Harris & Russell: Distributors of domestic electrical equipment to 3,500 retailers .. they do this using Lakeview’s solutions for Distributors
Posted by Dawn Aldwinckle on February 9th, 2011
Harris and Russell is a distributor of domestic electrical equipment to 3,500 independent electrical retailers all over the UK. It supplies TVs, HiFi systems, DVDR and notebook computers etc. from suppliers such as Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, Sanyo and LG. The company has been a Lakeview user since 1998, when Lakeview’s fully integrated system replaced what had been a completely manual system. The Lakeview system handles every aspect of the company’s business, from stock control to accounts.
Challenge
Harris and Russell wanted to increase sales by enabling customers to buy via a new e-commerce website and enable that website to be integrated into its mainstream business model. It also wanted to cut down the amount of time the telesales team spent answering basic factual questions from customers and spend more time selling proactively.
Solution
Lakeview provided an e-commerce module that was modified specifically for Harris and Russell’s requirements. This enables the content management software to use the Lakeview for Distributors (LM4) data directly without the need for any further input or additional administration of another layer.
Carol Bridge, operations controller at Harris and Russell, commented:
“We now only have to input data about products once into LM4 and the system can store multiple images. The data automatically surfaces on the website and our dealers can access everything they need to know and use the website to place their orders. When prices change, again we only have to input the change to LM and the website changes instantly. The whole Lakeview system is incredibly robust and every part of it fits together seamlessly.”
Result
According to Bridge: “The website has created a huge efficiency saving for us. Now dealers can see that a TV is black and what the dimensions and weight are without having to call us for the information. It cuts drastically the number of phone calls our telesales team receives and means that they can use their time to increase outgoing calls and thus sales.
“From a standing start 18 months ago, the web now accounts for around 15 per cent of our total business and we have seen much increased activity and sales direct from the website as well as considerable cost savings.”
In summary the benefits and results which Harris and Russell have achieved include:
- E-commerce system fully integrated with rest of Lakeview system
- Huge efficiency saving in sales process
- Huge efficiency saving from single input of data integrated with content management software
- E-commerce system written into company’s precise specification.
Visit: Russell & Harris
Author: Angela Kennedy, Marketing, Lakeview Computers Ltd
