IT
E-COMMERCE: OPENING A SHOWROOM TO THE WORLD
Merchants can reach a new generation of builders by developing an online presence for a much smaller investment than building a bricks and mortar showroom, says Mark Hughes, regional vice president UK & Ireland at Epicor.
A
s the next generation of family builders are increasingly becoming more involved in the buying of materials, e-Commerce is
increasingly vital to the growth strategies of builders’ merchants.
I n the UK, online retail sales currently stand at over 1 billion pounds per month , accounting for over 20 percent of total retail sales . With e-Commerce retail sales set to rise yet further as more and more millennials take on the responsibility for buying, it is a trend that cannot be ignored.
The changes brought about by the shift towards online retail, that has been fuelled by the popularity of large eCommerce sites like Amazon, means today’s customers more often than not want their goods immediately through either click and collect or express delivery. Builders’ merchants must be attuned to these shifting expectations, but satisfying the ‘I want it now’ appetites of customers takes investment.
The commercial realities of this new online sales environment is a difficult one for smaller merchants to navigate. Unlike traditional bulk shipments, unit shipments can drive up costs and eat into profits. A situation that is exacerbated by the industry giants who squeeze out smaller merchants by handling higher volumes of business at much lower margins—and will use loss-leading pricing strategies to win over new customers.
While managing these new requirements can seem daunting, investing in new technologies can help merchants gain the insights and capabilities needed to deliver the fast and responsive customer solutions merchants need to survive in these changing times.
Furthermore, investing in technologies that deliver automation and efficiency can also hel p offset the costs associated with delivering a growing volume of unit shipments.
Online storefronts
W ith the threat that Internet-only retailers like Amazon pose to the industry, software solutions such as BisTrack make it easy for builders’ merchants to establish an online storefront and serve customers more efficiently and effectively.
Some merchants may baulk at the cost of building and implementing an eCommerce solution but wouldn’t think twice about building a new showroom. Yet solutions like Epicor Commerce Connect (ECC) for BisTrack make it possible for merchants to build an online presence for a much smaller investment than a bricks and mortar showroom. Making it possible to compete with Internet-only retailers who lack the distribution, knowledge, and expertise that builders’ merchants can take advantage of to win and keep customers for the long term.
However, it’s important to recognise that e-Commerce goes beyond simply adding an online store to a website. Today’s systems deliver powerful end-to-end functionality that can support the fast-paced business goals of digital distributors—such as increased productivity, growth, and differentiation.
Customer focus
ECC for BisTrack enables builders’ merchants to create unique e-Commerce stores quickly — providing all the tools needed to facilitate an exceptional online customer experience that drives business growth.
The ECC platform extends Epicor BisTrack
— a next-generation solution optimised for merchant businesses — with a tightly i ntegrated e-Commerce business solution that eliminates multiple product databases and the need for duplicate data entry. Integrating with business processes in real-time, all information is taken from the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and completed online transactions are automatically and immediately reflected in the ERP system. Simply put, s olutions such as ECC for BisTrac k make it easy to deliver a consumer-like and fully branded e-Commerce site that satisfies the expectations of the growing number of ‘digital-first’ customers who prefer to transact and order online.
Driving growth
Providing a complete set of B2B and B2C tools that are ready to be deployed quickly, ECC for BisTrack makes it easy to incorporate specific online features required for selling direct to consumers, as well as to business customers or tradespeople.
Built on the power of the Magento®
open source e-Commerce platform, ECC for BisTrack gives merchants the tools they need to build and manage custom websites for the business needs of today and into the future. It also provides merchants with the flexibility of being able to add new capabilities and apps from the Magento Marketplace as they grow, without being locked into one vendor’s ecosystem.
With online shopping increasingly popular in business settings, ECC for BisTrack is a comprehensive e-Commerce solution that gives builders’ merchants the power to set their brand apart and drive new growth. BM J
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
