July 10, 2024 • 21 mins
What if you could streamline your procurement process and make your operations more efficient with just a few clicks?
Discover the game-changing features now available on our online experience, including an enhanced quick order functionality that allows you to export product lists to a CSV file, with real-time pricing and availability tailored to your account.
The platform now supports direct input and file uploads of up to 50,000 items, making large orders more manageable than ever. You'll also learn how to incorporate custom part numbers and efficiently manage pricing records, making your procurement process smoother and more efficient.
Stay ahead with the latest updates aimed at improving your customer experience and operational efficiency. Learn how proactive supplier date changes and estimated ship and delivery dates can optimize your planning and resource allocation. We've also introduced order confirmation emails and PunchOut systems to ensure accuracy and convenience.
Plus, find out how you can download proof of delivery and original invoices directly from your online account. Don't miss the newly simplified return process that makes handling returns faster and easier.
Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for a wealth of resources, and stay connected with our ever-growing community!
Remember to keep asking why...
Digitalization Resources:
New Features Article
Video Explanation of Registering for an Account
Register for an Account
Other Resources to help with your journey:
Installed Asset Analysis Support
EECO Smart Manufacturing Guide
System Planning Support
Schedule your Visit to a Lab in North or South Carolina
Schedule your Visit to a Lab in Virginia
Submit your questions and feedback to: podcast@eecoaskwhy.com
Follow EECO on LinkedIn
Host: Chris Grainger
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Eco Ask why a podcast that dives into
industrial manufacturing topicsand spotlights the heroes that
keep America running.
I'm your host, chris Granger,and on this podcast we do not
cover the latest features andbenefits on products that come
to market.
Instead, we focus on advice andinsight from the top minds of
industry, because people andideas will be how America
(00:24):
remains number one inmanufacturing in the world.
Welcome to EECO Asks why.
I'm your host, chris Granger.
I'm excited to be here with youtoday, and we've been talking a
lot on the show over the lastfew months about e-commerce,
procurement, how things arechanging in the industrial
(00:44):
landscape, and today, for thisepisode, we want to just talk
directly about some exciting newfeatures that we are releasing
at Electrical Equipment Companythis year that we're pretty
pumped up about.
I mean, this is all on our EcoOnline website and we're
thrilled to have some of thesenew features ready to help you.
(01:05):
So it's going to make yourexperience so much better and
it's going to streamline a lotof your processes.
So today I want to kind ofbreak through and share what
some of those are, because, asthe landscape of this online
shopping continues to evolve andwe all know that it is just day
to day.
Just look at your phones, howyou buy things.
We see that there's such a needfor constant, continual
(01:28):
improvement and at ECO, wehaven't been sitting still on
this one.
I can promise you that we'vebeen rocking and rolling.
So we have a new enterpriseresource planning upgrade in
place.
That ERP system is there andnow we have some functionality
that is changing the game forhow we're able to serve others,
and this is what we're reallymost excited about.
(01:49):
So we're going to go throughsome of these updates.
We're going to talk about howthey can benefit you, how they
can streamline you, and, look,you can find all these at
ecoonlinecom and I highlyencourage you if you're
listening to this and you're inthe eco area where we can
service and work with you, goahead and get your online
account set up today.
(02:09):
It's very easy to get thatprocess started.
So go to ecoonlinecom.
You'll see how you can register, get plugged in, and that means
all the features that we'retalking about today will be
available to you at yourfingertips.
Moving forward, okay, so now,first one we'll talk about is
that we actually enhanced thequick order functionality.
(02:29):
So we have this quick orderfunctionality within our system
where you can put a lot ofthings in and really expedite
that process of ordering.
But now we have the ability toexport to a CSV with this, and
this new function is a reallypowerful area for our quick
order page.
It allows you to really exportproduct lists and that is going
(02:52):
to include items such as yourcurrent pricing levels, and this
would be your specific pricinglevels for your account, right?
So you don't have to worryabout list price or things like
that.
No, what are your pricinglevels?
You're also going to getavailability, so you'll see in
the moment, real-time, live,what the availability for those
parts and pieces are, and youcan also get some basic product
(03:13):
information.
So this is really the reason wewanted to put the emphasis back
here is because we're trying tosave you time and make your
experience a whole lot smootherand more efficient.
Because think about how manytimes you need pricing and
availability on the fly, and Iknow back when I was in
frontline sales.
All the time customers go, hey,do you got it, how much is it?
(03:34):
Do you got it, how much is it?
I mean, we get that phone callall the time.
Now, with this functionality,you'll be able to find that out
with just a few clicks of themouse.
But you'll be able to find outnot just availability, what your
pricing is and when you exportthose lists directly.
