The online storefront is one of the most game-changing tools that we offer here at Spectra. That’s not to say it’s a must-have for every one of our clients, but for the clients that conduct B2B fulfillment with many different end users on an ongoing basis, it is an advantage that they simply can’t afford to pass up.

The online storefront system takes fulfillment far beyond the simple process of moving materials into the Spectra facility, managing inventory, and moving it out again. Rather, the storefront becomes an online hub through which the client, Spectra’s team, and the end users can conduct all sorts of activities related to order placing and fulfillment. This not only makes the actual fulfillment process more efficient, but it also opens up lots of opportunities for the client to offer services that they may have never considered before. Here’s what you need to know about this incredible service offered by Spectra.

Visibility Is Key

The first major benefit of an online storefront for the client is visibility. There’s no more simply hoping that your fulfillment provider is doing everything correctly. No more having to make assumptions that your products have been received at the warehouse, are safely stocked and logged, and are ready to ship out when orders are placed.

Instead, you can log onto the online portal at any time and get a real-time view of what is going on with your inventory. You’ll see what we have in stock, how much, what orders have been placed, what orders have been fulfilled, and plenty of other metrics that tell you all you need to know about your fulfillment activities. Managers love being able to give definite, up-to-date reports to their CEO, CFO, and other C-suite executives to show that projects are progressing according to plan.

Great UX for End Users

While Spectra builds and manages your online storefront, that doesn’t mean that your end users see a Spectra branded website when they log on. Instead, your online storefront is completely white labeled. When your end user clicks through to your storefront, they see a great-looking, fully functioning site with your company’s name, logo, and color scheme. The user sees your company’s products, places orders with your company, and gets the delivery from your company, all while Spectra is the “secret weapon” powering it all.

Spectra can also provide advanced functions in your organization’s online storefront with variable data capabilities. If your end users fall into different tiers based on their level of membership, location around the country, or other factors, Spectra can give them unique logins and customize the offerings they see on your storefront based on their tiers. This prevents users from getting confused by seeing lots of options that they do not qualify for or need, and it helps them make their choices efficiently. The better the user experience is for the end user, the better the system works!

Efficiency Savings

We’ve mentioned the word efficiency a number of times. That’s because more than anything, all the benefits of Spectra’s online storefront offering ultimately lead to greater efficiency. Here are some concrete examples:

• Elimination of meetings, follow-ups, emails, and phone calls to “track down” missing inventory or reconcile spreadsheets that don’t agree on how much product is where. Instead, you can simply log onto your online portal and see what’s in stock and what’s in transit at any given moment.
• Automated ordering through the online storefront frees up personnel that would be otherwise taking orders, processing them, answering questions from end users, and conducting other activities that the online portal takes care of automatically.
• Removal of the “human error” factor from the ordering process. Any time human workers are relieved of the responsibilities of copying down numbers, writing down customer contact information, filling in forms, and other clerical actions, the probability of mistakes being made goes down drastically.

Growth In Many Areas

A national company that uses Spectra’s online storefront system for B2B fulfillment places itself in a very strategic position for future growth. At a basic level, having a streamlined, automated, and trustworthy system for fulfilling orders means that your team can focus their energy on other topics–things like coming up with creative marketing ideas, reaching out to new prospective partners, and creating new offerings. A team that is constantly monitoring and tending to problems with their fulfillment system simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to work on these growth related activities.

At a deeper level, Spectra’s clients discover that Spectra can be a much more powerful growth partner than they realized. In a number of cases, clients have begun working with our team on basic fulfillment and later realized that there are possibilities to launch much more aggressive and wide-ranging marketing campaigns. Creative ideas that may have just been “too big” for your current system can come to life with Spectra’s help. 

Our integrated print facility is one of Spectra’s biggest advantages for some of our national clients. When a campaign involves creating print collateral as well as shipping physical products, the client can avoid involving another service provider and have their print and fulfillment needs handled under the same roof, by the same team. This leads to enormous cost savings, plus additional time saved for team members who don’t need to coordinate efforts between three different companies for the same project.

We hope you’re getting excited about what’s possible with Spectra’s online storefronts. The reality is, you’ll find that our systems are incredibly flexible, able to perfectly integrate with your existing customer management and sales platforms. They’re able to give each of your end users a fully personalized experience and make it easy for them to order exactly what they need. And of course, you get the reliable, high quality fulfillment services of the Spectra team on every order. Contact our team and let us know you’d like to learn more about this great option and how it can help your company grow this year.