Success Story
Wholesaler of hand and cutting tools
launches B2B platform.
How Peter von Ohle GmbH is improving its sales processes with the help of
of the B2Bsellers Suite to the next level:
In a nutshell:
- Project duration: 3 months
- Go live on 17 July 2023
- Customer: Peter von Ohle GmbH, Germany
- Based on Shopware 6.4
- Integration partner: Web savvy
- Challenges: analog sales structure, many sources of error, outdated B2B trade
- Introduction of the Self-Service Portal
- Sales representative integration
- "Indoor service" Order entry
Peter von Ohle GmbH: Tool wholesaler relies on B2B e-commerce
Peter von Ohle GmbH has been a successful B2B dealer in the Ruhr region for decades, specializing in tools, fastening technology and occupational safety. For more than 50 years, the traditional dealer has made its core sales through the classic field service. Mostly in the Ruhr area. This is to remain so - in the future, however, the added value on the sales side is also to be mapped digitally. Von Ohle sells a total of around 100,000 products in its B2B store.
Analog B2B commerce sees digital transformation as a logical step
In a world where rapid developments in technology set the pace and markets can change within weeks, Peter von Ohle GmbH is now taking the logical next step towards the future and more efficient processes. The B2B retailer recognized the call of the times years ago: digitizing their sales processes.
Sebastian Hengst, Head of E-Commerce and authorized signatory at Peter von Ohle, has a clear mission in mind: "Our vision is not only to shape the future of Peter von Ohle GmbH, but also to spark a revolution in B2B commerce that makes the lives of our customers and sales professionals noticeably easier through simple digital procurement."
B2B commerce is a highly dynamic market. The target group in the B2B segment is also becoming younger and thus also more digital. In this digital era, "von Ohle" does not want to allow complex procurement processes to slow down its positive development.
The way to the B2Bsellers Suite
In a market where speed and precision count,
the previously proven approach proved to be burdensome and time-consuming, especially in recent years.
The hurdles of "von Ohle":
- Order processing on paper basis
- Manual quotation
- Specific process requirements in sales
- Complex product structure
- Concern about integration of a new system
Thus began the journey of Peter von Ohle GmbH to Shopware as an e-commerce solution and the B2Bsellers Suite as a B2B solution - a platform that digitizes and automates the sales process.
"The vision was clear from the start: a seamless omnichannel concept that transfers analog value creation to the digital level," says Sebastian Hengst.
Digital transformation based on Shopware 6
The transformation of traditional sales processes came with some hurdles from the start, but the B2Bsellers Suite for Shopware 6 convinced with a strong offering of standard B2B features, while leaving room for customization. The key benefits of the B2Bsellers Suite, has convinced von Ohle:
- Management of complex organizations and employee access
- Individual customer prices
- Digital quotation process for sales staff
- Adjustment of prices in the shopping cart
- Digital Self-Service Portal
- Show/hide prices for customers who are not logged in
- A passwordless login for customers
- Order / commission lists
Implementation partner: WEBversiert GmbH
Our partner "WEBversiert", also Shopware partner for over 8 years has realized and accompanied the B2B store for von Ohle."
Rapid implementation and introduction of the "von Ohle B2B platform
The implementation of the B2Bsellers Suite did not pose any major problems for "von Ohle" and the WEBversiert agency, rather the questions of how to further build the B2B platform afterwards. The communication with the support team of "B2Bsellers Suite" and the agency went smoothly.
Sebastian Hengst reports: "In just three months, our von Ohle B2B platform was up and running. The live go-live in July marked the beginning of the rollout. The feedback from the team was positive without exception. The ease of use of the system, especially on tablets in the field, was a welcome change. It was also not a big challenge to customize the interfaces. And whenever we had a problem, it took no more than a day for the B2Bsellers team to resolve it."
What's next? B2B wholesaler has high expectations for the future
While it is too early to assess the full impact on customer relationships and revenue, expectations are high at Peter von Ohle. The basic processes are established and the future looks promising. The B2Bsellers Suite is designed not only to improve process efficiency, but also to increase the focus on customer service and consultation. The message is clear: in B2B, digitization is not an option, but the right way to stay competitive and meet increasing customer demands.
After all, many customers have become accustomed to new delivery and service standards, and the challenge is not only to meet them, but to exceed them. With 35 employees, Peter von Ohle may be a smaller player in the market, but it is one that has more than 50 years of experience in B2B trading and can therefore face these challenges with confidence.