Barry began his tenure at Oregon Tool (formerly Blount International) in 1998, as VP of information systems. He has developed and executed a strategy to transform the information system department, information infrastructure, and business systems into an enabling force in the organization. To meet the key objectives of this strategy, he selected and implemented SAP throughout Oregon Tool’s world-wide locations.
Clearly, Barry had a rock-solid foundation to transform Oregon Tool’s customer experience. But there were still many challenges ahead.
Oregon Tool is a global manufacturer of precision cutting equipment for forestry, lawn and garden; farming, ranching and agriculture; and concrete cutting and finishing. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with a multinational manufacturing and distribution footprint, Oregon Tool sells its products in more than 110 countries under numerous brands. The company is the world’s #1 manufacturer of saw chain and guide bars for chainsaws and diamond saw chain for concrete and pipe, a leading manufacturer of agricultural tractor attachments, and the leading OEM supplier of first-fit and replacement parts.
THE PROBLEM
Customer Experience Lagging Behind The Competition
Oregon Tool needed to transform their customer experience. Their competitors already offered B2B customer portals, and Oregon Tool had no way to do business with dealers and distributors online. For both order placement and post-order care, the company relied on inefficient channels like phone, fax, and email. This problem was driving up the cost of order processing and customer service.
Oregon Tool’s executives knew they had an issue. They declared it a strategic priority to launch a series of B2B portals for dealers and distributors around the globe.
Barry Brunetto, VP IT, had all the data and logic he needed in SAP ERP to govern these B2B portals. But he faced two challenges.
Find a B2B portal solution that would integrate seamlessly with SAP for true self-service.
Find an efficient way to launch additional B2B portals around the globe.
Build, launch, and maintain these portals without creating any additional IT burden.
3 KEY REQUIREMENTS
1. Fast Launch, No Technical Responsibility, No New Headcount
As Barry investigated his options, he found he had only two basic choices. He could build a solution in-house, or he could launch a custom solution on an existing platform. But both scenarios would force Oregon Tool to take on responsibility for the B2B portal technology. Either way, he would need to hire more people in IT–and Oregon Tool would have to wait a long time to transform their customer experience.
Of course, the alternative to staffing is outsourcing. But Barry knew how technical debt arises when you hire a coalition of vendors to build a complex solution. The problem shouldn’t be that complicated–he just needed a B2B portal platform that made life easier for customers. Clearly, he needed to minimize the number of vendors that Oregon Tool would work with.
Given the team’s existing workload, a managed B2B portal solution would be ideal. If Barry could find a single vendor who combined that responsibility with ownership of the SAP integration, he would have a home run.
2. ECC Integration Included To Minimize New Work For IT
As with most manufacturers, Barry’s IT team had enough on their hands already. He needed to bring customer data to numerous B2B portals without introducing new technical debt or additional systems for his team to maintain. He needed a comprehensive, real-time SAP integration—one that didn’t introduce a third system between the portal and SAP.
But that wasn’t all. Barry also needed a roadmap for expansion.
3. A Roadmap For Expanding With New B2B Portal Functionality And New Sales Areas
Barry knew that baby steps were the way to go. His ideal B2B portal solution would offer a low-risk entry point to online customer interaction. If he could enable self-service tracking for orders and invoices, then add online ordering in a future rollout, he would have a great plan.
But Barry needed something else, too. Oregon Tool had numerous divisions around the globe, and leaders in those territories wanted in on the fun. That meant the B2B platform should allow Barry to launch new portals in new territories without reinventing the wheel.
THE SOLUTION
Rollout 1: Corevist Order Tracking For US Distributors
Barry chose Corevist Commerce Cloud to transform customer experience across the globe.
For his first rollout, Barry chose our Corevist Order Tracking package to bring self-service to Oregon Tool’s dealers and distributors in the US. We used our Agile implementation methodology to launch in <90 days. With our real-time SAP integration and fast-loading interface, Barry empowered customers to track orders and invoices online.
