Welcome to the success story of Wastebuilt's remarkable transformation in the digital landscape. In this episode of Modern Marketing Messages, our host, Taylor Karg, alongside two expert guests, dive into how leveraging the OroCommerce platform, in collaboration with Americaneagle.com, played a pivotal role in revolutionizing Wastebuilt's online presence.
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With a commitment to embracing technology and driving their digital strategy, Kevin Creese, the Director of Ecommerce at Wastequip, spearheaded the vision for the company's growth through digital transformation. Alongside Derek, a Solutions Engineer at Americaneagle.com, the team embarked on a journey to consolidate multiple websites and implement a seamless and customer-centric ecommerce platform. Join us as we explore the challenges faced, the solutions crafted, and the outstanding benefits reaped from this transformative partnership, positioning Wastebuilt as a leader in the waste industry's online space.
Derek’s Role in Developing the New Wastebuilt Ecommerce Platform
In his role as a solutions engineer at Americaneagle.com, Derek has developed a strong relationship with Wastebuilt. His expertise lies in assisting the sales team with technical requirements for new clients like such as Wastebuilt. Derek's role involves translating these requirements into actionable solutions for the product team. The collaboration between Derek and his clients have proven beneficial in driving their digital transformation journey. In this episode, they discuss the successful partnership and the transformation of Wastebuilt's web presence, highlighting the pivotal role of OroCommerce and Americaneagle.com in the process.
Kevin Creese’s Role in the Wastebuilt Website Redesign Success Story
Kevin Creese, the Director of Ecommerce at Wastequip, the parent company of Wastebuilt, plays a pivotal role in the company and its other brands. He initiated the partnership with Americaneagle.com about eight years ago when Wastequip sought help to establish a strong presence in the ecommerce space. Despite facing challenges in the manufacturing and distribution industry, Kevin had a vision for taking the business to new heights through digital transformation.
With foresight and determination, he embraced technology when many in the industry were hesitant. Kevin's IT background and expertise in data management proved instrumental in organizing and consolidating the company's data from various divisions, enabling more informed decision-making. Over the years, Kevin has remained committed to his vision, driving the success of Wastequip's online sales and streamlining their ecommerce operations. His dedication and adaptability have been key factors in the company's digital evolution.
Wastequip’s 12 Integrated Brands
Kevin sheds light on the diverse range of brands under the company's umbrella. Wastequip houses approximately 12 brands, categorized into four segments: trucks and chassis, containers, parts and tarps, and services. In the trucks and chassis domain, they manufacture refuse truck bodies, cylinders, and roll-off hoists through the brand Amrep, while Galbreath specializes in hoist manufacturing. The containers segment encompasses Accurate, known for intermodal shipping containers, and Wastequip, recognized for compactors, dumpsters, and balers.
The company excels in rotation molded plastics with its well-known brand, Toter, catering to the garbage space. They supply products to municipalities, retailers like Home Depot, and various businesses. The parts and tarps category includes Mountain Tarp, renowned for its gantry systems that protect and elevate tarp systems during hauling.
The services section ties everything together with companies like WasteWORKS Container Pros, offering professional services, and recently introducing software solutions for managing assets. The spotlight then falls on Wastebuilt, its parts and distribution side, which became the focus of the transformation initiative.
Kevin acknowledges the challenges faced in adapting to the ecommerce landscape. Initially, their focus was on completing jobs rather than organizing data for online presence. The key struggle was aligning various categories, identifying parts, and representing brands accurately, all while maintaining their reputation for quality and exceptional customer service. The transformation journey aimed to streamline data, improve representation, and showcase the company's commitment to excellence in the digital realm.
How Wastequip Began its Partnership with Website Agency Americaneagle.com
During the early stages of their partnership, Derek and Kevin recognized the challenges posed by Wastebuilt's data organization and its impact on their vision for digital transformation. Despite initial hiccups, they identified OroCommerce as a strong platform that could fulfill their needs. The journey began with Mountain Tarp, a brand with a smaller offering of about 2000 SKUs, making it an ideal starting point for testing and building their approach.
The process wasn't without its challenges, as Derek and Kevin engaged in candid conversations to align expectations and work through the complexities. The partnership between OroCommerce and Americaneagle.com proved invaluable, automating day-to-day tasks and streamlining website management. The experience was akin to a marriage, requiring trust, communication, and compromise.
Learning from the initial launch, Kevin recognized the importance of enhancing the website's design to create a visually appealing and customer-friendly experience. As they expanded their focus to Wastebuilt, the allocation of more time and effort into the design ensured an improved overall look and feel, driving positive feedback from users.