This is going to give you agreat way to update your current
(03:54):
system.
So that's going to allow you toincrease some accuracy within
your team as well.
So you can see how that exportfunctionality within a CSV file
is so flexible.
And this is also the reasonthat we want to do it in a CSV
file versus like a PDF orsomething like that.
It's because we want you to beable to modify the data in such
(04:16):
a way that's most prudent foryou.
So we also, with the quick order, we have some new functions
that you may really enjoy aswell.
One is direct input, so you canactually directly enter your
items on the quick order formitself.
Or you can do an upload file soyou can take your building
(04:37):
materials you know, whatever theitems that you need, maybe got
a bulk list or something likethat, maybe you got a bulk list
or something like that and whatyou can do.
You can take this and you canuse the CSV, an Excel
spreadsheet or ODS file, and youcan just basically copy and
paste some of this stuff as wellRight there, so you can upload
up to 50,000 items at a time.
(04:58):
Now I don't know about you ifyou have a list of 50,000 items.
That's a pretty massive list.
So we had the functionalityready to help you.
And then you get that export CSVfunction that we've already
talked about, where you canexport the items.
Let's say, you get the listexactly the way you want it.
You can export that direct fromthe quick order form.
It's going to generate that CSVfile.
It's going to have the pricing,availability, the part number.
(05:19):
It's going to have your custompart number, which is good to
know.
Let's say, you have custom partnumbers that you have within
your own system.
We tie those together withinthe ERP and you have it right
there at your fingertips andit's going to give you just more
and more information to helpyou as you start updating the
pricing records and so much more.
So what you need to do if you goto Eco Online, you'll see a
(05:41):
little button there aroundaround get directions and that's
going to get you inside thequick order form.
That will get you the templatesthat you need to make sure that
you set up your data correctly.
So if you fill in, you know,because if you just set up a
spreadsheet with no rhyme orreason, it's not going to align
from a data structure standpoint.
So we gave you directly.
(06:02):
Okay, here's how you take thedata that you want.
Here's how you arrange the data, rather, that you want to get
in such a way that speaks to oursystem.
And then there you go, so youcan pick your template file type
, update it with your items,save that bad boy, then upload
it right there to that QuickOverform and boom, it's all
(06:24):
right there.
And we even did some shortvideos.
I've been doing a lot of shortvideos lately, by the way, guys,
so I made a few short videos onhow to do this.
So if you check out the shownotes for this podcast and go to
the ECO online website, you'llsee a short video on how to do
that directly.
To answer any of your otherquestions.
Okay, now the next functionalityI want to kind of share with
(06:45):
you about has to do withestimated shipping and delivery
dates, because this is just areally cool feature, because we
know how often we need to knowwhat those dates are within the
orders that we have open andwithin the order history, right?
So if you place your orderonline, what you're going to get
right out the gate is an emailupdate and that email is going
(07:05):
to have the estimated shippingand delivery dates.
Now these are based usually onthe PO line, right on the date
value and order to averagesupplier lead times.
Okay, so this everything linesup into our ERP software which
we use.
It's called P21.
And this is how you get someaccurate data up front.
(07:25):
Now we're going to be proactivein that communications because
we're going to give you up tothree email notifications will
be sent for any changes thathappen.
Okay, so you get changes thathappen because sometimes
suppliers you know dates change,right, you need to know that
and we want to be on the frontedge of that so you're not
having to call us.
We want to send stuff to you soyou can plan that directly.
(07:46):
That promise date that isultimately entered that's not
going to change.
The estimated ship and deliverydate is shown to you.
We know your promise date issuper important, but what we
want to show to you is the datebased off the vendor
availability that you can expectit.
Hopefully this is going to helphave a lot of better visibility
(08:10):
and planning for yourdeliveries, because we know that
receiving material in is justas big a deal as ordering the
material, since you can plan foryour resources and your teams
that are going to beimplementing the items that you
got.
So this is a big one.
So this is a step we've beenreally working hard on, so
excited to have this one inplace now, just to we know this
(08:32):
is something that so many of ourcustomers are asking for.
Now the next thing we really arepretty pumped up about is order
confirmation emails.
So this is going to helpeveryone, from your eco
representative down to you asthe end user, because we all
know that the business is movingso fast these days and you want
(08:55):
accurate information when youneed it.
Right, not necessarily what Iwant to give it to you.
You want it when you need it.
So these email confirmationsare really are are in place to
help you as you place thoseorders online, to give you that
confirmation, to give you thatassurance that things are done
right, because this is going toput any concerns that you had
(09:16):
did the order really go throughor I'm not sure?
Did I order that part number ornot, did I put that on?
