InterSell B2B eCommerce caters to all of Top-Op Foods’ needs:
World food distributors Top-Op Foods felt they were spending too much time answering customer queries, and too little driving the business forward. Having reduced the amount of sales rep queries by implementing PixSell, Top-Op, with the help of Aspin, identified that an online ordering system would give them back more time at head office whilst enabling their trade customers to place large orders 24/7. They are now in a great position to drive their business forward whilst Aspin take care of their order processing.
Top-Op attribute several business benefits including ease and speed of use as well an improved presentation of products to the success of their InterSell site. Behind the scenes, integration with Top-Op’s Sage 200 back office system has meant that orders can be processed immediately after an order receipt is created. “Once an order is taken it is promptly printed then sent to our warehouse for picking,” Shakil said. “This helps to avoid delays in preparing orders and deliveries and is an all-round help for our staff and our customers.”
“Our customers have access to all the information they need to make a purchase themselves at any time. As our customers are more self-sufficient, we have seen an increased presence on the web – which in turn, is bringing us new business.”
What Top-Op Foods did next:
Giving the Top-Op trade customers access to relevant product information, specific pricing and stock numbers was a key requirement when choosing InterSell. Previously, head office would receive numerous phone calls from customers making enquiries on stock levels and product attributes – often stretching staff resources. Now each customer has their own individual login with access to all the information online themselves. “We have seen an increased efficiency in order generation and order processing.
Has it been a success?
Reducing the number of sales enquiries at head office has meant dedicating resource to other areas of the business – to be improved. Top-Op are reaping the rewards of analysing customer and product sales, allowing them to develop their business strategy further. “We have found that our office and management staff have been able to look more directly into buying trends and seasonality of items,” Shakil said. “From this, they are able to determine which items we need to up-sell, and also which particular products are doing well at specific times in the year. From this analysis, we have more of an idea of the success of certain items.”
Since the website launch, initial feedback from the Top-Op customers and industry peers has been extremely favourable as the site continues to evolve. “We’ve found that Aspin has worked well to understand our business requirements,” Shakil said. “The Aspin team has a good all round work force which can handle almost all different aspects of the business. The next steps for us are to continue to market the website effectively so that all of our customers are transitioned to using it.”