Customer Case Study

40,000 SKUs, One Digital Branch

IR-G, a 45-employee hose distributor in Nashville, launched a customer-centric site on CX1 CIMM2 with nearly 40,000 subscribed SKUs to expand reach and free up sales.

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Industry

Hose and accessories distribution and fabrication

Location

Nashville, TN

Products used

CX1 CIMM2 CX1 Content Subscription CX1 PIM

Executive Summary

IR-G, a hose and accessories distributor headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, set out to build a customer-centric eCommerce site that would win over even traditional B2B buyers and free its salespeople to chase new business. Powered by Unilog’s CX1 CIMM2 platform with nearly 40,000 SKUs from the CX1 Content Subscription and managed through CX1 PIM, the new site delivers tailored, ERP-integrated experiences, and inside sales is already fielding fewer calls about pricing and availability.

40,000SKUs available online (nearly)

Fewerinside sales calls on pricing and availability

Traditional Buyers, A Digital Shift

Since 1989, IR-G has evolved to meet customer needs and make buying as easy as possible. Recognizing the industry’s growing shift toward online transactions, the distributor set its sights on a customer-centric eCommerce site that would entice even the most traditional B2B customers to adopt a new sales channel.

The small, 45-employee hose and accessories distributor was also convinced that funneling even a portion of its customers to the website for repeat or basic stock orders would free up its salespeople to focus on finding new business.

Product Content First, Then Commerce

After researching solution providers, IR-G chose to begin its digital journey with Unilog. According to Grant Soso, Director of eCommerce & Marketing at IR-G, Unilog’s digital commerce solutions and people were the right fit, but it was ultimately the product data Unilog offered that tipped the scales. The site is powered by CX1 CIMM2 and features nearly 40,000 SKUs subscribed through the CX1 Content Subscription program:

CX1 CIMM2

Unilog’s B2B eCommerce platform seamlessly communicates with IR-G’s ERP to integrate offline and online sales channels and deliver personalized, next-level experiences for B2B customers.

CX1 Content Subscription

Unilog curates, enriches, and standardizes a catalog of relevant products, and the distributor simply subscribes to the SKUs it wants to display, confident the data is accurate and current.

CX1 PIM

This product data management tool lets IR-G sync and manage content across sales channels, with an easy-to-use interface that makes quick edits automatically feed to their business systems and sales channels.

Fewer Calls, More Selling

IR-G prepared for full launch by testing the site with select customers and internal teams, while sales promoted it by bringing tablets to appointments to walk customers through the features and set up their accounts.

Tailored experiences

The site’s design and functionality align with IR-G’s brand and its blue-collar customer base, giving customers tools to structure their accounts to mirror their operations.

Value-added features

A convenient account portal, vendor-managed inventory services, a customized mobile site, and a multiple-assigned-approvers workflow add convenience and are expected to boost adoption.

Internal efficiencies

Inside sales has already seen a decrease in customer calls about pricing and availability now that the information is online, freeing time to support the outside sales team.