Driving Digital Growth in a Conservative Industry

The challenge

A Small Team with Big Ambitions in a Traditional Market

Partech, a Norwegian-based distributor and system integrator of hydraulic components, wanted to make buying industrial parts as easy as possible, no small task in a conservative, offline-heavy industry. With a lean team of just eight employees, Partech needed a modern, scalable e-commerce platform that could deliver online visibility, reduce manual sales work, and integrate seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central.

Key Challenges:

• Lack of ERP integration on legacy Magento platform
• Minimal SEO performance limiting online reach
• Conservative customer base still reliant on offline purchasing
• Limited internal capacity to manage complex e-commerce tools

Complexities

Navigating High Volume, Low-Margin Sales in a Demanding Technical Market 

Partech’s business model is defined by complexity. Serving customers across industries like marine, mining, and hydropower, the company deals with a vast and highly specialized product catalog, unpredictable lead times, and customers who demand precise technical and logistical information before committing to a purchase. 

Key Complexities:

• 160,000+ SKUs, Majority Made-to-Order
  • With only 4,000 items kept in stock at their single warehouse, most products are fulfilled on demand from suppliers. This setup requires careful coordination and accurate, up-to-date information about lead times, availability, and specifications to help customers make informed decisions, especially in urgent, equipment-down situations.
• Real-Time Pricing Logic via ERP
  • Partech manages a complex pricing structure within Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, applying discounts based on customer type, size, and product category. This layered discount matrix introduces a high level of variability and requires absolute accuracy when customers are evaluating options and placing orders. 
• Search-Driven Buying Behavior
  • While many of Partech’s customers still prefer to place orders offline, nearly all begin their journey online, typically by searching for specific part numbers or technical attributes. Appearing in relevant search results is critical to winning new business, especially when competing with larger or more established vendors.
• Search Complexity at Scale
  • With over 160,000 products, even small inefficiencies in navigation can create friction for the customer. Ensuring buyers can quickly locate the right part among thousands of options requires a highly tailored, intelligent search experience that reflects the structure and nuances of the catalog.
• Managing Long Lead Times and Flexible Payments
  • Lead times in this space can vary from days to months depending on the supplier and part. Coordinating these timelines, while also managing customer expectations and minimizing risk on long-lead purchases, adds another layer of operational difficulty.
• Product Content Accuracy Across the Catalog
  • Maintaining and enriching product data for such a large catalog is a constant effort. Partech relies on a mix of supplier data updates and internal content enhancements to ensure listings are detailed, reliable, and aligned with SEO strategy. With a small team, scaling that effort efficiently is both critical and challenging.

The solution

Modern, Fast, and SEO-Optimized Web Store Powered by Sana Commerce Cloud

Partech migrated from Sana 9.3.4 to Sana Commerce Cloud to improve speed, gain automatic updates, and optimize for search engine visibility. The integrated platform provides a consistent flow of real-time ERP data to customers, while freeing up internal teams from manual updates and payment management.

The results

Web Traffic Up. Revenue Up. Future-Proofed for Digital Growth. 

Although not 100% of sales are currently completed online, Partech’s investment in digital commerce is paying off significantly. Their web store has become the single most important driver of new business, with nearly every new customer originating from online discovery. Partech’s story proves that in B2B, a strong digital presence supports the entire sales funnel, not just the transaction. 

Key Results:

• 30% Revenue Growth YoY
  • In 2023, Partech grew by 30%, with €500K–€600K in sales attributed to new customers acquired via the website.
• 90% of New Customers Discovered via the Web Store
  • Even when purchases are completed offline, the web store plays a pivotal role in discovery and trust-building.
• Google Shopping Integration Drives Global Reach
  • Partech now appears in search results across Norway, Sweden, Canada, and beyond. Their logistics setup allows for efficient global shipping, which has expanded their customer base.
• Significant Internal Efficiency Gains
  • The sales team no longer answers routine questions about pricing or delivery times, as customers can self-serve. This frees up resources to focus on complex RFQs and technical consulting.
• Improved Customer Experience
  • Customers benefit from:
    • FedEx shipping estimates at checkout 
    • Estimated delivery dates based on supplier data 
    • Easy product discovery through Tweakwise search 
    • Card payment options with automatic capture on invoicing 
• Short Time to Value
  • Partech migrated to Sana Commerce Cloud in just 3 months. The result? A faster site, better SEO rankings, and immediate uplift in traffic all achieved without increasing their internal headcount.
• Enhanced Webstore Intelligence
  • Partech uses Sana Commerce Insights to gain a clearer picture of how customers interact with their online store without needing to build out complex reporting dashboards. The tool provides an easy, out-of-the-box way to track performance trends, top-performing products, and adoption patterns over time. 
•  Flexible Payment Handling for Long Lead Times
  • Many of Partech’s products have long delivery times, making payment management a challenge. With Sana Pay+, the team can automatically extend authorizations and capture payments only when invoices are issued. This has reduced backend workload, eliminated the risk of expired payments, and made it easier to serve customers ordering made-to-order items.

Highlighted feature

Smarter Product Discovery That Supports Adoption 

With a catalog of over 160,000 products, Partech faced a common but critical challenge: helping customers find the right items quickly. Prior to implementing Tweakwise, search results and category pages often surfaced irrelevant products, making it harder for customers to self-serve and reducing confidence in the web store experience. Since introducing Tweakwise, Partech has been able to configure custom sorting algorithms and improve on-site relevance significantly, ensuring that both search results and category listings prioritize the most appropriate items. This enhanced discoverability not only improves the customer experience but also supports the company’s broader goal of increasing web store adoption in a traditionally offline-heavy market. For Partech, smart search isn’t just a usability upgrade, it’s a strategic enabler of growth.