environmental practices through its Mission Zero™ goal of eliminating any negative impact it has on the environment by the year 2020.[13]


Guidance Green continues its mission to help Guidance operate as an environmentally conscious company and now seeks to spread the word among clients, partners and the community in general in support of eco-friendly practices. In February 2008, the company published an online environmental toolkit titled How To Operate as an Environmentally Aware Organization and Reduce or Eliminate Your Carbon Footprint.[14]


[edit] See also


[edit] References and footnotes

  1. ^ "About Guidance." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  2. ^ "Company History." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  3. ^ "Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Fund Completes Investment in Guidance Solutions." PR Newswire, (1999-12-30).
  4. ^ "Guidance Attains Gold Certified Partner Status in Microsoft Partner Program." Guidance, (2006-01-31).
  5. ^ "Guidance Employees Purchase Company from Founders." Reuters], (2008-02-20).
  6. ^ "eCommerce." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  7. ^ "Social Networking Sites Continue to Attract Record Numbers as Myspace.Com Surpasses 50 Million U.S. Visitors in May." comScore], 2006-06-15.
  8. ^ "Business Intelligence." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  9. ^ ".NET Integration and Customization." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  10. ^ "Company Management." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  11. ^ Espinosa, Alejandra. Earth Day: 20 Years in the Making. Guidance Green. (2008-04-22)
  12. ^ "Guidance Achieves Carbon Neutrality, Marks Several Green Milestones in 2007." Reuters, (2008-01-16).
  13. ^ "Bentley Prince Street’s Mission Zero™ Promise." Bentley Prince Street. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  14. ^ "Guidance Offers Best-Practices Guide to Help Companies Go Green." Guidance, (2008-02-06).


[edit] External links