The journey to transform Wastebuilt's digital landscape has been an evolution, with continuous learning and improvement. The collaboration between OroCommerce, Americaneagle.com, and Kevin's vision has paved the way for a seamless and customer-centric web presence, creating a stronger foundation for the company's digital strategy.
Scalability Considerations for Growing Businesses, Beginning with Mountain Tarp
The decision to start with Mountain Tarp was driven by the need for a proof of concept, a way to test and fine-tune their ecommerce strategy before revamping the entire Wastebuilt brand. They focused on improving internal business processes to manage new customer registration, order flow, inventory, shipping, and logistics effectively. Kevin emphasized the importance of providing customers with enough information to make informed purchasing decisions, avoiding the paradox of too options from which to choose.
The journey was not without challenges. They had to rethink and optimize their taxonomy and SEO to ensure customers could easily find the products they needed. They introduced tools to facilitate searching, filtering, and narrowing down options. The aim was not just immediate sales but also getting customers closer to a purchase decision, whether through chat interactions or initiating contact with sales representatives.
The collaboration between OroCommerce, Americaneagle.com, and Kevin's vision was pivotal in shepherding the transformation. Embracing change and internal adoption was crucial for the project's success. Despite encountering hurdles and learning experiences, Kevin's positive and responsive approach allowed them to navigate the journey effectively. They have learned from each step, and with a clear understanding of the project's scope and timeline, they continue to move forward with a focus on future improvements and expansion. The journey has been long, but ultimately very positive, setting the foundation for a successful web presence for Wastebuilt.
OroCommerce Features and Benefits for Wastebuilt’s Brand-New Website
The decision to choose OroCommerce as the platform for the website was driven by their forward vision and the need for a multi-tenant solution that could support multiple domains. OroCommerce's PHP foundation aligned well with its existing software solutions, presenting opportunities for internal enhancements and improved support structure.
One of the crucial factors was OroCommerce's responsive and flexible content management system (CMS), which allowed for dynamic B2B solutions. The platform offered valuable features like bulk order updating and autocomplete, which were essential for their customers, particularly in maintenance, to quickly get the parts they needed to keep their fleets operational.
The decision to partner with OroCommerce was a strategic one, as it was a newer experience for both companies. However, the alignment of vision, values, and expectations laid a solid foundation for a successful collaboration. The project had its challenges, but the communication and commitment from OroCommerce and Americaneagle.com gave Kevin confidence in the platform's potential and future growth. Working together, the ecommerce platform and the website agency proved to be valuable partners, helping Kevin's vision for the company's growth become a reality. The successful implementation of OroCommerce allowed Kevin's team to efficiently manage new customer registrations, order flows, and inventory, facilitating an enhanced customer experience in the waste industry.
Why Wastebuilt Made the Decision to Consolidate Multiple Websites
The decision to consolidate two websites, Wastebuilt.com and GoToParts.com, into Wastebuilt was driven by several factors. Wastebuilt.com, though known for excellent customer service and quick delivery times, had a non-functional site that made it challenging for customers to search for parts. GoToParts.com was making progress with enhanced functionalities, but the acquisition of Wastebuilt in mid-2021 led to a pause in the original project. The focus shifted toward merging the two companies, with Wastebuilt being chosen as the primary brand due to its well-established reputation and nationwide service locations, aligning better with the company's growth plans.
During the initial project scoping, challenges were faced, especially regarding implementing the schematics feature. OroCommerce and Americaneagle.com collaborated effectively, providing solutions that aligned with the vision Kevin had for the company's growth. By understanding and tuning the requirements, they successfully built a platform that met Kevin's expectations. The merger process had its complexities, but it allowed for a more cohesive and efficient approach, making Wastebuilt a stronger player in the waste industry.
Challenges with Consolidating Websites
Kevin faced challenges during the website consolidation, dealing with the complexity of product categorization and data from an ERP system. With the help of middleware solutions and a well-implemented taxonomy, they managed to rationalize the products effectively. However, working with ERP data, which lacked required fields and had inconsistent formatting, proved difficult. They focused on automating workflows to update accurate details regularly. The biggest hurdle in the sales process was transforming ERP data into web-ready information. Despite the ongoing complications, the team prioritized transparency, providing customers with as much information as possible to enhance their purchasing experience.
Wastebuilt Website Design and Development
The new WasteBuilt website incorporated groundbreaking features that revolutionized the industry. They aimed to elevate their offerings beyond existing competitors and deliver a seamless customer experience. One of the highlights was the quick order functionality, allowing customers to integrate their ERP data and access order history, simplifying the reordering process. The enhanced search engine powered by HawkSearch provided powerful and scalable search capabilities, enabling customers to find products with ease. The website's multitenant solution allowed seamless integration of multiple websites, offering a unified experience for customers across different platforms.
