OverviewCustomer profile:Covs is a major auto parts, tools, equipment and consumables distribution company that has been servicing the automotive, mining and industrial sectors in Western Australia since 1929, as a division of Automotive Holdings Group (AHG). AHG is a diversified automotive retailing and logistics group with operations in every Australian mainland state and in New Zealand.

Situation: Covs provides an online catalogue for its staff member and clients, on which users can search, view and order product references, and manage their account online. The catalogue was starting to fail Covs due to the growing user base, and the expanding diversity of references and categories. Moreover, Covs’ catalogue had not yet adapted to the mobile era, and was therefore not responsive on mobile devices.

Solution:Covs chose Connected Systems for the design, development and delivery of their new online catalogue called Covs Online. The aim was to make the online viewing and ordering faster and easier, and accessible from desktop as well as from mobile devices.

Benefits:• Desktop and Mobile compatible• Multiple search options• Impersonation option• Performance gains• Personnel savings• Fast and user friendly

“Our digital experience with our own brand has drastically changed since Connected Systems implemented Covs Online. With thousands of references available, we needed something powerful and responsive. For both our clients and our staff, the new portal makes searching, viewing and ordering products a walk in the park!”– Gordon HowellOnline Services Manager, Covs

Covs

“Covs Online”Application Development- Case Study

The SituationThe previous system in place consisted of an online catalogue, the fourth developed by Covs. The catalogue was non responsive, which means it could not be viewed properly on mobile devices, which constituted an issue for sales representatives and clients on the move. Moreover, the search system built in the system was long, slow and laborious: unless the user entered the exact words of the references he was looking for, he would have needed to find the reference by clicking through all relevant categories and subcategories until they could find the reference, provided there is one.Between each of the steps, the user was redirected to a new page, and the results would not be visible until the user clicked on the most precise subcategory possible, which took a long time due to the slowness of the system (several minutes for a simple search).

“Our clients shopping for their daily essentials online to run their business could take hours – it wasn’t worthy of the Covs brand.”– Paul BeenhamBusiness Services Manager, Covs

The system also didn’t allow its users to have a clear view on their shopping cart. Whilst shopping and adding items to the shopping cart, the cart only displayed reference numbers, and not the name of the product the user had selected to purchase. This meant that if the user needed to operate a change in the order, they would be unable to know which product to modify, and would have needed to click on every item separately to identify the order to be withdrawn/modified. Moreover, it was impossible to remove an item from the shopping cart once it had been added; clicking on the item would only redirect the user to the product page, without suggesting to remove the item from the cart.The system had a function called “Direct Item Entry”, which allowed users to only write down the reference, and automatically import the product into the cart. This system inspired the Order Pad Connected Systems designed for Covs. The older version was less ergonomic because it was only available on the tab, and not on the shopping cart page. Furthermore, unlike the order pad, data couldn’t be imported from Excel or a text file.

The SolutionCovs Online is a highly scalable and comprehensive e-Commerce web solution. This core line-of-business application is how Covs transacts with its 1000+ online clients, making it a critical business system.Covs Online is comprised of a fully featured shopping cart, easy-to-use site administration facility, and a rich product catalogue and search facility that will easily support hundreds of thousands of products.The Covs Online solution is based on the full Microsoft stack; this is replacing the older solution based on open-source technologies that was not able to cope with either the size of the product catalogue, nor the volume of sales that Covs needs to successfully sell their products online. Covs Online is integrated with the Covs mainframe, which allows the users to get prices, available quantities and promotional prices on car parts and other related products in real time. The application has been designed and developed for mobile access, before also being designed for desktops.

Users can find products by using different search options, such as:• Free text: users can enter a search

criteria to find products matching the description. It is not necessary to enter the full word; the first few letters will allow the system to load matching suggestions.

• Part number: All products have a part number; users can search by part numbers staring, containing or exactly matching a search criteria.

• Make/Model/Series/Year: Users can search for parts of a specific car model.

• Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): Users can enter a vehicle identification number to search for parts. Covs online will decode the VIN, extracting the car information (e.g. make, model, year, etc) to perform a vehicle search based on the car specifications.

• Category or Brand: Users can search products by category or brand; Covs Online provides category and brand lists (clicking on a category or brand will display all of its products).

Unlike with the previous system, users don’t need to navigate away from the search results to visualise a product’s full specifications; by simply clicking on a product, the full product details appear on a panel on the right of the screen.

Depending on the criteria entered, the search results could come back with thousands of products; Covs Online provides filters to narrow the search results further.The new systems also provides improved individual shopping carts for each user on which they can add/remove products and update product quantities from the search results, product details panel and shopping lists, which they can create, edit and remove.A newly added and unique feature to the system is the impersonation; users can authorise other users to order and purchase items on their behalf. For instance, this feature is generally used between a client (for example, a car dealer) and a sales representative at Covs; the sales representative can impersonate the client to manage his account on his behalf, simply by entering the client’s account number.

