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INTER-LINE MAKES MOST OF ONLINE OPPORTUNITY
Family-owned and run merchant Inter-Line has developed a best-in-class online operation.
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nter-Line, a small, traditional builders’ merchant based in the South-West of England was founded on the principle of offering the best possible customer service. In the early days all the trade was done over the counter and on the telephone. So, a few years ago, when the company looked at its online solution, it realised that remaining true to the customer service DNA would mean significantly improving the offer. Finance director, Neil Robinson, said: “It’s all about customer service for us across any of our channels. However, we reviewed our online operation and knew that we needed something that would offer our customers the functionality that would deliver that high level of service. For us, it was all about those added extras that we wanted to offer.” At the start of Inter-Line’s online journey eight years ago, the online offering was little more than a digital placeholder advertising the latest offers.
Email ordering was bolted on, but it was soon obvious that this would not be anywhere near effective and efficient enough to satisfy the needs of the next generation of tradesmen and DIYers alike.
“We knew that we needed an online solution that offered the best functionality. We looked at numerous systems but the one offered by eCommonSense beat the others hands-down,” Robinson said. “The eCommonSense team know the merchant side of the business inside out and offered a solution that reflected our business ethos and had all the additional levels of functionality that we were seeking.”
The journey to the present day has involved loads of hard work and detailed knowledge from the eCommonSense and the Inter-Line teams, along with a committed digital-focused business strategy.
Inter-Line website supervisor, Andy Green, led the project to get the solution in place. “I was working pretty much full time through the set-up phase. It was hard work from both sides. There were lots of hurdles to get over from getting our systems to talk to each other and making sure that the delivery service was seamless,” he said.
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Getting it right from launch was very important to the board of directors who were determined to stay true to the customer service foundation
to get it right from the start. It is always more challenging to persuade people to stay with you if their first experience is a bad one. We were attracting a new demographic, and we wanted to make sure that when they came, their experience meant they remained loyal to Inter-Line.
“All that hard work paid off when we eventually went live with a fully-integrated system and lots of added functionality. I had wanted to go live earlier, but I was glad that we waited to carry out all the extra testing and refinements.
“We are now seeing it gain momentum and customers like the online invoices, the ability to get up-to-date statements, and we are seeing increasing numbers using the online quote builder.
“We have even seen how it can be beneficial to our cash sales as people are seeing the products online with all the necessary data and then coming in branch to purchase. “Getting it right from launch was very important to the board of directors who were determined to stay true to the customer service foundation.”
Robinson added: “We didn’t want to go live with teething problems to solve. We needed
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“It’s also paying off financially with increased sales and better margins. That is something that we think will only continue and grow even further.
“We are in an enviable place with a solution that is as good as any other merchant has, and in many respects better. We believe in a multi-channel approach so that we can be open for existing customers and our new customers 24/7.”
He is realistic about the challenges that lie ahead in terms of the company’s digital development.
“We are clearly at the start of the journey, not the end. There are lots of other areas which we have to cover. We expect that we will see online sales grow further, and we have to be ready with an offer that will retain and grow this business.
“Despite the additional threat from the big e-retailers like Amazon, we now feel confident that we are in a strong position to counter any threat and feel more positive about the future. That would not have been the case if we had not undergone this digital transformation with eCommonSense.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net February 2020
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