That quote, all those thoughtsyou have, you know what.
You can just set them to theside, because when you get a
confirmation and your accountmanager and the people who have
serviced your account get aconfirmation, it gives so much
(09:39):
more of a much-needed assurancethat your materials are
processed correctly and in amanner that you need so that you
can get the parts there to yourfacility in a timely manner.
All right Now for you customerswho use Punch-Out.
And, by the way, if you havenot have a PunchOut system in
place and you want to do that orthink that could be something
that we could help you with,we'd love to talk about that,
(09:59):
because we're experts atPunchOut and PunchOut just
really changes the game Quitefrankly.
The whole idea of distributionin the future is really shifting
so much more to this digitallandscape where PunchOut is
going to be such a big deal.
So, again, let us know.
We'd love to talk to you aboutthat, because that solution to
Punchout is a powerful solution,okay, and it helps to really
(10:21):
amp up that communication evenmore.
So, email notifications forthose purchase orders from a
Punchout standpoint are nowconfigured to be sent to the
assigned customer servicerepresentative.
So, like I said, this is goingto really get down to brass
tacks of who gets these emailnotifications Again, use any
orders, concerns and making sureeverything nothing gets lost in
(10:44):
the shuffle, because we knowthere's again so many things
that happen so fast and when youget that confirmation it just
helps put, let's just face it alot of that angst to the side.
Now, another thing we recognized, based off of so many years of
being in the distributionbusiness we're coming up, we're
(11:05):
getting close to 100 years inbusiness guys, we're getting
very close within the nextcouple of years of that.
But we recognize that so manytimes you, as the end user, need
to go back and get your accessto your invoices or proof of
delivery and things like that.
So what we have now is we havethe ability for you to download
that proof of delivery or anoriginal invoice directly from
(11:27):
your invoice history.
Now, this is huge.
So when you log into youronline account, you'll be able
to generate a PDF directly whenyou click on Download the Proof
of Delivery or Download theOriginal Invoice.
So think about the days whereyou had to call in with your
invoice numbers and you had towait and we had to look it up,
then we had to print it out,then we had to back in the day.
(11:50):
We'd have to either mail it toyou or fax it to you or upload
to a PDF.
There's lots of steps Now.
You just log into your system,you search for the PO that you
have in question, or the orderyou have in question, rather,
and it's right there.
You just click it.
You got a PDF that, at thatpoint, you can send to wherever
(12:10):
you want inside your company.
That, at that point, you cansend to wherever you want inside
your company.
Now I put a video together forthis one as well, to help
demonstrate exactly the stepsthat you need to take where you
can access that.
So again, check out the shownotes, go to our YouTube channel
, connect with us directly.
It's even on our main website,ecoonlinecom.
Okay, now we'll also recognize,over the years and years of
(12:35):
being in this business, thatsometimes mistakes happen when
we place orders.
They just do Right, and usuallyit's just, it's a, it's an
innocent mistake.
Nothing is.
I've never once known someoneto buy something just to be
malicious.
Ok, so we recognize thatmistakes happen and sometimes
the parts aren't what we hopethey would be, or they just
don't line up, or whatever itmay be, no problem, you don't
(12:58):
have to worry about it anymore.
What we've done now is we'veconveniently placed the return
process directly on your onlineaccount.
This is a big, big game changerhere.
So once you log in, you're ableto initiate your return process
literally within a few clicks.
It's going to save you a ton oftime, it's going to save you a
(13:20):
lot of headaches, and we'regoing to put the information in
front of you that you need todayto begin that process of
returning the items that are nota good fit.
Now I know, again, this can bean area that wears people down.
You never want to deal withreturns.
You never want to think aboutreturns, even from an end-user
standpoint, because there's somany things you need to be
thinking about besides.
You know returning product, sowhat we're trying to do here is
(13:43):
make it extremely easy for you,extremely easy.
Again, I put a video together onthis topic.
So if you have any questions onhow you actually do that
streamlined return process, howdoes that work?
Now, go, check out ecoonlinecom, go to our YouTube channel.
We have all these differentways that we're trying to put
the information at yourfingertips.
So in that moment when you needto do this process, you don't
(14:07):
have to call anybody.
You can actually just go seefor yourself directly.
Okay, here's how it works andyou can just make that happen.
Now again, if you still want tocall us, we'd love to take your
call.
Okay, so we're not trying tosay don't call us.
We just we recognize that somuch has changed from
procurement.
I've been able to interview alot of people over the years at
(14:29):
EcoSY and I can see the shiftinglandscape of procurement and
how things digital buying, howit all has manifested itself
down to the planned industrialfloor, and I think it's great.
But at the same time, you've gotto wait.
