Digital B2B transformation: Pladur, a success story

In less than a year our team has managed to put the manufacturer, the distributor and the final customer on the same platform.

Thanks to this model, both the final customer and the professional installer can purchase any product from Pladur’s online catalog.

 

 

One of the other objectives achieved has been to digitize a complex sales process, which required Pladur’s integration with the ERPs of all its distributors, and with the significant variation in prices, payment methods and products.

 

"The Orienteed development team has been able to understand Pladur's needs, without being limited by them”

 

The success of this project shows that all the typical features of a B2B model are achievable with a development team that is capable of understanding the client's needs, and by never setting limitations.

 

How we changed the Pladur sales model

 

The way in which Pladur conducts its sales has changed drastically.

The company not only had to address the point of view of an omnichannel model, but also had to undergo a deep internal digitization process within its organization in order to be able to launch this project successfully.

 

For the buyer

 

Personalization

From the buyer's point of view, there is no longer a single profile.

 

The platform that we have now creates distinct buyer profiles. Each of them displays a different price for each product based on their purchase history and interaction with the store.

 

It is what we call predictive buying, one of the most powerful sales tools based on personalization. No buyer is treated the same.

 

Flexible shopping

Due to the large variety of products, it was necessary to implement a way of purchasing with total flexibility: different measurement units and in multiple quantities: pallets, kg, m3 ... The user can customize the purchase as he/she wishes.

 

Always available stock

Shipping, one of the great barriers to the success of ecommerce, has been solved. There is always stock available, regardless of which warehouse the order arrives at.

 

Thus, the buyer can choose between home delivery or store pickup. The platform itself sets a default warehouse for each user and routes the request to one or the other, depending on the stock availability. The sale is always made possible.

 

For the distributor

 

Control over stock

 

The distributor is a fundamental part of the model, and giving them control of the sales process was one of the most challenging requirements.

 

Each store and each distributor has full access to the Pladur catalog, which in addition, is integrated with the specific catalog of each distributor. All in all, it consisted of creating several small stores within a larger one.

 

Each distributor can decide on which Pladur products they prefer or do not prefer to sell.

 

Custom pricing

 

Pricing personalization was also made possible, allowing distributors to establish price rules and individualized price lists for each user profile, as well as to define prices with or without VAT, based on the type of customer.

 

Autonomy

 

The autonomy granted to the distributor within the platform even extends to the area of marketing promotions. Each distributor has the option to create offers or campaigns independently.

 

For the Pladur brand

 

Technological leadership

 

The digitization of Pladur's sales channels will allow the company to continue to be a leader in its segment and to respond to changes in the purchasing habits of distributors and individual buyers in the future.

 

More and better prepared distributors

This model not only puts the brand at the forefront of the industry, but also guarantees its growth, allowing its number of distributors to scale easily within the platform.

 

The power of data

Access to sales data and analytics on user behavior, products, etc. is also an important milestone for Pladur. From now on, it is possible to access reports on sales, customers,and best-selling products, all from the same ELK dashboard.

 

How we achieved it

For this project, we adopted version 9 of HCL Commerce, which is based on a container and microservices architecture, and is 100% cloud.

 

It is the first e-commerce project developed in Europe with HCL Commerce V9 and the third worldwide.

 

Orienteed: technology partner

The B2B2C model created for Pladur has been made possible thanks to the trust the brand has placed in our development team.

 

Its success is based on a technological partnership that will allow the platform to continue growing and adapting as purchasing habits change.

 

A long-term relationship  with our customers is what defines all the projects we carry out with other leading brands, such as Luxottica, Tod's, and Mayoral, among others.

 

Pladur's interest in enhancing the sales process of its product, together with the enormous potential of the B2B segment and our passion for e-commerce, have been the key ingredients to this project’s success.