Boosts in efficiency, customer engagement, revenue and ultimately customer attraction and retention are some main things manufacturers can benefit from by adopting e-commerce. But we’re not here to talk about the benefits (you can read about them in this blog post). Today, we’re looking at some stories of manufacturers using e-commerce in real life and seeing success.
Here are five of our favourite examples and tips on how you can follow in their footsteps.
- Charterhouse invested in connected systems and enabled future business growth
- Royal Canin upgraded their e-commerce platform and benefited from online sales growth
- Fagerhult improved customer experience with a PIM system
- Mack Trucks boosted customer engagement by using video
- Kronans Apotek created an omnichannel experience and put the customer first
1. Charterhouse invested in connected systems and enabled future business growth
Garment manufacturer Charterhouse had been using the same business systems for years. While these legacy systems ran relatively smoothly for all that time, as Charterhouse grew bigger, the more cracks began to show.
For example, core systems like their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) were disparate and had limited integrating capabilities. This meant it was difficult for the Charterhouse team to quickly find the information they needed - which impacted productivity and efficiency.
To eradicate these obstacles and pave the way for Charterhouse’s future growth, they needed to upgrade their core business systems. Access to integrations and centralised data were key. This is what Charterhouse got when they upgraded to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 stack.
In particular, the garment manufacturer connected their e-commerce, PIM and CRM systems which resolved their commerce systems puzzle. This led to benefits such as eliminating the need for costly integrations, removing culture siloes and ensuring data can be easily accessed in one location.
And better yet, the new systems were cloud-based which futureproofed the business for the foreseeable. Read about this case study in more depth via the button below.
2. Royal Canin upgraded their e-commerce platform and benefited from online sales growth
Royal Canin is a well-known global pet food manufacturer. They knew that a strong e-commerce platform was key to business growth, especially as more and more customers were choosing to browse and purchase goods online rather than in-store.
Additionally, Royal Canin’s website featured complex pricing, a large product catalogue, customer database and various promotions. When the pet food manufacturer implemented the right e-commerce platform, they were able to increase their online orders by 54%, thanks to the online purchasing process being improved.
3. Fagerhult improved customer experience with a PIM system
As Fagerhult’s production rate increased and there was higher demand for excellent customer experience, the lighting manufacturer needed a smarter e-commerce solution. One of their main challenges was that their product information was disparate. This meant employees were wasting a lot of time on administrative tasks like searching for the right information.
The solution? A Product Information Management (PIM) system. PIM systems bring all of your product information, from imagery and videos to descriptions, into one location. This means managing and updating this data is much easier and time-efficient, among other benefits.
When Fagerhult implemented their new PIM system, product data management became much more seamless. The team’s day-to-day tasks were simplified and they could now focus on providing outstanding customer service and experience. Read about this story in more detail via the button below.
4. Mack Trucks boosted customer engagement by using video
American truck manufacturer Mack Trucks already have a website where customers can explore their range of vehicles, build their ideal truck, find a nearby dealership and more. To complement this experience and ensure their customer engagement is at its max, Mack Trucks uses videos.
From clips that show off particular trucks to Q&As with their product innovation team and customers, this is a great example of using other types of media to promote your products as well as written content and imagery.
The 21st century consumer, even B2B ones, want an increasingly interactive, immersive brand experience. Strong imagery and punchy copy take you part of the way. Videos take you to the finishing line.
You can check out Mack Trucks’ YouTube channel for some inspiration but here are some examples of videos you should consider for your website:
- Product demos and launches
- Client testimonials
- How-to videos
- Behind-the-scenes clips
- Did you know? tips
- Meet the team
5. Kronans Apotek created an omnichannel experience and put the customer first
Now, this example isn’t actually from a manufacturer but we wanted to show you the importance of creating an omnichannel experience for your customers. Kronans Apotek is a Swedish pharmacy chain who wanted to improve their customer experience and boost e-commerce sales.
A great way to do that is personalise your customer experience. Thanks to a new e-commerce platform that integrated with Kronan Apotek’s CRM and Content Management System (CMS), they were able to:
- Provide product offers and promotions tailored to the individual customer, based on their search and purchase history
- Provide personalised product recommendations (opportunities for up and cross-selling)
The new platform also bridged the online-offline gap by allowing customers to reserve products online and pick them up in-store.
This kind of experience is what the 21st century consumer wants. They want convenience, speed, consistency and their needs anticipated - all keys to a great customer experience and can be achieved if you invest in the right e-commerce platform.
You can read about this case study in more depth via the button below.
How do you create a winning e-commerce strategy?
We hope these examples have inspired you. By this point, you might be wondering how you can take what these companies did and apply it to your business. Luckily for you, we created a guide to e-commerce for manufacturers.
Covering the benefits of e-commerce, a look into the minds of the modern-day B2B consumer, how you can build your own strategy and more, learn more by clicking below.