Our goal, our job asdistributors, is to make sure
the data gets to the people thatneed the data and they know
this functionality, because itwould be no good for us to have
all the bells, features andbells and whistles and all this
(14:52):
stuff and no one inside yourfacility know about it.
At that point we have failedyou.
So our attempt with Eco Ask why.
Our attempt with our emails,all that stuff that we're trying
to do to get the information infront of you, is to spread the
word so that it makes your jobeasier, okay.
So again, if you're not on ouremail list, ecoonlinecom,
connect with us.
(15:12):
If you're not on our email list, ecoonlinecom, connect with us.
Let's get you in place so thatyou will start getting those
notifications as we roll themout.
So now, as you can see righthere, we've had a lot of
significant improvements.
(15:34):
Now some of these things sound,you know, maybe not earth
shattering, but I can tell youfor us, for an industrial
distributor, there's a lot ofmoving pieces just to get these
in place, and we're committed toimproving the customer
experience, particularly withour online digital platform, and
that means we need to invest inthe right solutions, because we
need to invest in the rightsolutions so that your online
experience is something that you, you feel good about.
(15:55):
We don't want it to be whereour website is something oh gosh
, I got to go to those guysagain.
No, we want our website to besomewhere you can go with
confidence and when you come tous in confidence, okay, here's
what I have, here's what I need.
Oh, yeah, this is exactly whatI need.
Oh, I need some drawings.
Yep, they're drawings righthere.
Did I buy that in the past.
Oh, yep, I can check right hereand see if I bought it in the
past.
Hey, I wonder what theiravailability is on that right
(16:16):
now.
Oh, let's check that out.
That's right here.
Hey, I need a drawing for this.
I wonder if I can get a drawing.
Oh, here's a drawing.
You see what we're doing?
We're bringing all the piecestogether noise we want to put.
(16:37):
We want to silence a lot ofthat and put in front of you
what you need to make the bestdecisions, the most informed
decisions, moving forward.
That's our commitment.
And, look, we want yourfeedback.
We would love your feedback onhow we can make your online
experience even better.
We don't want to just beanother.
Me too.
We want to be the best inindustry and that we recognize.
To do that, we need to belistening, we need to be asking
(16:57):
questions and sit and be stilland listen, and we do that and
can take that back and we candiscern that and understand.
Ok, how can we continue toimprove the processes?
How do we need to make thisinvestment over here to make
this a better experience for you?
That's our commitment, becausewe know it's not just about
parts and pieces, it's peopleand ideas, people and ideas over
(17:20):
products is what has alwaysbeen for electrical equipment
company.
That's what our commitment ismoving forward.
So I want to thank you Again,highly, highly, encourage you if
you do not have an onlineaccount, go to Eco Online, get
you an account set up and thisis for anyone out there, from
purchasing to management, downto E&I technicians to platform
(17:42):
warehousing storeroom.
We want you to get your accountset up because you'll have
access within your account todata that matters to you and
we'll have it again right thereat your fingertips.
Now, if you again, if you arethose customers who you have
punch out capabilities, you wantto talk to us about our punch
out capabilities and the waythat we can help integrate into
your system, we'd love to havethe conversation.
(18:04):
So, ecoonlinecom, connect withus.
Right there you can find allsorts of ways.
We're here, we're ready toserve, and that Punch Out
solution it's pretty cool.
I mean, it's something.
Once we've made the investment,we're seeing the fruit of how
this works now and how we canhelp others with this, and we
just want to do it at a higherscale.
(18:24):
So if you have an opportunityfor Punch Out, we'd love to talk
, okay, so look, thank you guysso much.
I really wanted to join the newformat and I know we're not
coming out quite as often, butwe're trying to come out with
information when we do, to giveyou some information that's
going to help you grow, that'sgoing to help you be successful
and it's going to differentiateyou between your competitors.
And that's our goal at eco isjust to to be there to help
(18:47):
serve you to, to help you bethat customer, that end user
that's making that big impact.
So we know you guys are tryingso hard.
So, yeah, connect with us,ecoonlinecom.
If you'd like to podcast ratereview, I'll share it out with,
with, with others, with, with,with fellow people out there who
enjoy this type of conversation, and we love to hear from you.
(19:09):
So, again, you can check outour show notes.
We have all the different linksthat I talked about today for
the different videos.
Just to recap what those videosare, I want to make sure that
everyone knows we have the quickorder functionality to export
video how you export that.
We have the shipping anddelivery dates.
I put a video together on thatthe order email confirmation
(19:31):
videos.
That's part of the quick ordervideos.
Then we have that how you getyour invoices and proof of
delivery.
