Wolseley, the international distributor of heating and plumbing products, has enhanced its digital services and grown its eCommerce share of sales to 10 per cent in eight months with a web application from Black Pepper Software.
With over 700 branches in the UK across its brands, including Plumb Centre, Parts Centre, Pipe Centre, Climate Centre, Drain Centre and Burdens, serving professionals in the trade industry, Wolseley also operates an online platform, its eBusiness service.
This service allows customers to order from a catalogue of over 400,000 products online as well as using a variety of product selection and account management tools – from setting up automated ordering, to delivery preferences and invoicing.
Whilst the online service was available, many customers, who were accustomed to transacting in traditional ways, such as going into branch or placing orders on the phone, weren’t aware of the benefits of using it. Wolseley wanted to raise awareness amongst its customers of the business case of them using the eBusiness function. Working with Black Pepper, Wolseley created a web application for the eBusiness offering which would engage its customers through an enhanced User Experience (UX). The app, which was built and ready for user acceptance testing and feedback after just a few months, meant Wolseley could promote the benefits of the eBusiness services. In just eight months, Wolseley’s eBusiness share of sales grew to 10 per cent.
George Brickwood, head of eBusiness Sales at Wolseley, commented: “We chose to work with Black Pepper because of its UX expertise. Black Pepper’s agile development expertise led to fast, dependable and affordable software and we were listened to and understood at every stage. The result was a web application that was polished, reliable, on-brand and highly engaging.”
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