Domus

Domus

Discover how Domus launched a native ERP-integrated web store that attracted new clients and maximized its efficiency.

  • Founded in 1961 to meet a growing demand for quality lighting products
  • One of Australia’s leading distributors of LED lighting and ceiling fans

The challenge

Improving customer service

Before implementing Sana’s e-commerce solution, Domus’ website was essentially an online catalog. “It was an independent, completely separate system,” says Francis Care, Operations Director at Domus. “There was no extra functionality.” The website displayed product information, and customers would ring, fax or email to place their orders.

While the system worked, it wasn’t enough for Domus. “There was no particular problem we were trying to fix, but we’ve always wanted to give our customers better service, granting access to invoices, standing orders, real-time pricing and availability, for instance. And we wanted to become more efficient from a business process perspective.” The way to achieve this was clear: a single, centrally located source of truth.

Domus

There was no particular problem we were trying to fix, but we’ve always wanted to give our customers better service, granting access to invoices, standing orders, real-time pricing and availability, for instance. And we wanted to become more efficient from a business process perspective.

Domus Francis Care | Operations Director at Domus

The solution

Seamless Dynamics integration

Right from the start, Domus had a clear idea of what kind of solution it was looking for—or rather, what it wasn’t looking for.

“We thought an interfaced solution would be harder to maintain,” says Care, “And we didn’t think it would be a sensible long-term investment. If our business model changed, or even our products, an interfaced solution would be hard to keep up to date. We felt that usability and maintainability were lacking.”

“Sana Commerce has addressed the maintenance and upgrade issues we faced. It’s brought efficiencies, and a responsive design we’re happy with. It’s made our lives easier, and there’s value in that,” says Care.

With such a clear vision on what was needed, Domus soon found Sana Commerce. “It’s suited for us because it’s seamless to integrate and get up and running. And we needed something that was easy to implement because we have so many products.”

It soon became apparent that Sana Commerce’s solution ticked all the right boxes. “A single centralized data storage, responsive design, the right price point, seamless integration—all these things made it the right solution.” Indeed, it was the integration with Domus’ Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP and the new e-commerce platform that made Sana Commerce stand out.

The most important thing has to be the tight integration with Dynamics. The good thing about Sana is that it’s embedded in Dynamics. There are objects installed in Dynamics, and a lot of the other solutions didn’t have that.

Domus Francis Care | Operations Director at Domus

The results

A single source of truth and future-proof e-commerce solution

Thanks to its Sana Commerce web store, Domus benefited from the following results:

  • A single source of truth: Domus saw improvements—for both the customers and its own teams—as soon as Sana was implemented. Care explains, “Sana provided a centralized e-commerce system that provides a single view of our product range through Dynamics. I can take a product from Dynamics to the website with all the data and product images. I can make sure that our customers have all the information they need to make purchasing decisions. This information used to be spread out—now it’s all centrally located. This also helps me save time, which is excellent.” Care is happy with Sana’s results so far. “Sana has addressed the maintenance and upgrade issues we faced. It’s brought efficiency, and a responsive design we’re happy with. It’s made our lives easier, and there’s value in that.”
  • Future-proof e-commerce: Despite Sana’s ease of use, Care notes that not all of Domus’ customers have abandoned their old familiar order channels. But he’s not worried. “B2B e-commerce isn’t popular in Australia. It’s relatively new; we were one of the first companies to implement B2B e-commerce in our industry. I see B2B e-commerce growing, though. Right now, it’s probably underutilized and underappreciated, but I definitely see that changing.” And this isn’t just general optimism. “Some of our customers are a bit old-fashioned, but for the others it has been great. The ones who use it, love it. They can see their own individual pricing and discounts—they can check everything online very easily.” When B2B e-commerce becomes as popular as B2C e-commerce in the Australian market, Domus will be ready. Sana has helped the company become future-proof. All in all, Care, one of the key decision makers behind implementing Sana at Domus, is happy with the results. “I think we chose well.”.

B2B e-commerce isn’t popular in Australia. It’s relatively new; we were one of the first companies to implement B2B e-commerce in our industry.

Domus Francis Care | Operations Director at Domus

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