We have a video on that andthat streamline the returning
process.
There's a video out there forthat as well, and all that stuff
again.
If you go to YouTube, search forElectroCrimbing Company,
subscribe to our channel, youhave all the stuff right there
at your fingertips too.
Put a lot of stuff out on aconsistent basis because we're
(19:54):
just trying to serve at a highlevel, all right.
So thank you guys, so much forlistening.
Hopefully you have a wonderfulday.
Thank you for all that you do.
I know for you guys out there inmanufacturing and that are
serving in the eco-service area,it just means so much to us,
just that we can be a small partof your business and we just
hope that you can continue to beblessed and we just thank you
(20:16):
so much for working with us on aconsistent basis.
So have a great day and youknow what's coming.
Keep asking why.
Thank you for listening to.
Eeco Asks why this show issupported ad-free by Electrical
Equipment Company.
Eeco is redefining theexpectations of an electrical
distributor by placing peopleand ideas before products.
(20:38):
Please subscribe and share withyour colleagues and friends.
Also leave comments, feedbackand any new topics that you
would like to hear, to learnmore or to share your insights,
visit EECOASYcom.
That's E-E-C-O-A-S-K-S-W-H-Ycom.
Welcome to Eco Ask why a podcast that dives into
industrial manufacturing topicsand spotlights the heroes that
keep America running.
I'm your host, chris Granger,and on this podcast we do not
cover the latest features andbenefits on products that come
to market.
Instead, we focus on advice andinsight from the top minds of
industry, because people andideas will be how America
(00:24):
remains number one inmanufacturing in the world.
Welcome to EECO Asks why.
I'm your host, chris Granger.
I'm excited to be here with youtoday, and we've been talking a
lot on the show over the lastfew months about e-commerce,
procurement, how things arechanging in the industrial
(00:44):
landscape, and today, for thisepisode, we want to just talk
directly about some exciting newfeatures that we are releasing
at Electrical Equipment Companythis year that we're pretty
pumped up about.
I mean, this is all on our EcoOnline website and we're
thrilled to have some of thesenew features ready to help you.
(01:05):
So it's going to make yourexperience so much better and
it's going to streamline a lotof your processes.
So today I want to kind ofbreak through and share what
some of those are, because, asthe landscape of this online
shopping continues to evolve andwe all know that it is just day
to day.
Just look at your phones, howyou buy things.
We see that there's such a needfor constant, continual
(01:28):
improvement and at ECO, wehaven't been sitting still on
this one.
I can promise you that we'vebeen rocking and rolling.
So we have a new enterpriseresource planning upgrade in
place.
That ERP system is there andnow we have some functionality
that is changing the game forhow we're able to serve others,
and this is what we're reallymost excited about.
(01:49):
So we're going to go throughsome of these updates.
We're going to talk about howthey can benefit you, how they
can streamline you, and, look,you can find all these at
ecoonlinecom and I highlyencourage you if you're
listening to this and you're inthe eco area where we can
service and work with you, goahead and get your online
account set up today.
(02:09):
It's very easy to get thatprocess started.
So go to ecoonlinecom.
You'll see how you can register, get plugged in, and that means
all the features that we'retalking about today will be
available to you at yourfingertips.
Moving forward, okay, so now,first one we'll talk about is
that we actually enhanced thequick order functionality.
(02:29):
So we have this quick orderfunctionality within our system
where you can put a lot ofthings in and really expedite
that process of ordering.
But now we have the ability toexport to a CSV with this, and
this new function is a reallypowerful area for our quick
order page.
It allows you to really exportproduct lists and that is going
(02:52):
to include items such as yourcurrent pricing levels, and this
would be your specific pricinglevels for your account, right?
So you don't have to worryabout list price or things like
that.
No, what are your pricinglevels?
You're also going to getavailability, so you'll see in
the moment, real-time, live,what the availability for those
parts and pieces are, and youcan also get some basic product
(03:13):
information.
So this is really the reason wewanted to put the emphasis back
here is because we're trying tosave you time and make your
experience a whole lot smootherand more efficient.
Because think about how manytimes you need pricing and
availability on the fly, and Iknow back when I was in
frontline sales.
All the time customers go, hey,do you got it, how much is it?
(03:34):
Do you got it, how much is it?
I mean, we get that phone callall the time.
Now, with this functionality,you'll be able to find that out
with just a few clicks of themouse.
But you'll be able to find outnot just availability, what your
pricing is and when you exportthose lists directly.
This is going to give you agreat way to update your current
(03:54):
system.
So that's going to allow you toincrease some accuracy within
your team as well.
So you can see how that exportfunctionality within a CSV file
is so flexible.