Corevist Order Tracking was a huge success for Oregon Tool. The executive team had identified customer self-service as a strategic priority, and Oregon Tool hit the ground running with Corevist Order Tracking. As customers adopted the portal to track orders and invoices, Oregon Tool went from digital bystanders to competitive players in 90 days.
What’s more, Barry delivered this new digital capability without increasing headcount or engaging multiple vendors. His SAP specialists didn’t get any new work—they simply kept maintaining SAP ERP as they always had. Our direct integration, included with Corevist Commerce Cloud, would automatically display the right SAP data in the portal for every logged-in customer. Barry’s IT staff didn’t have to do any additional work to make this happen.
Rollout 2: Corevist Grow In Europe And The U.S.
Corevist Commerce Cloud doesn’t only cover order tracking and invoices. It supports the entire OTC (order-to-cash) cycle for manufacturers. That includes online placement with direct posting to SAP ERP.
When you start with Corevist Order Tracking, it’s easy to add online ordering by upgrading to Corevist Grow. That’s exactly what Barry chose to do. He launched more B2B portals on Corevist Commerce Cloud in Europe–this time, including online ordering capabilities. He also upgraded the US distributor site to include online ordering. This brought web ordering to all of Oregon Tool’s distributors in the US and Europe. Now every logged-in customer gets the right pricing, real-time inventory availability, and real-time order posting to SAP.
Subsequent Rollouts: Global Expansion On Corevist Commerce Cloud
After the great success of online ordering in the US portal, Oregon Tool brought its entire global business onto Corevist Commerce Cloud. The company rolled out localized B2B portals in the UK, Russia, Brazil, Japan, and Canada–in addition to two more US portals for specific brands. With many wins under their belt, Oregon Tool upgraded their solution for robust, global B2B eCommerce.
The key to all this growth was the scalable, templatized SAP integration architecture that’s built into Corevist Commerce Cloud. Other software packages might require unique custom integrations for each portal, but Corevist Commerce Cloud is reusable by design. Oregon Tool’s SAP configurations made it easy to stand up additional integrated sites without a lot of heavy lifting.
“The solution is easy and quick to implement, with a great integration with SAP. The Corevist team provides great support and engagement on projects.”
—Jean-Marie Genicot, Eurpean IS Manager
THE RESULTS
A 325% Increase In Digital Revenue
Corevist Commerce Cloud has had a tremendous impact on Oregon Tool’s business. With 12 B2B portals in 9 countries, Oregon Tool has fulfilled the executive team’s mandate to secure market share with digital experiences. Not only has digital revenue soared, but transactions are up 157%, while AOV (average order value) has risen 65%.
With Corevist’s deep SAP integration handling every customer action and inquiry, Oregon Tool doesn’t have to worry about dropped orders, missing pricing, or a lack of inventory transparency. What’s more, customer service reps don’t get called for routine inquiries, as Oregon Tool’s dealers and distributors are tracking orders and invoices on their own.
Barry embarked on a terrifying adventure as he digitized a customer interaction process that had never touched the web. But Barry was courageous, and his team rallied around him. Not only did he achieve digital fluency for Oregon Tool, but he did it at scale across numerous global divisions.
“For an SAP customer looking to do a B2B portal, I wouldn’t look any further than the Corevist solution. You are not going to do it any cheaper, it’s not going to get done any quicker, and you don’t have any heavy capital investments to make. It just works.”
—Barry Brunetto, VP IT
SOLUTION USED:
Corevist Order Tracking
The Self-Service Customer Portal You Need.
Give your customers a B2B portal that answers every question.
- Where’s my order?
- Did my quote get approved?
- Where’s that shipment?
- Did we pay our last invoice?
Self-service will transform your operations. Customers will love doing business with you, and you’ll give your reps more bandwidth. You can get Corevist Order Tracking in 30 days. Since Corevist Commerce Cloud is a managed solution with prebuilt SAP integration, your IT team can rest easy—both during the project, and after GoLive.
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