The Steel & Tube Webshop is designed to support companies ‘from the ground up’ – supplying everything from foundation reinforcing all the way up to the roof.
We first launched our Webshop in 2020, giving customers 24/7 access to pricing, stock levels and product ordering. With speed, choice and convenience - project planning and purchasing workflow got a whole lot easier.
New solutions for efficiency and productivity
Traditionally a ‘bricks and mortar’ business, the steel industry has been slow to change its practices. Yet right across the construction sector there’s a new generation of increasingly sophisticated operators looking for more agile ways of working.
Customers like Allan’s Sheetmetal in Dunedin and Wai Innovation in Wānaka have been taking advantage of Steel & Tube’s Webshop, using it to plan, order and purchase their products 24/7.
‘The Webshop has sped the ordering process because now there’s no back and forward with calls and emails,’ says Allan’s manager, John Cooney. ‘It also means we can plan our work programme better, knowing what materials are available at our local merchant and what we need to order in advance.’
Constantly updating
With a growing number of products (now more than 25,000), the Webshop is far more than just an online store. Through the dashboard, customers can see what stock is in their local branch, with real-time pricing, and can place orders on the spot. Customers can even request and confirm a quote, making it easier to price up a job.
‘It allows us to be more agile as an organisation and have a smoother relationship with Steel & Tube than we can with other suppliers,’ says Wai Innovation’s Eliot Drake. ‘For example, if there’s a specific sheet size for a project and different suppliers have different sheet sizes, emails back and forth are very time-consuming. On the Webshop, I can always see availability and do my own maths quickly; it’s easy to compare.’
Customers can check on their order’s status and track its delivery, view quotes and previous invoices, their account’s status, and keep up to date with payment information.
‘People have different communication styles,’ says Eliot. ‘One of my colleagues prefers picking up the phone and chatting to the team in Dunedin. But once they cotton on that the Webshop can help their productivity, they get pretty excited about it.’
Features aid project management
The dashboard has a Favorite's and a Previously Ordered Products section, showing pricing and stock levels of commonly ordered products, so that assembling pricing information for budgets and quotes is quicker and easier.
‘We don’t want to keep an infinite amount of stock on hand,’ says Eliot. ‘We like to have one of everything, but not five of everything. Being able to respond extremely rapidly is key for our business. My orders for the Webshop are a fair mix of replenishing stock and orders for specific projects.’
Customers looking for customised steel solutions are also benefiting from Steel & Tube’s digital transformation. There are now options to purchase custom-made products on-line.
Simplicity and transparency
Steel & Tube’s purpose is to make life easier for its customers. Steel & Tube’s Webshop and online portals have already become essential tools for existing customers to streamline their interactions and get their business done faster.
For Eliot at Wai Innovation, the benefits are plain: ‘There’s no doubt the Webshop has improved my responsiveness to my customers, and it frequently makes me default to Steel & Tube for products due to its sheer convenience.’
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