Smart sales: B2B e-commerce and CRM united in one solution to scale new heights

Everyone will remember the arrival of carving skis and how this innovation made life easier for many skiers – and completely changed it for others…

In the world of sales too, we are witnessing constant evolutions that make sales “smarter”, for example through the adoption of a single cross-platform solution that integrates B2B e-commerce and CRM for both agents and retailers.

The elements that make this solution “smart” are mainly two:

• the communication approach, which takes into account the specific features of each brand the company owns, the countries where the tool is used (e.g. clarity and order for Germany, richness of information for the United States), the language, and the role of the user (e.g. sales rep, customer service, distributor).
• the technology employed, , which represents the latest IT frontier applied to the fashion and sports sectors. All operations linked to order management (searching for products, calculating prices and discounts, choosing delivery dates, printing the proposal in PDF) are accessible offline from any modern browser (PC, tablet, smartphone) just like an app. In addition, based on configurable algorithms, the system automatically suggests the “right” price for that product, customer, and context (e.g. customer type, up-to-date orders, previous seasons’ history).

What does this mean for companies?

• Reducing TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), thanks to a single platform accessible by both sales reps and retailers without the need to install an application.
• Increasing sales opportunities by making the main functionalities of the tool available even without connectivity.
• Optimising sales and increasing profits thanks to algorithms that secure margins.

What are the benefits for the sales team? And for retailers?

• Sales reps can consult all product information, availability by type and size, and previous orders; they can place new orders and check sales performance in real time against their targets. The system suggests the “right” product price based on company-defined logic; the rep can either accept it or personalise the proposal by adding an extra discount. In that case, their manager automatically receives an approval request by e-mail, speeding up the internal approval workflow.
• Retailers can access the entire product catalogue at any time, view information relevant to them (financial position, dedicated prices and promotions, delivery status of orders, etc.) and reorder all products under their reserved sales conditions.

Both sales reps and retailers can carry out their activities with or without connectivity in a browser, just like an app – maybe even with a pair of skis on their feet!