- As more customers self-serve around the clock with real-time stock and delivery information, reducing inbound queries, Swift’s sales people will be free to sell more proactively.
- The refreshed web site will also enable systematic suggestions of alternatives as well as add-on products, increasing the scope for up-selling and cross-selling.
UK B2B kitchen equipment wholesaler Swift Electrical, a long-standing customer of On Demand Solutions (ODS), has upgraded to the latest version of its ODSNet™ web platform in response to surging demand for online stock information and purchasing options.
Swift Electrical, based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is a national distributor of white goods, sinks and taps, supplying kitchen designers, retailers and fitters. Ordinarily, around 30 per cent of all orders are placed via its web site, the balance coming in by phone or email. The company plans to reverse those statistics so that in due course the web accounts for 70 per cent of all business.
This prompted an upgrade to the latest version of ODSNet, which takes the B2B web purchasing and account self-service experience much closer to that of mainstream online retailers such as Amazon.
During the pandemic, when supply chain disruption affected product availability, Swift Electrical found its sales team fielding high levels of routine stock enquiries. “In the recent market conditions, around 40 per cent of inbound calls have been about stock availability,” says business development director Paul Theobald. “Our plan now is to make that information accessible, live, on our web site.”
The company already uses ODS’s full suite of software, from ERP to its web store platform, so ODS was the obvious port of call for more advanced online functionality, linked through to its back-office systems and full product catalogue.
“We carry some 15,000 SKUs in total and our aim is to have real-time information about all of these on our web site,” Paul explains. “Our customers, which include boutique kitchen studios, may be businesses buying from other businesses, but in their home lives they know what it is to buy online from Argos or AO.com, so they come to work with those same expectations – to be able to find what they need quickly, look up the price, availability and delivery options, and place an order.”
The aim is to enable the entire customer journey in a simple, easy and intuitive way starting with product search and extending right through to invoice/delivery/account history look-up – so that customers can serve themselves at their own convenience, at any time on any day of the week.
“We’re migrating towards a web experience that matches and surpasses what can be accomplished over the phone, with the benefit of greater convenience and flexibility,” Paul says.
Live links to the latest product catalogue and pricing details, as well as account histories, will make it easy to search for items. As well as enhancing the customer experience, doing more business online will present advanced opportunities for cross- and up-selling for Swift Electrical, and for quickly and effectively suggesting alternative items when stock isn’t available.
“As a method of communicating with customers, ODSNet makes it possible to do this systematically, removing the pressure to continuously train sales people in these techniques,” Paul notes.
As more enquiries and order processing activity moves online, sales teams will be freer to spend more time helping clients with more bespoke enquiries, and selling more proactively.
“Currently, the sales team are largely reactive, responding to inbound calls, but the enhanced web site will free up their time to be more creative,” he says. “We have around 4,500 customers across all our touch points, and we want to ensure they are all getting the same great service.”
The improved online experience is expected to increase customer loyalty. “Keeping ahead of customer expectations is very important, and providing the next level of ease of use and access to real-time information, with ODSNet – the best and easiest-to-use platform on the market – will help keep our customers connected to us,” Paul explains.
Swift Electrical expects 50 per cent of its business to come via its web site by the end of this year, rising to 70 per cent as the company adds new features and functionality. “The great thing about our relationship with ODS is that it’s a real partnership,” Paul notes.
“Although – like all software vendors – ODS have their own roadmap, they’ll always take into account our requirements and requests and work with us to deliver exactly what we need. That tremendous flexibility and willingness to provide bespoke support is superb, and is why we continue to choose ODS as our provider.”
Swift Electrical also plans to switch to ODS for web hosting soon. “We use them for everything, including our ERP system, so everything is joined up and well supported. We couldn’t be in better hands,” Paul concludes.