“Our new e-commerce platform is a lot more efficient than it was before. This time, we’re really up to par. We expect our online sales to double within 5 years.”– Gordon HowellOnline Services Manager, Covs

Another star feature of Covs Online are the Order Pads that have been mentioned above. Covs required a component that could cleanse data and import parts straight into the shopping cart so that customers can generate an order straight from a variety of format, including Excel and text files. Connected Systems developed the Covs Order Pad using MVC and JSON for data entry and cleansing, with SQL being used for the update. Covs had requested a component that would import 200 parts within 20 seconds. We utilised Table-Valued Functions and Stored Procedures, along with the standard SQL processing power, to validate and import 1000 parts into the Covs shopping cart in two seconds.

The order pad also skips the description of the product, the branch, prices and other details, only to keep the essentials to process a quick order: the part number and quantities. For users who repeatedly purchase the same items, and therefore know exactly what the numbers refer to, the order pad is a much faster way to process an order.

Desktop Tablet Mobile

“Connected Systems has been introduced to us by our colleagues at AHG, with whom the team has been working for years now. They knew all about our industry, our vision and our people: from day one, Connected Systems delivered the necessary expertise and knowledge to truly understand our requirements, and provide the best scenarios. The team is efficient, understanding and reliable; we know we can count on them to address our needs and not only to execute, but to contribute. We also deeply appreciate the team’s ability to work autonomously, independently and discreetly.”– Paul BeenhamBusiness Services Manager, Covs

BenefitsThe solution brings a new level of performance to Covs Online Services. Firstly, in terms of accessibility of information, clients and staff members are now able to access Covs Online from a mobile device as well, which makes it easier for salespeople in particular, who are constantly on the move.Secondly, in terms of information scope, users can easily find what they are looking for using categories and filters, and display all the information related to a product in a single place.Thirdly, Covs will make significant savings on administration personnel. Thanks to the new automated online e-commerce platform, Covs will receive less phone orders, which will enable staff members to allocate more time and effort on their other responsibilities.Fourthly, the solution adds value to Covs e-commerce thanks to its easy to use interface. It has been designed to make searches as fast and easy as possible to adapt to all levels of technology comfort and knowledge. From the user experience being improved, the search, order and purchase processes have also been made easier and faster. Covs not only saves time internally, but also facilitates the clients’ processes. All these benefits directly impact Covs’ reputation and add value to the company.

The biggest contrast between the before and after scenarios is definitely to be found in the timing. The system is now so much faster and easier to use that the clients/users will be able to place orders, purchase items and keep track of their stocks without requiring any assistance from Covs employees and/or sales representatives. Everyone from both sides can now focus on other responsibilities, and grant more time on their core businesses. Before the new system, sales representatives and customer service managers needed to constantly be on their guard and expect clients’ calls to place orders or to enquire about products’ availabilities. Today, all of this information is available online.Currently, the online sales represent 8.5% of the total sales of Covs. With the new system, Covs’ sales directors expect their online sales to grow to 12% in the short term and 20% in the long term.

Partnering with Connected SystemsThis is what Covs has said about partnering with Connected Systems for the delivery of both their e-commerce platforms:

Our aim is to provide our customers with fit-for-purpose solutions that clearly add value to their organisation. Connected Systems is dedicated to providing value added technology consulting and development expertise; this ranges from strategic planning, design, development and testing and commissioning of the system. We also offer support services.We work smart and leverage our depth of expertise in strategic planning, application development and systems integration to ensure the best possible solution outcomes for our customers. We work collaboratively with our clients to either take on the responsibility of the project (through fixed price engagements), and we also work well where there is a sharing of responsibility for the decisions and direction a project may take (time and materials).As well as our specialist areas of development regarding Microsoft technologies, Connected Systems has extensive experience in many non-developments, consultative based service offerings – for example, ICT Strategic Planning. We offer and have performed strategy consulting, analysis and governance consulting for some of Australia’s largest private and public sector organisations.

Connected SystemsConnected Systems is a technology-consulting organisation who specialises in providing innovative technological solutions to meet the needs of customers both today and into the future. Specialising in Branding, Application Development, .NET bespoke development, SharePoint technologies and BizTalk solutions, we offer our customers tailor made, easy to use solutions to help increase productivity using the latest Microsoft technology. We pride ourselves on developing solutions that assist our customers with obtaining rapid return on investment.Founded in 2006, Connected Systems is an Australian company. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we’re focused on building our solutions on the Microsoft platform, which is the common architectural foundation that allows customers to integrate and share all IT assets and resources. This means customers can not only react to events, but they can also proactively manage their IT environments to pursue new business opportunities quickly and respond to market dynamics more effectively and competitively. We pride ourselves on delivering solutions on current technology and endeavour to stay at the forefront of the Microsoft technology curve. We are committed to providing our clients with the competitive edge they need to “make the difference” to their business.

For more information, contact us today!

Connected Systems81 Edward Street, PerthWestern Australia 6000

e: sales@connectedsystems.comp: +61 8 9227 0416

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