A new SAP-integrated ecommerce site

In mid-2012, 3A Composites, a global manufacturer of lightweight composite materials, partnered with b2b2dot0 to develop and launch myaccount.3AC.com – a business-to-business post-order-entry customer service portal that features real-time integration with SAP.

The site was launched with fanfare, excitement and special training sessions for key customers.  There was just one small snag.  Only a few customers came to use it.

Like many manufacturers, 3A Composites has complex business-to-business relationships with contract-based pricing and custom business rules.  Receiving and manually processing hundreds of B2B orders each week was an operational challenge.  So, the company invested in an automated sales order processing system by Esker.

The Esker Sales Order Processing system receives inbound faxed orders, processes the orders with sophisticated optical character scanning and data mapping, and then posts the orders directly into 3A’s SAP system.

But, automatically processing faxed orders only solved half of 3A’s efficiency problem.  It didn’t address the large volume of inbound phone calls and email inquiries from customers about “post-order” status.

That’s when b2b2dot0 stepped in and helped the company develop and launch myaccount.3AC.com – a business-to-business customer service website that features real-time integration with SAP.  The website complements and extends 3A’s investment in the Esker fax-to-SAP solution and provides 3A’s customers a 24-hour resource to get answers to all their order status questions.

Initially, the new site was launched through a series of special announcements and promotions to 3A’s clients, salespeople, and customer service reps but to the company’s surprise, clients didn’t embrace the site.

It’s a familiar scenario. The idea is great. The execution is perfect. The technology is advanced.  But clients have old habits and are reluctant to change.

So in early 2013, 3A Composites decided to make a concerted effort to increase traffic to the new website and thus reduce the burden of staffing large volumes of inbound calls regarding routine order status questions.

b2b2dot0 developed a solution to send automated SAP-generated order confirmation emails, with a link back to the website, to every customer after each order was posted to SAP.

This solution makes it extremely easy for 3A’s customers to get to and use the new B2B website. Customers don’t have to register on the site, remember a URL, username or password.  They just have to click on a link in an email.

Now 3A’s customers can continue to place orders via fax or email, and they are provided with an easy, frictionless path back to 3A’s customer service website which provides real-time order status information.

The results of the email confirmation strategy have been impressive.  Within days of implementation, the average weekly visits to 3A’s website increased by over 850%.  And, the number of order status answers that the website was able to provide 3A’s customers (as opposed to customer service reps answering by phone or email) grew by 1400%.

About b2b2dot0

b2b2dot0 helps manufacturers and distributors who run SAP to improve the online B2B order-to-cash process for their customers. b2b2dot0 is committed to leveraging open-source technologies, like Magento eCommerce, and integrating them with SAP.

b2b2dot0’s SAP-integrated solution leverages existing SAP installations to provide seamless eCommerce functionality faster, less expensively, and with lower risk than building a custom website or heavily customizing existing software products. b2b2dot0 is headquartered in Raleigh, NC, with offices in Colorado, New York, Maine, Ohio and Switzerland.  For more information, call 919-676-7429.

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