Case study: DCB Group
DCB Group outsourced their IT eCommerce to Netset
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How Ireland’s leading IT-reseller got both a seamless eCommerce platform and a long-standing partnership with Netset.
DCB Group is one of the largest, leading IT-resellers in Ireland and a long-time partner of Netset. With a business relationship that has lasted for nearly 15 years, Netset’s services continue to create seamless communication and processes between DCB Group and nearly 60 different distributors. This results in DCB Group being able to keep their customers completely satisfied and coming back for more.
In this article we’ve spoken to Kevin Ryan, Managing Director at DCB Group. He tells us about how DCB Group has chosen to implement Netset’s services into their daily operations and about a successful partnership where he feels both seen and safe as a customer.
A referral that led to a 15-year business relationship
Going all the way back to the early 2000’s, DCB Groups website did not look anything like it does today. The site was primarily used for informational purposes and there was no way to make an actual order.
“It wasn’t a proper website, we just had a couple products on there. Basically, we just wanted customers to contact us, and they couldn’t even do that by clicking a button. It was so long ago, the web has changed dramatically since then. We needed a situation where we could show our stock, where people could see what we have, where we could get specs and then take it from there,” says Kevin Ryan, Managing Director at DCB Group.
Through a recommendation from DCB Groups largest distributor, they came in contact with Netset. Netset offered a software solution that could give DCB Group a fully functioning website, all set up with products, the right product information and best of all – a direct communication channel to all the large distributors.
“We were looking to create a website where people could order online, they could get information online, they could get stock online, all the things they needed. We went looking for someone who could deliver that to us and were put in touch with Netset. The relationship has since been very good over the years.”
Learn more about how B2B solutions for IT & Telecom works and the advantages here.
Tailor-made solution for a seamless IT- & telecom eCommerce website
The software solution Nettailer, Netset’s prime product, acts as a ready-made webshop where resellers can choose which distributors they work with and get their products on full display in their feed. This allows DCB Groups customers to enter their webshop, view the products they offer and make an order. It is possible to run purchasing through Nettailer but since all DCB Groups orders have to be on one unified accounts package, their use of Nettailer have been custom made.
“People order but we don’t process the order through the back-office of the website. Since the majority of our orders don’t come online but come through direct contact between the customers and our salespeople, it was easier for us,” says Kevin
There is always the possibility of integrating Nettailer into their SAP-system at a later point if DCB Group needed to. But at the moment, DCB Group is very happy with the arrangement Netset has set up for them.
“When we send an order to a distributor it has to come from our own system, it can’t come from the web-based system. It just wouldn’t work for us. What we are looking into is maybe integrating, bringing the information from there onto our own system. Our contact at Netset always brings up good points and advice, I’ve always found them very helpful.”
Explore further: Read more about the CEO transition at Netset here.
Scalability and agility results in a future-proof system
A recent change in DCB Groups website was their number of feeds, the numbers of distributors they work with and get stock from. Six months ago, they decided to increase their feeds which required help from Netset to make the expansion as painless as possible.
“We used to take one feed from one company. Recently we added in different feeds so that they all populate our website. During that set up there was a bit of back and forth with the support at Netset. But it worked out well and it works now, and it works perfectly,” says Kevin
Integrations, expansions and upgrades are always easy to implement thanks to the agility of Netset’s Nettailer. Resulting in a truly scalable and future-proof solution for both reseller and distributor.
DCB Group recommends Netset to other IT-resellers
A scheduled meeting between DCB Group and Netset occurs every three months. At the meetings a review is presented and Netset provides DCB Group with updates and recommendations for further use of Nettailer. However, even if these meetings are much appreciated by DCB Group, they aren’t always necessary. Something Kevin Ryan says is a good thing.
“If I have a big problem, I know I can pick up the phone and I know something will be done. I feel very comfortable on that end if we have any issues, which we don’t! We haven’t had any issues, so I haven’t had to pick up the phone for a long time. It’s seamless, it just works,” says Kevin
Both DCB Group and Netset look forward to a continuous long partnership.
