Taking on the online giants at their own game

Builders’ merchant Inter-Line is showing how to beat the online giants with a best-in-class digital operation that has just won the prestigious website of the year title.

Online giants such as Amazon and Screwfix have been eyeing up the builders’ merchant sector and are taking business from traditional merchants.

This has left many builders’ merchants reviewing how their online operation measures up.

But the South-West company took the bold decision to transform its online operation into one that could not just compete against the larger companies but beat them with added functionality.

Finance Director Neil Robinson said: “It’s all about customer service for us across any of our channels. However, when we reviewed our old online operation, we realised it was falling short of our high standards.

“We looked at numerous systems but the one offered by eCommonSense beat the others hands-down,” added Neil. “Most website providers understand the digital side, whereas the eCommonSense team know the merchant side of the business inside out and offered a solution that reflected our business ethos and had all the additional levels of functionality.”

The journey to the present day has not been an easy one. It’s involved loads of hard work and detailed knowledge from the eCommonSense and the Inter-Line teams, along with a committed digital-focused business strategy.

Website supervisor Andy Green who led the project, said: “It was hard work from both sides. We needed to get our systems to talk to each other and make sure that the delivery service was seamless.

“All that hard work paid off when we eventually went live with a fully-integrated system and lots of added functionality. We are now seeing it gain momentum and customers like the online invoices, the ability to get up-to-date statements, and we are seeing increasing numbers using the online quote builder.”

Getting it right from launch was very important to the board of directors who were determined to stay true to the customer service foundation.

Neil added: “It’s also paying off financially with increased sales and better margins. That is something that we think will only continue and grow even further. We are in an enviable position now, with a solution that is as good as any other merchant has, and in many respects, better. We believe in a multi-channel approach so that we can be open for existing customers and our new customers 24/7.”