Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based distributorship Suncoast Marketing Inc. implemented Quantum Net®, Windows-based e-procurement system from Forms Management Data Systems Inc., Reno, Nev. The system enables the distributorship to offer on its web site products and services from numerous manufacturers nationwide. Customers can quickly place orders online, track them, look up previous orders along with item quantities and pricing, and review product usage.
Suncoast Marketing customers can go online to order 15 different business forms, 37,000 computer and office supplies, 50,000 promotional items and a multitude of commercial printing products. Customers also can proofread products with variable information such as business cards and letterhead online in PDF format.
When Young discussed the online system with Tim Andrew, computer systems manager at the consulting firm, Andrew liked the idea. The consulting firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., and has 14 locations nationwide. Each location orders independently its printing materials and supplies such as wide-format paper rolls (up to 42 inches wide and 300 feet long), ink jet cartridges, business cards, brochures, letterhead, fliers and computer supplies.
"I used to mostly call a distributor when I needed the supplies," says Andrew, who manages supplies at the consulting firm's Orlando and Tampa locations. "Sometimes, I used to get hold of the person. Sometimes, I had to leave messages." When Andrew had to review old orders--say, for ink jet cartridges--he had to ask a sales assistant to pull out a folder from the filing cabinet, go through reams of bills, separate the bills for cartridges, jot down the prices and dates, and place the bills sequentially in the folder. Placing orders by telephone and fax and maintaining the orders manually was time-consuming and often laborious, he says. Andrew viewed the online system as a more efficient way to do business.
Stephen Young, director of internet sales at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based distributorship Suncoast Marketing Inc., spearheads the company's e-commerce development. Since it introduced e-commerce in 1999, Suncoast Marketing's customer base has increased by nearly 20 percent.
E-commerce capabilities helped Suncoast Marketing, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., grow its sales 10 percent last year. The distributorship, which offers products such as business forms, commercial printing, promotional items, paper rolls and computer supplies, provides a print management solution to an engineering and architectural consulting firm. From left: Stephen Young, director of internet sales; Norm Cantelm, vice president of marketing; Randy Eubanks, vice president of sales; Bob Scala, president; Jason Luebbers, vice president of operations, Rhino Division; and Rodman Armas, vice president of marketing, Rhino Division. (Eric Oplesch, vice president of sales, Rhino Division, isn't pictured.)
If you're thinking of offering e-commerce, here are four points to keep in mind:
1. Think of your customers first. "Learn your customers' needs and then find an e-commerce solution which best suits them--one which will enhance their experience," says Stephen Young, director of internet sales at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.- based distributorship Suncoast Marketing Inc. "Instead of finding a solution for your company, find a solution which best suits your customers."
2. Be technology-savvy. Stay informed about the latest technology to stay ahead of competitors, Young says. Research technologies and applications to avoid getting locked up in dead-end or obsolete e-commerce solutions.
3. Choose an easy and versatile solution. Customers should be able to access the e-commerce package quickly, Young says. "Don't make your customers sift through a lot of web pages to find out what you provide," he says. "Look for a supplier who provides training for sales and customer service personnel and offers regular software updates."
4. Team up with the right manufacturer. "Remember that your customer wants service and wants it now," Young says. Work with manufacturers who can provide high-quality products quickly, he says.
Easy, Instant Results
The consulting firm's Tampa and Orlando locations use the online system to order mainly wide-format paper rolls, ink jet cartridges and computer supplies. To place an order, Andrew visits Suncoast Marketing's web site at www.suncoastmark eting.com, logs on by using a user name and password (assigned by Young) and views a page that lists products the two locations order frequently. Andrew chooses the items and quantities to be ordered. The online system displays the item numbers and names, quantities ordered and total price of the items. Andrew then proceeds to check-out, or changes or deletes the order. Once Andrew places the order, the online system, which is interfaced with FMDS' Quantum software, notifies Suncoast Marketing's sales assistant. The order appears on the sales assistant's computer screen. If the order calls for a stock item to be shipped, the sales assistant generates a release order using Quantum, prints a pick ticket and emails it to the warehouse, which ships the order.
If Andrew places an order for a product other than wide-format paper rolls, ink jet cartridges and computer supplies, the sales assistant issues an RFQ through Quantum, and emails or faxes it to manufacturers pre-selected by Suncoast Marketing. The manufacturers email the quotes back to the sales assistant. A sales representative selects a manufacturer and approves the RFQ. The sales assistant generates a purchase order through Quantum and emails a proof to Andrew. Once Andrew approves the proof, the sales assistant emails the order to the manufacturer, which ships the order. "Our employees receive the order instantaneously, and items can sometimes be packed within a half-hour and shipped the same day," Young says.
Andrew says, "he's much better off" using e-commerce and finds the order history feature of the print management and accounting system especially beneficial. "I know what I ordered, when I ordered and how much I ordered in a matter of seconds," he says. "It's timesaving." Andrew says it's easier to navigate through Suncoast Marketing's online system compared with other systems he uses to order other materials. "I don't have to generate a purchase order using this system," he says. In the upcoming, companywide computer systems managerial meeting, Andrew will discuss the benefits of the system with people who manage supplies at the consulting firm's other locations.
The Future is E-Commerce
Although customers are embracing e-commerce, Young says he still faces resistance. "Companies get used to old processes," he says. "Companies agree it's an electronic age and surf the web. But when it comes to ordering online, they say, 'We don't know.'" One way distributors can deal with resistance is to show benefits of e-commerce to the customers. Young often tells customers and prospective clients that time is money. By using e-commerce, they can have fewer employees working on a job, freeing up staff for other work. "You have to tell them that they greatly increase productivity," he says.
Suncoast Marketing's strategy has worked. After it introduced the online system, the distributorship's customer base increased by nearly 20 percent during the last three years. The distributorship also is gaining customers worldwide, Young says. "By using the online system, we now have customers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and South America," he says. "It has tremendously increased the speed with which we can respond to our customers' needs and desires."
Young says more businesses are embracing e-commerce. "Customers, suppliers, distributors and manufacturers who don't use it are being left behind," he says.