And this is also the reasonthat we want to do it in a CSV
file versus like a PDF orsomething like that.
It's because we want you to beable to modify the data in such
(04:16):
a way that's most prudent foryou.
So we also, with the quick order, we have some new functions
that you may really enjoy aswell.
One is direct input, so you canactually directly enter your
items on the quick order formitself.
Or you can do an upload file soyou can take your building
(04:37):
materials you know, whatever theitems that you need, maybe got
a bulk list or something likethat, maybe you got a bulk list
or something like that and whatyou can do.
You can take this and you canuse the CSV, an Excel
spreadsheet or ODS file, and youcan just basically copy and
paste some of this stuff as wellRight there, so you can upload
up to 50,000 items at a time.
(04:58):
Now I don't know about you ifyou have a list of 50,000 items.
That's a pretty massive list.
So we had the functionalityready to help you.
And then you get that export CSVfunction that we've already
talked about, where you canexport the items.
Let's say, you get the listexactly the way you want it.
You can export that direct fromthe quick order form.
It's going to generate that CSVfile.
It's going to have the pricing,availability, the part number.
(05:19):
It's going to have your custompart number, which is good to
know.
Let's say, you have custom partnumbers that you have within
your own system.
We tie those together withinthe ERP and you have it right
there at your fingertips andit's going to give you just more
and more information to helpyou as you start updating the
pricing records and so much more.
So what you need to do if you goto Eco Online, you'll see a
(05:41):
little button there aroundaround get directions and that's
going to get you inside thequick order form.
That will get you the templatesthat you need to make sure that
you set up your data correctly.
So if you fill in, you know,because if you just set up a
spreadsheet with no rhyme orreason, it's not going to align
from a data structure standpoint.
So we gave you directly.
(06:02):
Okay, here's how you take thedata that you want.
Here's how you arrange the data, rather, that you want to get
in such a way that speaks to oursystem.
And then there you go, so youcan pick your template file type
, update it with your items,save that bad boy, then upload
it right there to that QuickOverform and boom, it's all
(06:24):
right there.
And we even did some shortvideos.
I've been doing a lot of shortvideos lately, by the way, guys,
so I made a few short videos onhow to do this.
So if you check out the shownotes for this podcast and go to
the ECO online website, you'llsee a short video on how to do
that directly.
To answer any of your otherquestions.
Okay, now the next functionalityI want to kind of share with
(06:45):
you about has to do withestimated shipping and delivery
dates, because this is just areally cool feature, because we
know how often we need to knowwhat those dates are within the
orders that we have open andwithin the order history, right?
So if you place your orderonline, what you're going to get
right out the gate is an emailupdate and that email is going
(07:05):
to have the estimated shippingand delivery dates.
Now these are based usually onthe PO line, right on the date
value and order to averagesupplier lead times.
Okay, so this everything linesup into our ERP software which
we use.
It's called P21.
And this is how you get someaccurate data up front.
(07:25):
Now we're going to be proactivein that communications because
we're going to give you up tothree email notifications will
be sent for any changes thathappen.
Okay, so you get changes thathappen because sometimes
suppliers you know dates change,right, you need to know that
and we want to be on the frontedge of that so you're not
having to call us.
We want to send stuff to you soyou can plan that directly.
(07:46):
That promise date that isultimately entered that's not
going to change.
The estimated ship and deliverydate is shown to you.
We know your promise date issuper important, but what we
want to show to you is the datebased off the vendor
availability that you can expectit.
Hopefully this is going to helphave a lot of better visibility
(08:10):
and planning for yourdeliveries, because we know that
receiving material in is justas big a deal as ordering the
material, since you can plan foryour resources and your teams
that are going to beimplementing the items that you
got.
So this is a big one.
So this is a step we've beenreally working hard on, so
excited to have this one inplace now, just to we know this
(08:32):
is something that so many of ourcustomers are asking for.
Now the next thing we really arepretty pumped up about is order
confirmation emails.
So this is going to helpeveryone, from your eco
representative down to you asthe end user, because we all
know that the business is movingso fast these days and you want
(08:55):
accurate information when youneed it.
Right, not necessarily what Iwant to give it to you.
You want it when you need it.
So these email confirmationsare really are are in place to
help you as you place thoseorders online, to give you that
confirmation, to give you thatassurance that things are done
right, because this is going toput any concerns that you had
(09:16):
did the order really go throughor I'm not sure?
Did I order that part number ornot, did I put that on?
That quote, all those thoughtsyou have, you know what.
You can just set them to theside, because when you get a
confirmation and your accountmanager and the people who have
serviced your account get aconfirmation, it gives so much
(09:39):
more of a much-needed assurancethat your materials are
processed correctly and in amanner that you need so that you
can get the parts there to yourfacility in a timely manner.
