b2b.store has become a Solution Provider Affiliated Member of the Electrical Distributors’ Association (EDA) and will be using its digital ordering platform to help electrical wholesalers and distributors get their businesses online as quickly and easily as possible.
The partnership will allow wholesalers using b2b.store to set up a free, fully-branded Progressive Web App (PWA) which delivers digital ordering across mobile and desktop. A host of premium features can be subscribed to on top of the free version. For those EDA members signed up to the eData service, they will also get access to EDA’s library of electronic product imagery and data, removing one of the biggest barriers to getting electrical wholesalers online.
Margaret Fitzsimons, CEO at the EDA, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of being able to serve customers through a variety of different sales channels but, historically, concerns around cost and the ability to collate and manage product images and data have prevented members making the leap online.
“With competition from online retailers growing daily, we have been working with a variety of solutions providers to create resources and partnerships that will help our members digitise their businesses more easily.
“Our eData solution collates product information from the major electrical manufacturers who, in turn, are responsible for maintaining the data for those products. This database is now available to members looking to get their businesses online using the b2b.store platform.”
Rob Mannion, founder and CEO of b2b.store, said: “It’s an exciting time to be part of this forward-thinking digital initiative, which is being driven by the EDA.
“Digital ordering solutions have long been one of the main growth sales channels across the wholesale sector, allowing distributors to effectively put their trade counter in their customers’ pockets.
“Historically, developing these apps has been a time- and cost-intensive process but advances in technology mean we are now able to offer fully-branded Progressive Web Apps to customers in a single click.
“Until now, there have been two major barriers to digital adoption by wholesalers and distributors, both of which are removed through this partnership with EDA: The first is ready access to standardised, high-quality product data that’s held in one location – the EDA’s eData portal provides that; the second is the ability to create a cost effective web shop that can be up and running within hours, and we have now shown that is fixable with b2b.store.”
Wholesalers and distributors wishing to find out more about b2b.store should get in touch with the b2b.store team here.Book a Demo