eCommerce
Kratki.com B2B - taking care of contractors' buying experience
Creating a B2B sales platform consistent with the brand's image in the B2C world, meeting the needs of contractors from around the world
Scope of work:
B2B development, UX & UI design
Special Features:
PWA / Dynamic product configuration
industry:
manufacturing / fireplaces
year of implementation:
2022
Consistent shopping experience for B2C consumers and business partners - this was the idea behind the design of a sales platform dedicated to B2B transactions for Kratki.com - a leader among manufacturers of fireplaces and fireplace accessories with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. This is another challenge we took on, while working with the client. What have we achieved?
Goals:
- Customize the platform to meet the diverse needs of contractors,
- Matching the design of the B2B website with that of the B2C store,
- Implement custom modules to improve B2B sales,
- Supporting international online sales.
A step towards virtual reality - for a better customer and contractor experience
Following the dynamically changing expectations on the part of both consumers and contractors, we have moved part of the shopping experience to Virtual and Augmented Reality. How did we successfully combine VR and AR with the sale of fireplaces and fireplace accessories?
01 / 3D & 360°
Visualization of the offer including all details of the product using 3D and 360°models
02 / Augmented Reality
Product presentation in Augmented Reality (AR) mode in your own space
03 / Virtual Reality
Transition to Virtual Reality after scanning a QR code with a smartphone camera
04 / Personalization
Personalization of the product and automatic calculation of the final price
05 / Accelerate processes
Speeding up the order fulfillment process thanks to integration with an external ERP system
06 / Customization
Ability to break down the product into first parts and purchase individual components separately
Thinking of business - custom modules and integrations
Purchase list module
Most often, the orders of B2B contractors consist of a variety of items in specific quantities, but each time adding individual items requires time (and additional work) that could be used to perform more complex tasks leading to business growth. With this in mind, we have introduced a shopping list module, allowing you to automate the above process. The contractor, within a dedicated tab, gains the ability to create a list of products that he plans to purchase in the future (either on a one-time or recurring basis). In addition, each purchase list can be downloaded in PDF format along with wholesale or retail prices, which makes it possible to send an offer to the target customer directly from the wholesale platform.
Streamlining the process of finalizing an order is also helped by the module we added, which allows you to import a previously completed product inventory into your shopping cart using a CSV file.
Support for foreign transactions
Given the global nature of our client's business, we developed the platform in such a way as to streamline the logistics processes involved in shipping products to most continents. Based on the data received from the ERP, the system automatically determines the available packaging and shipping methods (e.g., parcel or pallet) and defines their cost depending on the country of shipment or the destination country. For selected customers, the whole also enables the use of dropshipping option, so that the wholesaler's customer receives the shipment directly from the manufacturer, taking into account the specified margin.
Integrations with external modules
Maintaining high visibility in the online sales market requires a multifaceted online presence. Before making a purchase, customers (as well as contractors) look for information about an e-store on the Internet - they analyze prices, compare offers, as well as research the security level and reputation of the company. Therefore, we have integrated the B2B platform with the most popular price comparison sites in Poland and Europe (e.g. Ceneo, Idealo). In addition, bearing in mind the power of social proof, we have implemented modules to add reviews in accordance with the guidelines of the Ominbus directive (eKomi, Trusted Shops, among others). Thanks to this, our client's counterparties gain not only the guarantee of obtaining attractive prices, but also the certainty of the highest quality of service and safe shopping.
B2C store preview
B2B and B2C markets are correlated - contractors most often order products with a view to reselling them to retail customers. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that the two areas have different characteristics (e.g., in relation to pricing). Maintaining consistency between the B2B platform and its B2C counterpart allowed us to take these differences into account. A contractor presenting an offer to consumers directly on his account can hide preferential rates by quickly switching the view of the business platform to its publicly available counterpart. This is made possible by the "B2C preview" switch at the top of the page, which can be used to instantly display the consumer's view, hiding business-relevant information.
Personalized pricing
One of the characteristics of B2B transactions is personalised pricing. The ability to purchase products at dedicated rates allows contractors to increase competitiveness in the market - and thus offer more attractive terms to their customers and build long-term relationships with them. The platform we designed streamlines the management of such arrangements from the B2B account. Both individually specified prices for individual products and the threshold amount, after which a discount will be charged, can be assigned to it. If a contractor purchases products below the specified limit, they will be priced at the standard rate.
Product status
The product life cycle is a basic concept related to the creation of an offer and sales strategy. When designing the platform, we took into account the specifics of all stages of a product's life in the market. The solution enables the status of items at each stage, from allowing only trusted customers to purchase and collect their feedback, to selling to all customers, to the final phase, where a counterparty can submit a product inquiry or other action by clicking a button with a dedicated CTA. In addition, in addition to publicly available products, each contractor, after logging in to his account, can also purchase products from a dedicated offer, created specifically for his individual needs. .
Competent product lifecycle management allows you to improve the product environment and fully utilize its potential, as well as efficiently manage the entire product offering.
Shipping options
It is increasingly common for contractors to place an order with a specific customer in mind. When designing the platform, we created a solution that makes this business model more efficient. What have we changed? Until now, the seller (contractor) had to pick up the shipment at his warehouse only to have it redirected to the address of the target customer. With the improvements we've made, the B2B representative can skip this step and choose to ship directly to the end buyer (whose data is saved in the address book through ERP integrations). Such a procedure significantly reduces the contractor's involvement in logistics handling and shortens the shipping time, which has a positive impact on the satisfaction of end customers.
The improvements introduced do not only concern logistical issues - the refreshed form also assumes the possibility to select the earliest date for order fulfillment and for the contractor to set the retail price himself. Thanks to this, the final amount to be paid can include the contractor's profit, i.e. be higher than the one visible from the platform.
Additional improvements and modules:
Credit limits
the module allows the purchase of goods under a popular method of settlement in the B2B industry, i.e. merchant limits. A counterparty can take advantage of deferred payment in an individually determined amount visible in his account.
Managing user access
thanks to the mapping of the employment structure inside the platform, the contractor has the ability to give and take away roles from individual employees depending on their position in the company hierarchy. In addition, depending on the arrangements with its customers, it can give selected people the authority to place orders on their behalf.
My orders tab
provides clear access to the history of orders both completed and pending. The contractor thus gains insight into the current status of his transactions.
Product suggestions
the system, based on the history of purchases, creates a list of suggested products that may be of interest to buyers.
Financial documents
all documents related to orders placed (e.g. invoices or debit notes) have been organized within a single tab on the contractor's account.
Search
an extensive search engine provides significant support for customers. By typing in an interesting keyword, the tool gives hints of product categories, and also allows filtering of the offer (e.g. sorting by products available "off-the-shelf").
Messages
the site has been enriched with the ability to send one-way messages about the most important business information such as price list changes or product availability.
Contact
in case of any doubts related to order processing, the counterparty may contact the account manager assigned to his account, whose contact details can be found in the basket view.
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