Where are you going to start?
In the search for a reliable partner to build a new webshop, IMS Nederland B.V. ended up at Vicus. A known brand if you are looking for quality steel. After a number of exploratory talks a start was made on the project.
To ensure that IMS Nederland B.V. can serve its customers in the right way, a lot of attention was paid to the design phase. In this phase, the functionalities needed to make the webshop a success were discussed.
For example, IMS Nederland B.V. sells a number of products that are not standard. For example, extra attention is needed in the design for the six-meter long tubes they sell. This impacts transportation, shipping costs, administration and communication.
In addition, IMS Netherlands works with dealers. These are, for example, architects or contractors. They will manage their own webshop. So here again, there may be specifics to consider. Think about settings for language and tax rates.
Thus, everything was gone through step by step to see the impact and arrive at a suitable design.
Costs under control
It is an extensive project and that brings with it the necessary costs. To keep the costs manageable, we started with a standard template for the front end of the webshop. This was refined in consultation within the possibilities of the budget.
Because it is a challenging job, even we do not always know everything in advance. To ensure that IMS Nederland B.V. does not encounter any surprises, extra hours are calculated in advance to spend on customization. This allows unexpected issues to be resolved and any additional requirements to be incorporated.
Webshops for the Netherlands and abroad
First up was the webshop for the Netherlands. Step by step, webshops were added for the affiliated dealers. With every new webshop that was added, there were also learning points from the previous shop. A standard plan of action was also devised for new dealers. A new dealer signs a webshop contract with our customer. We then make the webshop based on the standard template we have for them. Vicus enters the dealer's logo and specific company information and adjusts the configuration as agreed. Once the webshop is live, all items can be ordered immediately.