All right Now for you customerswho use Punch-Out.
And, by the way, if you havenot have a PunchOut system in
place and you want to do that orthink that could be something
that we could help you with,we'd love to talk about that,
(09:59):
because we're experts atPunchOut and PunchOut just
really changes the game Quitefrankly.
The whole idea of distributionin the future is really shifting
so much more to this digitallandscape where PunchOut is
going to be such a big deal.
So, again, let us know.
We'd love to talk to you aboutthat, because that solution to
Punchout is a powerful solution,okay, and it helps to really
(10:21):
amp up that communication evenmore.
So, email notifications forthose purchase orders from a
Punchout standpoint are nowconfigured to be sent to the
assigned customer servicerepresentative.
So, like I said, this is goingto really get down to brass
tacks of who gets these emailnotifications Again, use any
orders, concerns and making sureeverything nothing gets lost in
(10:44):
the shuffle, because we knowthere's again so many things
that happen so fast and when youget that confirmation it just
helps put, let's just face it alot of that angst to the side.
Now, another thing we recognized, based off of so many years of
being in the distributionbusiness we're coming up, we're
(11:05):
getting close to 100 years inbusiness guys, we're getting
very close within the nextcouple of years of that.
But we recognize that so manytimes you, as the end user, need
to go back and get your accessto your invoices or proof of
delivery and things like that.
So what we have now is we havethe ability for you to download
that proof of delivery or anoriginal invoice directly from
(11:27):
your invoice history.
Now, this is huge.
So when you log into youronline account, you'll be able
to generate a PDF directly whenyou click on Download the Proof
of Delivery or Download theOriginal Invoice.
So think about the days whereyou had to call in with your
invoice numbers and you had towait and we had to look it up,
then we had to print it out,then we had to back in the day.
(11:50):
We'd have to either mail it toyou or fax it to you or upload
to a PDF.
There's lots of steps Now.
You just log into your system,you search for the PO that you
have in question, or the orderyou have in question, rather,
and it's right there.
You just click it.
You got a PDF that, at thatpoint, you can send to wherever
(12:10):
you want inside your company.
That, at that point, you cansend to wherever you want inside
your company.
Now I put a video together forthis one as well, to help
demonstrate exactly the stepsthat you need to take where you
can access that.
So again, check out the shownotes, go to our YouTube channel
, connect with us directly.
It's even on our main website,ecoonlinecom.
Okay, now we'll also recognize,over the years and years of
(12:35):
being in this business, thatsometimes mistakes happen when
we place orders.
They just do Right, and usuallyit's just, it's a, it's an
innocent mistake.
Nothing is.
I've never once known someoneto buy something just to be
malicious.
Ok, so we recognize thatmistakes happen and sometimes
the parts aren't what we hopethey would be, or they just
don't line up, or whatever itmay be, no problem, you don't
(12:58):
have to worry about it anymore.
What we've done now is we'veconveniently placed the return
process directly on your onlineaccount.
This is a big, big game changerhere.
So once you log in, you're ableto initiate your return process
literally within a few clicks.
It's going to save you a ton oftime, it's going to save you a
(13:20):
lot of headaches, and we'regoing to put the information in
front of you that you need todayto begin that process of
returning the items that are nota good fit.
Now I know, again, this can bean area that wears people down.
You never want to deal withreturns.
You never want to think aboutreturns, even from an end-user
standpoint, because there's somany things you need to be
thinking about besides.
You know returning product, sowhat we're trying to do here is
(13:43):
make it extremely easy for you,extremely easy.
Again, I put a video together onthis topic.
So if you have any questions onhow you actually do that
streamlined return process, howdoes that work?
Now, go, check out ecoonlinecom, go to our YouTube channel.
We have all these differentways that we're trying to put
the information at yourfingertips.
So in that moment when you needto do this process, you don't
(14:07):
have to call anybody.
You can actually just go seefor yourself directly.
Okay, here's how it works andyou can just make that happen.
Now again, if you still want tocall us, we'd love to take your
call.
Okay, so we're not trying tosay don't call us.
We just we recognize that somuch has changed from
procurement.
I've been able to interview alot of people over the years at
(14:29):
EcoSY and I can see the shiftinglandscape of procurement and
how things digital buying, howit all has manifested itself
down to the planned industrialfloor, and I think it's great.
But at the same time, you've gotto wait.
Our goal, our job asdistributors, is to make sure
the data gets to the people thatneed the data and they know
this functionality, because itwould be no good for us to have
all the bells, features andbells and whistles and all this
(14:52):
stuff and no one inside yourfacility know about it.
