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BAT Industrial
Advanced Industry Solutions
SSS Australia have been supplying medical equipment and consumables to the Australian healthcare market for over 45 years. Known for their unwavering commitment to customer care, the team at SSS Australia strive to set a benchmark in gold standard service. That aim naturally extends to their online channel, and with an eye for innovation, they work hard to offer their customers the best online experience possible.
SSS Australia aren’t new to eCommerce. The successful healthcare supply company has offered its customers online ordering since the early 2000s. But since that time, B2B eCommerce has matured and its users have grown more sophisticated. Recently, the team at SSS Australia had come to realise their existing platform wasn’t delivering the sort of agility and flexibility they needed. They found they needed to build customisations on top of their existing platform in order to offer their customers features that were considered ‘non-standard’ for B2B.
They found themselves at a crossroads: either upgrade to a newer version of their current platform, or start evaluating other options. And thus the partnership with Commerce Vision was born.
“No one in my industry is doing what I’m doing.
Certainly, none of my competitors are using the kinds of digital tools I’m using… I’d say I’m the first to take these steps.”
On the surface of things, Scott Hudson, Managing Director of BAT Industrial, may be in the business of selling valves and hose fittings, but look closer and you see he’s all about service and innovation.
Scott is on a mission to transform the way BAT Industrial do things. The business is becoming leaner and meaner - more digitised, more automated, more efficient.
“BAT Industrial isn’t the biggest player in our market”, Scott tells us. “But we’re the most advanced.”
Turning to Commerce Vision for ecommerce has helped make that a reality.
People
In February 2018, Scott had grown frustrated with BAT’s online offering. The software they were using just wasn’t delivering the kind of branding, design and functionality he envisioned. His family business may not be a large multinational enterprise, but that doesn’t mean it’s not just as complex as one. BAT Industrial compete with businesses many times their size, and they needed a solution sophisticated enough to support that.
Recalling early interactions he’d had with Commerce Vision, Scott decided it was time to resume the conversation with us.
Working with our Professional Services team, Scott quickly realised it was the expertise of our people that made all the difference.
"I've been in business for 20 years, and never met a group with the business skills and knowledge you guys have."
Platform
BAT went live with their new site in early 2019. In an industry that isn’t necessarily brimming with digital natives, there were a few pockets of customer resistance to the web. Because BAT’s previous ecommerce site didn’t really serve their needs, customers were still accustomed to placing their orders over the phone. But since go-live, Scott has personally guided these customers through the new site, demonstrating just how easy it is.
“I tell them ‘Have you got a second? Let me make your life easier’. I’ve gotten a kick out of it, actually. I’ve really enjoyed helping people – I take as many of those phone calls as I can!”
Behind the scenes, the web has streamlined BAT’s order fulfillment. “The beauty about Commerce Vision’s platform is the transfer between the ERP and the website. It’s unbelievable, it’s like a super-strength.” No other front-end solution integrates so seamlessly with the back-end system.
Others in the industry might have an order-taking website on the face of it, but at the end of each day they’re manually uploading the orders to their ERP.
Results
BAT Industrial are easier to do business with now they’ve got the right online platform. Orders come in at 7am on Saturday morning now, others at 10 o’clock at night. “Our customers can order when it suits them now, not just when it suits us… It’s helping us maintain and strengthen relationships with our customers.”
The number of phone calls coming into the BAT office has plummeted since the new site went live, and far from feeling threatened, Scott’s Sales team are loving it.
“My sales reps have had a lot more fun since we launched our website. Now they’re out there selling BAT – our brand, our system, and our service – instead of just selling a ball valve.”
BAT Industrial are growing at a rate of about 12% per month now, and Scott attributes a lot of this to the functionality and transparency of the new website.
But it’s not just profits that are growing. Implementing CV ecommerce has also helped open the door for career growth within the business. Jay – a casual warehouse employee who was in the middle of a graphic design course – is now working in the office doing all the digital design work for the company. Scott also now employs marketing staff, has employees building their Google analytics skills, and is utilising business intelligence dashboards to help inform both strategic and operational decisions going forward.