Maxbo invests in Unified Commerce in its B2B and B2C
Unified Commerce
The purpose of Unified Commerce is to create a unified buying experience for the customer regardless of sales channel and for the seller to use a single centralized platform regardless of sales channel.
As an e-retailer, you use a unified system where you control all sales channels, which partly means that you get a better overview, more efficient use of collected data and a system that manages several sales channels. For the customer, the shopping experience is perceived as seamless regardless of whether the customer has shopped in a physical store, online, via computer or mobile.
Buying experience - regardless of sales channel
Today, consumers expect to be able to have relevant products presented to them directly on the mobile in an online shop, save them in the shopping cart, be able to place the order the next day, have the item delivered home or to the store, be able to try, exchange or return. Likewise, the receipt must be in the customer's mobile phone regardless of whether the purchase was made online or in a physical store.
Maxbo expands
Maxbo is one of Norway's largest players in the building materials trade and consists of 65 department stores and a well-developed online store in both B2B and B2C. Maxbo was early in investing in a holistic approach to their online sales and new logistics solutions. As part of this initiative, Maxbo has chosen to expand both B2B and B2C as well as possible delivery methods and how these can be used.
In the autumn of 2020, Maxbo launched a new modern e-commerce store for consumers B2C (maxbo.no). The ecommerce solution is built in both Magento and Pimcore, with a headless platform written in React. In that solution, the architecture was also modernized to enable new solutions such as simplified customer registration, expanded delivery modes and a quote management application.
Better B2B and B2C
In 2020, traffic on the B2B site increased by +58% and a sales increase of +51% compared to the previous year. Traffic and the increase in turnover can partly be explained by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic but also by sites that are built to withstand increased load and convert visitors into customers. On the positive side, Maxbo during Corona has to a big part lived on having a site that can handle more traffic, has increased usability and expanded functionality, which is reflected in the figures. Similarly, traffic and turnover on B2C have increased sharply. Maxbo's site for professional use is based on three personas: The Craftsman, the Builder and Constructor. Dividing into personas is an effective way to pinpoint the different customer needs and based on that adapt the site in the best way for better customer experience and ultimately higher conversion. One of the differences between the B2B, and B2C site is that in B2B the customer has their own agreements regarding prices and a more project-adapted model in the webshop that is optimized based on which persona the customer is profiled with. Both sites are controlled through the same PIM and ERP (Unified Commerce), which means that all data is controlled from the same system regardless of which of the sites it is.
Tech
· B2B and B2C in the same Magento platform
· Pimcore
· ERP Microsoft Dynamics
Creative
· Three personas for each site
· Fast and user-friendly site
· Responsive site regardless of screen size
Growth
· Multiplied increase in conversion rate.
· B2B Traffic increase 58% and revenue increase 51%.
· In 2020, the B2C site has increased sales by 202% compared to the previous year and gone from primarily having the purpose of driving traffic to the physical store to having become a primary sales channel.
"Maxbo will be the leading online store for both B2B and B2C in the building materials trade in Norway."
Broaden the area of application in B2B
As part of Maxbo's IT strategy where more and more functions should have good IT support, CAG Ateles has developed a specially adapted application that is primarily aimed at the B2B sellers and their work with quotes. Previously, Maxbo had a heavy and rigid process for quotes, which has now been simplified and adapted to how the sellers have chosen to work. It makes the work for the sellers easier through fewer clicks and better adapted flow. In addition, the application allows cooperation between sellers to be more efficient. In its own web solution, the seller can create a quote among items where prices, possible discounts and other personal preferences are entered and sent to the customer. When the customer accepts the quote, it is converted into orders in the ERP system.
Right on time - Improved logistics
E-commerce is not just about offering a fast site with good search and filtering functions or recommendations based on previous purchases or agreements. Today, logistics plays an increasing role in today's digitally structured sales. With Maxbo's new solution, both B2C and B2B customers get access to significantly more delivery methods where they have the opportunity to determine an exact delivery time and place where the goods are to be delivered. The further developed e-commerce solution with improved logistics solutions gives the customer greater flexibility and allows the deliveries to well suit the customers' Just In Time needs, regardless of whether they shop through B2B or B2C. The logistics themselves are controlled through a simple step in where accessibility and user experience have been in focus.
