A simple way to e-commerce

IF YOU BUILD IT

E-COMMERCE •IN THE CONSUMER RETAIL SECTOR, ONLINE SALES ARE TAKING OVER THE MARKET. SYSTEM DEVELOPERS SEE THE SAME THING HAPPENING IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

THE RISE OF e-commerce systems has revolutionised customer behaviour and, indeed, is having a broader social impact. High street shopping is on the wane, and the exponential increase in home deliveries has pulled drivers out of the long-haul business, tempted by the more regular hours offered by local services.

In some industrial sectors – and the chemical industry is no exception – manufacturers and buyers have been slower to embrace e-commerce. Lately, though, increasing application of digitised systems is opening up supply chains to e-commerce solutions – and buyers are demanding the same levels of service in the B2B sphere as they already enjoy as B2C customers. A number of major chemical manufacturers and some international chemical distributors are now offering e-commerce solutions in the ever-more competitive B2B market.

In theory at least, moving to digitised e-commerce sales channels can help level the playing field; in practice, however, the time and cost of building a sales platform from scratch is something that many small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) simply cannot do. Multinational corporations may have the resources to invest in the necessary IT developments but SMEs probably need a hand if they are to compete effectively.

“To win and retain customers in today’s super-competitive world, every organisation needs to be agile, proactive and personal,” says Impratech. “With the chemical industry in mind, most firms in this traditionally conservative market do not have the support channels to cater for digital change.”

SELL IT YOURSELF This is where Impratech steps in. The company was formed to offer a bespoke solution in the chemical distribution space, specifically for smaller chemical producers. Impratech provides producers and suppliers with a fully functioning portal customised with their logo and branding at a fraction of the cost of developing their own site. This also saves months of development time.

“This is a new way of selling to B2B customers and there are countless benefits to licensing our platform,” says Impratech. Each e-commerce platform is devised so as to be completely secure, flexible enough to be adapted to each user’s needs, and to be highly functional. It provides producers with visibility over every aspect of all transactions and, with an intuitive back office function, offers control and management of the online portal itself.

Once up and running, the system can handle requests from existing customers automatically, freeing up sales personnel to drive new business, Impratech says. Those existing customers will be able to see prices and transport rates in real time and track their orders from start to finish. The system also allows Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) and other documentation to be kept up to date and made available to buyers.

For the producer, Impratech’s system monitors stock levels, generates automatic email notifications, and can be linked to existing SAP and Oracle ERP systems.

The Impratech platform has been developed by chemical distributors with more than 20 years’ experience in the market. That means it is based on a thorough understanding of the sales process and the needs of both buyer and seller.

The question now, as Impratech says, is not whether manufacturers can afford to launch their own e-commerce platform – it’s whether they can afford not to. HCB www.impratech.com