Brodart Library Supplies & Furnishings
Writing the book on B2B
It takes more than just shushing and book covers to efficiently run a library, although book covers were the starting point for Brodart Co. – one of North America’s top library supply companies. Started in 1939, Brodart is basically comprised of three parts: The Books & Automation division committed to improving library services; Brodart Contract Furniture which provides an equal mix of durability and aesthetic appeal in furniture concepts; and a Library Supplies & Furnishings division for the multitude of products necessary to efficiently operate any library, large or small. Combined, these different sections create a massive enterprise with thousands of products from shelving units to binding tape necessitating the utmost in product control and scalability. Using WebLinc Direct, Brodart was not only able to classify, categorize and create precise specifications for all of their products, they’re able to merchandise and sell them across both B2B and B2C markets with ease.
When Brodart came to WebLinc, they came with thousands of SKUs. So many SKUs that were so varied, in fact, that they had separated into two sites just to manage them. Not in the business of killing conversions, WebLinc set to work scaling the massive inventory into a manageable system offering customers the ability to shop through numerous channels including filtered navigation, catalog quick-order, by brand, price and more. Then, once a customer lands on their product, they’re able to edit product specifications that dynamically alter corresponding options. For example, if you want a 60” bookshelf with four adjustable shelves, that price will be different than a 40” shelf with two adjustable shelves – so when you select you options from the drop-down menus, the price automatically adjusts. For a client like Brodart who offers such a wide range of products and different options for those products, variable prices were a necessity, but are no longer a liability.
Product reviews in and of themselves aren’t terribly new or exciting, but WebLinc reviews grant administrators the flexibility to customize review questions into sets. Rather than a generic product review, Weblinc provides a flexible solution straight out of the box. Clients can create review types and associate them to products like, for example, a rating for picture quality included for a ”TV and Monitors” review type. Brodart chose to use a five-star rating in addition to a field where customers can elaborate on their purchases, but they can continue to refine and expand their review questions post launch. On the back-end, Brodart staff moderates these reviews to ensure quality control.
Since Brodart has a unique business model selling to both regular consumers and businesses, WebLinc created numerous enhancements and integrations guaranteeing a positive shopping experience for individual consumers while still offering the necessary accoutrements for the B2B marketplace. Separate role-based pricing models are imported from the client and assigned to various branch accounts enabling specialized preferred pricing or quantity price breaks. Individual spend thresholds can be set up to allow management to know when purchase limits are met and alert Brodart’s customer service team to review the order, while still allowing the order to process. Shipments are sent according to a number of varying factors including size, number, shipping method and location, or any combination thereof. The modified checkout process clearly displays the separate shipment details resulting from a single order with multiple drop-ship items from different vendors.
Flexibility doesn’t even begin to describe what it takes for an eCommerce site to encompass the entire spectrum of selling products online – but that’s what WebLinc did for Brodart and what we can do for any B2B site. Let’s put it this way: If Brodart can sell everything from book covers to circulation desks on a single site, the next job will be something out of the children’s section.
Visit the site: Brodart