The Situation
The Universal Group has been supplying leaf springs and related suspension components to the heavy, medium and light-duty truck and trailer parts industry for over 35 years.
Their current SuiteCommerce site had many limitations and technical issues. Customers could not view an online catalog, place an order, had no access to previous orders, or add users to their account. Believe it or not, they were still taking orders over the phone.
They had a very complex business model and product ordering process and needed a robust eCommerce platform that could be customized for their needs. They had over 500 customers, each with a unique catalog. In addition, their B2B business was growing and they needed a solid, easy-to-use platform that was scalable, customizable, and feature-rich. Finally, their biggest competitor was on Magento and Universal wanted a website that rivaled the features and functionality of that competitor’s site.
The Solution
With a robust, out-of-the-box B2B suite, Magento Commerce was a natural fit.
However, heavy customizations needed to be made due to Universal’s uncommon order workflow and customer structure.
We customized the checkout process to enable orders to be placed without entering payment or shipping information (two required values to submit an order).
We developed an “alternative SKU” functionality that allowed customers to search for products using a competitor’s SKU, then display this “alternate SKU” in the search results, product page, and order details.
We custom built a price picker algorithm that always displayed the lowest of four pricing levels on the product page in real-time.
We create a backend company structure so that when company admin changes a price, that change applies to all users (children).
The Success
The robust, native B2B platform was a gamechanger. The Universal Group went from taking B2B orders over the phone to an efficient, easy-to-use online order process that increased AOV, order frequency, and decreased order processing time.
The new site was launched on December 18, 2019, and the client was heard to say: “We should’ve done this years ago.” Needless to say, The Universal Group is thrilled with the results.
They now have a robust, easy-to-use B2B portal that they can share with their B2B customers. This puts them on par with their competition and has laid a solid foundation to expand their B2B offerings.
Their entire schematic section of the website has opened up new sales channels and additional ways for customers to find specific products in relation to the product their attached/associated with.
