Lindab
B2B ecommerce with AX and product configuration for 35 subsidiaries in 31 countries
Simplifying complex ordering by enabling customers to upload technical drawings that generates a bill of materials that can be processed as a standard eCommerce order.
Lindab is an international corporation that develops, produces, markets and distributes products and system solutions primarily of steel to simplify construction work and improvement of indoor environment. There are three primary areas of business: Ventilation, building components and construction systems.
The Challenge
Valuable time and resources spent on manual ordering
Exact customer service is a key term for Lindab's ambitions with the B2B webshop.
So when the Danish part of Lindab switched to Dynamics AX as their new ERP system, they also wanted to give their B2B webshop a facelift in order to better support its customers by offering self-service and utilize the benefits of an integrated solution with Dynamics AX.
A key criterion for Lindab was to choose a solution that already had proven its ability to integrate to Dynamics AX.
The Solution
With the new solution, Lindab eliminate errors and complaints because the customers enter their own orders and the webshop integrates seamlessly with Dynamics AX
If the customer is shopping for several projects it is possible to label each order.
When shopping for the project is finished, it is possible to download all relevant papers and deliver all documentation in one file to the entrepreneur.
Integration between the technical drawing program AutoCAD and the configurator software in the webshop, allows the customer to upload a technical drawing, get a bill of materials and transfer the list directly as a webshop order.
The webshop is also available in a mobile version, in Danish and Swedish. This opens new business possibilities for Lindab. Erik Areskog thinks that smartphones are revolutionizing the market:
"We are in the building and construction industry where it means a lot that the customers are able to reach us when they need to. Now it is possible to order via smartphone from our catalogue of 16,000 item numbers and have it delivered on the same day. It is also possible to see product images, access manuals, product sheets and other documentation." Erik Areskog, Manager of Integration & BI Services Group, Lindab, Sweden
We chose the combination of Dynamics AX and Dynamicweb because it is user friendly. Our Dynamicweb partner have taken part in the development of a unique product configurator that allows the webshop customer to design his or her own product or combine difference components and see the total price instantly. It is very dynamic and we've received a lot of positive feedback, because we are offering customers something, which they can't get elsewhere.
The Result
The advantages for the customers are many but there are just as many advantages for Lindab.
The most obvious is the administrative savings. Handling an order over the phone, fax or email requires a lot of administration.
A webshop order takes approximately only half the time of a traditional order to handle. Add it up and it is a substantial amount of time over the course of a year and quite a substantial cost.
The savings are partly due to the fact that now customers themselves enter orders in the webshop and partly because of the integration to Dynamics AX. Customers are happy and costs have been reduced. Originally, this was a pilot project but now it has been upgraded to a corporate solution and will be rolled out all over the organization, which consists of 35 subsidiaries in 31 countries.
Segment
B2B eCommerce, Dynamics AX, AutoCAD
Location
Denmark
Website
Partner
Columbus It Partner A/S