International Online Shops with a Direct Link to TecDoc and SAP

User Report by Hella - an Internationally Operating Automotive Part Supplier

Hella has been using the cross-media software ANTEROS since 2003, when print catalogs were first generated with ANTEROS.print in the various areas. For some time now, webshops have also been set up in the various national companies. ANTEROS not only has a direct connection to SAP for Hella, but also transfers vehicle and article data in TecDoc format from the DMM.

Reasons to Choose International Online Shops

In the past, foreign dealers and garages were handled by over 60 employees via telephone at Hella. This procedure, however, was extremely time-consuming and required a lot of manpower. Furthermore, accessibility was limited: with phone lines being busy and no feasible way to implement 24-hour service.

 

All of these problems could be solved by international online shops supported by ANTEROS.

However, Hella did not want to set up online shops for everyone - i.e. the actual end customers - choosing rather to maintain the existing 3-level sales via wholesalers. Instead, the new shops were only intended to be used by authorized dealers and garages, and thus for registered customers, allowing the ordering process to be personalized.

“I was very happy with the development time of the international online stores. We were able to integrate the system in just 3 months and it worked very well. The feedback we received from the national companies has almost been too good, now all countries want to have this kind of online store, which also enhances the company's image. The number of incoming orders has been growing significantly.”

Rainer Holthaus, Hella
Rainer Holthaus,
Catalog Manager at Hella

Online Shop Features

Convenient Search

The Hella online shops allow customers to conveniently search for products and with various search functions:

 
  • via product categories, such as headlights -> front lights
  • via vehicles, in the usual automotive manner via manufacturer (such as Audi), via model (such as A4) or vehicle
  • via different identifiers, such as article number, OEM number, EAN, etc.
 		  
  • via parameters, e.g. year of manufacture between 2000 and 2010 or installation side=front left
  • via keywords
 

 

These searches can also be combined, e.g. first restrict the vehicle, then the product type, year of manufacture, etc. Additionally, the online shop stores a history for each customer, which includes the vehicles they have previously searched for, allowing you to search for several products required for a certain vehicle. This can be advantageous e.g. if multiple parts of a vehicle have to be replaced after an accident.

Hella vehicle search

Product Comparisons

If customers want to compare similar products, online shops implemented with ANTEROS offer the possibility to compare products. To do this, the shop user can put the relevant products in a comparison folder and can thus compare the characteristics of the products in a targeted manner. The products compiled are displayed in different columns and their criteria in rows. In order to quickly recognize the differences between the products the criteria with different values are highlighted.


Once the customer has decided on one or more products and placed them in the shopping basket, the prices are recalculated if the quantity or delivery option are changed. In addition, the shopping basket can be saved by ANTEROS interfaces, loaded by Excel data and linked with data from SAP, e.g. delivery address. In addition to the saved shopping baskets, the online shop can also display an order overview of completed orders and orders currently being processed.
Naturally, manufacturers and garages can still contact Hella via telephone. In this case, the ANTEROS online shop offers the possibility for Hella to act on behalf of a customer within the shop and thus place an order for them.

Product comparison

Orders

Since the Hella online shops can only be used by authorized, registered dealers and garages, the customers are not only shown the list price for the products, but also their customer-specific price.

Once the customer has found relevant products after searching and, if necessary, comparing them, they can put these products in a shopping basket. The availability of said product is also displayed in the shopping cart.

While many of these functions are also common in typical online shops such as Amazon, the shopping basket import is less typical for these shops, but is important for Hella's dealers and garages: they can load products into the shopping basket using Excel in order to prepare orders very quickly. It is also possible to save shopping baskets so that repeat orders can be implemented quickly. In addition, the dealer can choose from several delivery addresses previously stored in Hella's SAP system in the online shop and does not have to enter them themself.

International Webshops

Interfaces to SAP and Import of TecDoc Data

Hella uses ANTEROS interfaces to import vehicle and product data from TecDoc and master data from SAP.

The Function Interface via Web Services Between ANTEROS and SAP Offers the Following Feautures:

 
  • Display customer prices
    ANTEROS transfers the customer number (from the user data) and a list of article numbers to SAP and receives the customer prices of these articles and displays them in the shopping cart or other product lists
  • Display availability of products
    ANTEROS transfers the customer number and article numbers as well as order quantity of a shopping cart and SAP returns which of the products are available in the quantity until when.
 		  
  • Order transfer
    With the data from the shopping cart, the customer number, the selected shipping method and the selected delivery address, the order is transferred from ANTEROS to SAP.
 

Hella Employees use the Online Shop Themselves

By the way, manufacturers and garages can still contact Hella by telephone. In this case, ANTEROS offers the possibility that Hella can act on behalf of a customer in the shop and thus place an order for them.

Hella is Extremely Satisfied and is Setting up Online Shops with ANTEROS in Multiple Countries

The introduction of the ANTEROS-based online shops resulted in significant time saved for Hella. Additionally, Hella can now offer their customers the option to order from their product range 24 hours a day. This has resulted in an increase in incoming orders and in an improved image on the international market ever since the first online shop was implemented. 

For this reason, ANTEROS-based online shops are now being set up for more and more Hella national companies.

Software Demo of the Shop Software ANTEROS - Try it for Yourself!

Are you planning to renew your online store or build a new online store in multiple countries and are looking for a good store software? Should the store allow your customers to search comfortably, respond quickly and allow deep integration into your ERP system? Then try the award winning ANTEROS software out.

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