As the market moves towards streamlining of procurement through digital platforms, SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa has launched an online purchasing platform for its customers. Training Manager Zander Claassens highlights that in addition to various useful tools and functions, the service offers in-person support to assist customers with their requirements.
The online purchasing portal allows for customers to be in touch from anywhere at any time.
Hosted on SEW-EURODRIVE’s website, the online purchasing platform allows customers to order products or parts and to find support in the form of documentation and CAD data. Maintaining the personal touch, there is a dedicated person available to assist customers with their online requests from 07h00 to 21h00 every day.
Claassens says, “The online purchasing portal also offers users valuable information and practical assistance.”
He says, “It became clear that many customers are embracing online procurement platforms, especially since the Covid-19 lockdowns, and we are excited to enhance our sales and support channels in this way.”
He highlights that the wide and dynamic range of configurations in SEW-EURODRIVE’s offering required that the functions of the shopping cart be specially developed to make it as user-friendly as possible.
“We have developed four different functions that customers can choose from when adding a product to the shopping cart,” he explains. “The first is through the product configurator, which guides customers in configuring their required equipment – using drop down options from our extensive range.”
The next channel would be to use the spare parts or replacement product selection function, where one of two routes can be chosen. The customer can make use of the SEW-EURODRIVE serial number found on the product nameplate. Entering that serial number is a quick and simple way to request a replacement – and ensure that the exact configuration is replicated.
“Another route enables customers to find an SEW-EURODRIVE replacement product for a third-party drive – that is, one which is not an SEW-EURODRIVE item,” he says. “The online tool will not understand a non-SEW-EURODRIVE serial number, of course, but if the specific criteria are provided, we will know what the customer needs and we will supply to meet those criteria.”
Registered customers that have already been trading with SEW-EURODRIVE can also use a third option – a customer transaction overview – to help them select what they are looking for. “When they log into the online purchasing portal, they can view their history of quotations and orders. This makes it simple to re-order a component that has been purchased before, as they can select the item from a previous transaction or quotation,” Claassens says.
“Lastly, customers can use the drive selection assistant – a smart online tool that guides the user through three simple steps to find the right drive,” he says. “The first step is to select the application, and the second requires more application-related information; the third step then presents the customer with product configurations and suggestions – from which they can choose.”
He reiterates that customers wishing to transact on the portal can find support from a real person behind the portal, who can provide hands-on advice and assistance.
Customers can also be assured that the security of the portal is world class. “Our cybersecurity is handled by a dedicated IT team at our group headquarters in Germany,” he says. “Customer and transaction data is double-encrypted when working online, and the online support is run on hyper-text transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) and is backed up on a geographical redundancy cloud-based system.”
Another security precaution is that online purchasing is not permitted using credit cards, as the company still follows its normal payment protocols with customers once they have placed items in the online shopping cart.
For more information visit: www.sew-eurodrive.co.za
