Case Study: JLM Wholesale

The Challenge: eCommerce Vendor Sunsets Support

JLM was running its B2B eCommerce website on Storefront, an Infor eCommerce product. Infor announced it was sunsetting the product and ending support, which sparked JLM to look for a new eCommerce platform that offered a more intuitive front-end and back-end experience.

“We wanted something easy to use, with a product information management (PIM) system built in,” said Dennis Ingamells, CFO of JLM Wholesale. “We also wanted a site that we could administer on our own; something that didn’t make us frustrated every time we needed to get new products or pictures or datasheets into the system.”

The Solution: A Robust Site with a Built-in PIM System

JLM considered several B2B eCommerce vendors, ultimately selecting Channel Software because of its PIM capabilities, intuitive management console, and easy-to-navigate user experience for their customers.

Channel Software’s CSX eCommerce B2B platform is purpose-built to manage the challenges of B2B eCommerce. With the ability to smoothly integrate with any ERP, its robust tools and responsive design deliver a superior shopping experience for customers and easier site management for administrators.

“Only screened, selected companies can purchase from our site,” explained Ingamells. “So, we want to give them the best service. Channel Software’s platform has great search capabilities for customers and it lets us display part numbers, datasheets, tech sheets – all the information someone would need. We wanted to give our customers an Amazon-like experience…a really easy-to-use, easy-to-buy-from website.”

The Results: Leaps in Automation and Efficiency

The CSX eCommerce platform has made life easier for the JLM team who manages the site and for the customers who shop it.  

Sales team gains more time

The ease of ordering online has freed up the inside sales team to focus on other work. “For the small or easy orders, the customers don’t need to contact us for that anymore,” said Ingamells. “That’s given our staff some of their time back.”

An intuitive PIM

The prior Storefront site required up to three hours for loading items and updating on the site. Today, JLM enjoys customizations that update inventory overnight and automatically update the site with the new information. The more intuitive PIM also makes it easier for the JLM marketing team to add product information, like tech sheets or PDFs.

“With the old site, it was a real headache to manage the product information. Now with Channel Software, most of the work is either automatic or it can be done by our team in seconds. For example, we can use the mass import tools and update 25,000 items instantly,” said Ingamells. “That’s huge.”

Accurate customer estimates and quotes

JLM customers can view list prices and wholesale prices on the site, which helps them accurately quote jobs. In addition, customers now have the ability to:

• Reset account passwords
• View which products are in stock at which warehouses
• View order tracking
• Download templates
• View customer-specific pricing

Planned, future features for JLM’s B2B website include:

• The ability to pay invoices on the site
• The ability for customers to view estimated freight costs

A fully integrated and supported eCommerce site

The JLM site is seamlessly integrated with INFOR FACTS their ERP system. Data is drawn and updated, and orders are fed directly back into the ERP.

“Everything has been really smooth,” said Ingamells. “The Channel Software team has been fantastic and worked within our deadlines and needs. We’ve been thrilled with the site and with Channel Software’s support.”