CRC Gains Competitive Advantage by Offering Customers an Improved B-to-B Buying Experience
“CRC immediately recognized that OLK’s integration with B1 would allow us to quickly meet our goals of creating a B-to-B E-commerce Web store. We are able to easily give our customers the ability to order products online and review account information, all while adhering to our sales workflow and budget.”
– Bernie Schockelt, General Manager of CRC
Columbia River Carbonates (CRC), located in Woodland, Washington, USA, was established in 1985 as a supplier of high-grade carbonate products and technical service for the paper, paint, plastic and other industries throughout the Northwestern United States and Western Canada.
Challenge
- CRC wanted to incorporate online sales into their current B-to-B sales processes without draining the company’s IT resources or budget
- They were concerned that no single application could be implemented to meet all their online sales objectives, including full integration with SAP Business One, customized workflows, complex invoicing methodologies, and self-service access for customers
- Competing applications required a high degree of customization and complex administration controls not geared towards average end users
- CRC prioritized customer service, and wanted to improve the buying experience by offering customers the ability to view real-time inventory, order products, and review account information, all in one place, from any internet connection
Solution
- CRC chose OLK Ecommerce and Sales Platform as their online sales application since it met all of their business objectives:
- 100% integration with SAP Business One
- Quick and cost-effective customization to match their workflow and sales approval process
- Automatic invoicing according to defined criteria
- Comprehensive B-to-B Web store with self-service access for customers to order products and view account information
- OLK Web Store gave CRC the tools to instantly transform their SAP Business One inventory into a an online B-to-B Ecommerce Website
- CRC customers had self-service access to the company Web store where they could search real-time inventory with dynamic price lists and easily order products
- CRC customers could login to view and/or modify account information, review purchase history, order status, invoices, and more
- OLK Admin provided CRC with easy-to-use controls where non-programmers could manage the Web store and sales processes
Results
- OLK Ecommerce and Sales Platform provided CRC with an affordable online B-to-B sales platform that allowed them to quickly and efficiently meet their online business goals
- CRC gained a competitive advantage in the US Industrial Minerals industry by becoming the first company to offer customers an online shopping experience
- Customer satisfaction improved and the 24/7 self-service access to account information has been one of the contributing factors
- Ease-of-use and training bolstered a high adoption rate among CRC users and customers