THE ONETRAIL APPROACH
Electronic ordering for all customers
Various external parties were involved in this project, including Netivity Internet software and Vendit. Also, internally various business units participated such as ElectronicPartner Netherlands and Germany and the distribution center.
EP assumed the role of project manager, and as the spider in the web we have ensured that everything was well-aligned, thanks to excellent project management. Onetrail has taken on the architectural role and provided the technical design for the setup. Then the process was technically set up and the mappings were made.
The collaboration was very hands on. Due to a setup with daily calls, all parties were always informed, and everyone knew what was expected of each other. This allowed us to quickly identify and solve problems.
INTERVIEW EP – ELECTRONICPARTNER NETHERLANDS
EP: “All order data that starts from the webshop is handled through the Onetrail platform. The entire chain with all options is designed in such a way that our customers can use it however they like. For example, an order can be picked up in the store by the customer or we deliver the order directly from the store to the customer’s home. We can also deliver directly from the central EP warehouse or use the option of a direct drop shipment from a supplier to a customer’s home address.”
“Store stocks are passed on in near real time, just like the stocks of the central warehouse, the distributors and the affiliated suppliers. These are visible to our customers in the EP webshop. An optimal integration and coordination between product data and order data. ”
EP: “All processes have been mapped and all message flows have been streamlined. The new setup with Onetrail in the middle has taken away the complexity of the message flows. We don’t have to worry about this anymore. It is now much easier to connect a new supplier and a new distributor is now connected in no time. Forward placement in the webshop is now an easy thing that has made us a lot more agile as an organization. ”
EP: “Because EP webshop orders now go directly into the shopkeepers Vendit cash register system, he can now process the orders like all other orders. Previously, webshop orders were forwarded by email, which was very error prone. In this way, the shopkeepers have more control over the order process. ”
“As an organization we have become a lot more agile.”
EP: “EP shopkeepers are often very well-known in their own region, and therefore service is extremely important. We now offer consumers full insight into the stock of the relevant store, thereby removing uncertainty. The customer can order the product online and our shopkeepers will deliver and install it. The customer no longer has to leave the house. We have noticed that this works well right now and it will increase in the future.”
ELECTRONICPARTNER NETHERLANDS
It is our wish to connect more suppliers, which is possible. We are now fully equipped to do that. We want to gain more insight into the stock information in real time. This is related to an adjustment in our SAP system that we are currently working on.
When that is ready, we can start using the real time price and availability option that Onetrail has already set up for us. The further development of our eCommerce environment will therefore certainly lead to many new collaboration projects.
