Application Technology

Today’s global economy is in a constant state of change and processes are continuously being optimised. For small and large companies, the focus on sustainability and digitalisation is having an ever greater impact on B2B and B2C business worldwide. With its newly launched online store, IVOSTUD says it is part of this change.

At the end of last year, the welding stud division and the end customer business of the traditional German company OBTEC were acquired by IVOSTUD. This suddenly offered the company a wide range of new opportunities. On the one hand, the product range expanded many times over and on the other hand, it also created potentially new opportunities for action, which those responsible at IVOSTUD were able to plan for.

The vision was clear in advance – to be prepared for the future and thus to rely increasingly on digitisation; to optimise processes in order to remain capable of acting in an ecologically valuable way; and to be able to reduce administrative processes. How can this vision be implemented? What steps need to be taken in order to be able to offer sustainable added value? Both for international industrial customers and for the company itself?

The focus is on developing a shop that offers customers a very clear advantage over other ordering options – an individualised, digital, fast and secure way to place needs-based orders for IVOSTUD industrial products – and to receive them directly from the manufacturer without any detours.

Precisely due to the fact that the demand for standard and catalogue items in industry is many times higher than in the automotive sector (which IVOSTUD had previously supplied for many years as one of the leading manufacturers), the decision to develop the store was organic.

What aspects ultimately spoke in favour of the decision to develop a shop with which customers can obtain desired products directly from the manufacturer? The first reason is the reduction of administrative procedures that had to be processed for each previous order. The second reason is perhaps the most decisive – the organisation of any order was always associated with a sometimes considerable amount of time. All this will be eliminated by the digital IVOSTUD store. Processes are simplified, the administrative handling of the individual steps to be taken is eliminated, and shipping can take place quickly and reliably.

Overcoming challenges

Of course, the implementation of the IVOSTUD store will not be without challenges. Attention must be paid to the development of online connections of all relevant data of products and delivery inventories, as well as accurate and timely display. ‘Real time’ mapping of all stock levels must also be ensured.

By means of precise and long-term planning, complications will be considered in advance and can be avoided. The most interesting question, however, is – what will the ordering process in the store look like?

Even before the actual order is placed, each customer will receive an individual price and discount list, which will be sent to them together with an access code. With this code, the customer can log into the store and view all IVOSTUD products. Depending on their needs, the inventory is queried in a further step. The last two steps refer to the order, with the information from the price list sent to them, the customer can place the order in the system, after which the order will be delivered to them within the next 24 hours – 48 hours.

Of course, it may happen that special designs are requested by the manufacturer that are not shown in the IVOSTUD store. For these cases, there will be a central contact person who can advise customers regarding these issues and provide assistance. In this instance, a complete overview of the IVOSTUD products and catalogue contents can be provided.

“Even before the store will be ready, IVOSTUD offers intensive advice regarding all items – with customers able to receive a comprehensive product catalogue. Individual industrial articles can also be obtained from IVOSTUD’s stock. The vision of the IVOSTUD store offers diverse and decisive advantages. In the first place, time saving is a factor – a fundamental added value for both the company and the customer. All offered articles are quickly available, in addition, previously necessary administrative processes are eliminated,” explains Andreas Wiggerich, global commercial director at IVOSTUD. “The fact that orders can be placed regardless of working hours and all items can be queried individually is also an obvious positive factor.”

For IVOSTUD it is clear that the implementation of the store will increase international competitiveness. The measures taken not only ensure an enormous reduction in costs but also provides fast, reliable deliveries of items and more intensive digital communication between companies. It can be assumed that digital stores will be the norm of the future of industry – individual, reliable and digital.