The Client
The world’s leading provider of rugged outwear
The Challenge
Carhartt was using an extranet to allow their customers and sales representatives to obtain information about orders, track shipments, download support images, and request fixtures and signage for in-store campaigns. The next step was to provide customers a way to place orders online.
The primary objective of the new order entry project was to develop a simple, easy-to-use order entry and online catalog that encouraged customers to place orders via the Internet. The goal was to lower the cost of sales, increase margins and increase customer loyalty—thereby increasing overall market share.
The Haverstick Approach
The project team’s approach was to find a solution that would leverage Carhartt’s existing extranet, integrate with the existing back-end system, and fulfill the functional and business objectives that were identified during a discovery session.
To leverage the investment Carhartt had already made in IBM technology, Haverstick Consulting developed a user-friendly online catalog and ordering system based on IBM’s WebSphere Commerce Suite v5.4. The eServer, iSeries-based catalog not only allows customers to place orders online, but also allows sales representatives to create product orders for key accounts.
With the customers now having the ability to order products directly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the number of abandoned calls into the call center have been greatly reduced.
The Result
The value from implementation of Web self-service and e-commerce solutions has been documented and proven time and again. Historically, the average payback period has been 9 to 12 months. Specific benefits include:
- Increased orders due to a reduction in abandoned customer service calls
- Increased customer retention—a 5% increase in retention leads to +25% increase in profitability
- Reduced operating costs gained from scalable Web solutions providing information access to key stakeholders
- Access to new customer markets and the creation of a barrier for your competitors with 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week operations
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