Another impressive feature was the interactive schematics or exploded parts diagrams, which made finding specific components a breeze. With a simple hover over the desired part, customers could view detailed images and quickly add the item to their cart. WasteBuilt also implemented a well-structured taxonomy, enabling intuitive navigation and category exploration. The website's scalability was evident as it rapidly expanded its product catalog, striving to meet evolving customer needs.
The combination of these advanced features resulted in a remarkable improvement in the purchasing process for customers. They could now make informed decisions faster and with greater confidence. The website's user-friendly design and innovative functionalities showcased WasteBuilt's commitment to providing top-notch service and propelling the waste industry forward.
Re-Platforming Impact on SEO and Rankings
Re-platforming on OroCommerce provided Wastebuilt with a scalable foundation, streamlining content management and SEO. The website's agile nature allowed continuous improvement and responsiveness to customer needs. Integrating their ERP data with the platform enabled automated data feeds and enhanced product information for better searchability. Wastebuilt also leveraged the integrations to work with agencies for content creation, ensuring their product categories were well-developed and customer-centric.
The platform's trackability feature enabled the company to efficiently manage products, their history, and cross-selling items. The ability to answer crucial questions promptly, such as delivery timeframes, demonstrated Wastebuilt's commitment to outstanding customer service. Additionally, the interactive schematics and quick-order functionalities empowered customers with informed and faster purchasing decisions.
While integrating with an ERP presented its challenges, partnering with MindHARBOR and using EPICOR's expertise eased the process. Their vast experience in building websites and understanding data flows allowed Wastebuilt to efficiently match tables and ensure data accuracy. The collaboration and continuous improvement mindset showcased how OroCommerce's re-platforming not only revolutionized Wastebuilt's website but also facilitated its goal of being an industry leader and delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Improving User Experience for Ecommerce Websites
Since the official launch of the new website on OroCommerce, Wastebuilt has received a positive response from both internal teams and external users. The sales team praised the platform for solving long-standing issues, while customers and vendors expressed excitement about the website's capabilities. The website's success has led to productive discussions with larger customers, streamlining processes such as consolidated billing and ship-to information. Integrating the website with their ERP system has proven to be a solid foundation, making the ecommerce platform more efficient and user-friendly. The website's ability to surface critical information, such as truck locations, demonstrates the tremendous effort and ingenuity involved in making complex processes seem simple for customers.
The Benefits of Partnering with a Website Agency
Collaborating with Americaneagle.com proved highly beneficial for Wastebuilt's strong foundation and digital strategy enhancement. Kevin praised the outstanding team, particularly Americaneagle.com Ecommerce Team Lead Jeff Ruley, and the support they provided throughout the project. Americaneagle.com’s project management and expertise guided Wastebuilt through the implementation process, ensuring that important use cases were carefully considered. The partnership allowed for flexibility and the evolution of the project's vision, resulting in a successful outcome. Kevin looks forward to continuing the collaboration, ambitious in their goals to remain an industry leader, and credits their success to partnering with a great digital marketing and web design company like Americaneagle.com.
Introducing the New Wastebuilt Manufacturing Website
In conclusion, the collaborative efforts between Wastebuilt, OroCommerce, and Americaneagle.com have truly transformed the company's online presence and propelled it to new heights in the waste industry. With Kevin Creese's visionary leadership and Derek's technical expertise, they navigated through challenges, streamlined data, and consolidated websites, all while keeping the focus on delivering an exceptional user experience. The implementation of OroCommerce as the platform of choice proved to be a strategic decision, offering scalability, efficiency, and advanced features that enhanced customer engagement and streamlined business operations. Wastebuilt's journey exemplifies the power of partnership and the potential for digital transformation, setting a solid foundation for future growth and success. With a user-friendly website, innovative functionalities, and a commitment to excellence, Wastebuilt is now positioned as a leading force in the waste industry, ready to serve its customers with unmatched convenience and top-notch service.
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This podcast is brought to you by Americaneagle.com Studios.
Brought to you by Americaneagle.com, a digital marketing and web design company, Modern Marketing Messages discusses the latest and greatest in both online and offline marketing tactics, strategies, and trends. We take a deep dive into anything and everything marketing, speaking to the best and brightest minds in technology and marketing. Episodes will cover different areas of focus, from advanced SEO to paid search, personalization to influencer marketing, and everything in between.
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