BERG Toys’ road to e-commerce success

80%

of orders processed through the web store

2-3 hours

time savings per day

Lower TCO

due to Dynamics AX integration

The challenge

Work more efficiently and better serve customers

BERG has been using Sana Commerce solutions since 2015. Before that, BERG had a self-built web store with numerous links to its ERP system. There were 2 challenges BERG wanted to solve with a new e-commerce platform:

To work more efficient internally. The existing solution did not work efficiently. The ERP system was not the basis for e-commerce, which meant a lot of duplicate work and manual updates for the producer. In addition, many orders were still received via email and telephone, which meant that the workload for the customer service department was too high.
To serve customers better. Customers needed a better information service. When using the old web store, they still had to call with certain questions because the information was not available online. They also wanted the ability to easily access their order history and place repeat orders, but this was not possible with the old platform.

Thanks to the implementation of the Sana Commerce web store, we have managed to increase the percentage of orders through the website from 30% to 70% within one year. Currently the percentage is almost 80% and we are moving towards our goal.

Bernd Wassink | Application Engineer at BERG Toys

The solution

Dynamics AX integrated web store

Therefore, BERG decided to look for an integrated e-commerce solution. The producer soon partnered with Sana Commerce. In 2015, the new Sana web store was linked to BERG’s Dynamics AX ERP. The main benefits of Sana’s integrated solution for BERG are:

Lower operational costs. BERG wanted an e-commerce platform that would fully integrate with its existing ERP so there would no longer be any need to maintain two systems. The data is now available in real time from the ERP on the web store. The benefit of ERP integration is that only one database needs to be maintained.
Improved customer experience. BERG can now always show correct customer and master data on the web store, and the customer can find all the required information online. Apart from being an order portal, the BERG web store is also an information portal. On it, customers can find all customer-specific information regarding outstanding invoices, orders, and customer documents and credit limits.

The integration with our ERP system Microsoft Dynamics AX is the reason why we switched to Sana Commerce. All changes are now immediately visible on the web store. During the past four years, we have made really great progress in making business processes more efficient thanks to Sana.

Bernd Wassink | Application Engineer at BERG Toys

The results

2-3 hours saved per day and satisfied customers

Immediately after the integration of its web store and ERP system, BERG saw positive results, and these results continue to show four years after implementation. These include the following:

Time savings for customer service: In the past, the customer service team was busy answering questions by phone and email. Now customers can find this information online. This also applies to placing orders through the web store, with 80% of orders now being processed online (with the old web store, it was only 30%). With such a high number of online orders, the customer service department saves 2–3 hours per day and can now use this time to proactively approach customers through cross-selling and upselling.
Low total cost of ownership (TCO): This is a true long-term improvement. The Sana web store hardly requires any maintenance or customization. The integration with the ERP is perfect, in contrast to the self-built web store, which was not integrated in real time with the ERP system and had a lot of kinks as a result. Here you can read more about the costs of e-commerce in our Finance and Accounting Guide.
Addressing peak periods: BERG often has peak periods such as spring, Sinterklaas (Dutch equivalent to Christmas), and Christmas. “Previously, the workload for the customer service department was very high around these periods. Orders were received by email,” says Bernd Wassink, Application Engineer at BERG Toys. Thanks to the Sana Commerce web store, orders are now automatically received in the ERP system. This ultimately results in fewer errors, which provides some relief to the office staff during the peak season.
Satisfied customers: Since the implementation of the Sane web store, BERG has been receiving positive feedback from its customers. They are especially pleased with the fact that all information is directly available through the web store. This is particularly useful for BERG’s international customers. “We are, for example, closed when our international customers are open,” explains Wassink. “They cannot contact us by phone so it is a great solution for them to have that information available at any time of the day.” Customers are also very positive about small optimizations.

A while ago, we started to show credit limits on the web store. Customers are really positive about such small optimizations. Each call they have to make is extra work, and the more information there is online, the better it is for the customer. This is reflected in the very positive feedback we have received from customers.

Bernd Wassink | Application Engineer at BERG Toys