At that point we have failedyou.
So our attempt with Eco Ask why.
Our attempt with our emails,all that stuff that we're trying
to do to get the information infront of you, is to spread the
word so that it makes your jobeasier, okay.
So again, if you're not on ouremail list, ecoonlinecom,
connect with us.
(15:12):
If you're not on our email list, ecoonlinecom, connect with us.
Let's get you in place so thatyou will start getting those
notifications as we roll themout.
So now, as you can see righthere, we've had a lot of
significant improvements.
(15:34):
Now some of these things sound,you know, maybe not earth
shattering, but I can tell youfor us, for an industrial
distributor, there's a lot ofmoving pieces just to get these
in place, and we're committed toimproving the customer
experience, particularly withour online digital platform, and
that means we need to invest inthe right solutions, because we
need to invest in the rightsolutions so that your online
experience is something that you, you feel good about.
(15:55):
We don't want it to be whereour website is something oh gosh
, I got to go to those guysagain.
No, we want our website to besomewhere you can go with
confidence and when you come tous in confidence, okay, here's
what I have, here's what I need.
Oh, yeah, this is exactly whatI need.
Oh, I need some drawings.
Yep, they're drawings righthere.
Did I buy that in the past.
Oh, yep, I can check right hereand see if I bought it in the
past.
Hey, I wonder what theiravailability is on that right
(16:16):
now.
Oh, let's check that out.
That's right here.
Hey, I need a drawing for this.
I wonder if I can get a drawing.
Oh, here's a drawing.
You see what we're doing?
We're bringing all the piecestogether noise we want to put.
(16:37):
We want to silence a lot ofthat and put in front of you
what you need to make the bestdecisions, the most informed
decisions, moving forward.
That's our commitment.
And, look, we want yourfeedback.
We would love your feedback onhow we can make your online
experience even better.
We don't want to just beanother.
Me too.
We want to be the best inindustry and that we recognize.
To do that, we need to belistening, we need to be asking
(16:57):
questions and sit and be stilland listen, and we do that and
can take that back and we candiscern that and understand.
Ok, how can we continue toimprove the processes?
How do we need to make thisinvestment over here to make
this a better experience for you?
That's our commitment, becausewe know it's not just about
parts and pieces, it's peopleand ideas, people and ideas over
(17:20):
products is what has alwaysbeen for electrical equipment
company.
That's what our commitment ismoving forward.
So I want to thank you Again,highly, highly, encourage you if
you do not have an onlineaccount, go to Eco Online, get
you an account set up and thisis for anyone out there, from
purchasing to management, downto E&I technicians to platform
(17:42):
warehousing storeroom.
We want you to get your accountset up because you'll have
access within your account todata that matters to you and
we'll have it again right thereat your fingertips.
Now, if you again, if you arethose customers who you have
punch out capabilities, you wantto talk to us about our punch
out capabilities and the waythat we can help integrate into
your system, we'd love to havethe conversation.
(18:04):
So, ecoonlinecom, connect withus.
Right there you can find allsorts of ways.
We're here, we're ready toserve, and that Punch Out
solution it's pretty cool.
I mean, it's something.
Once we've made the investment,we're seeing the fruit of how
this works now and how we canhelp others with this, and we
just want to do it at a higherscale.
(18:24):
So if you have an opportunityfor Punch Out, we'd love to talk
, okay, so look, thank you guysso much.
I really wanted to join the newformat and I know we're not
coming out quite as often, butwe're trying to come out with
information when we do, to giveyou some information that's
going to help you grow, that'sgoing to help you be successful
and it's going to differentiateyou between your competitors.
And that's our goal at eco isjust to to be there to help
(18:47):
serve you to, to help you bethat customer, that end user
that's making that big impact.
So we know you guys are tryingso hard.
So, yeah, connect with us,ecoonlinecom.
If you'd like to podcast ratereview, I'll share it out with,
with, with others, with, with,with fellow people out there who
enjoy this type of conversation, and we love to hear from you.
(19:09):
So, again, you can check outour show notes.
We have all the different linksthat I talked about today for
the different videos.
Just to recap what those videosare, I want to make sure that
everyone knows we have the quickorder functionality to export
video how you export that.
We have the shipping anddelivery dates.
I put a video together on thatthe order email confirmation
(19:31):
videos.
That's part of the quick ordervideos.
Then we have that how you getyour invoices and proof of
delivery.
We have a video on that andthat streamline the returning
process.
There's a video out there forthat as well, and all that stuff
again.
If you go to YouTube, search forElectroCrimbing Company,
subscribe to our channel, youhave all the stuff right there
at your fingertips too.
Put a lot of stuff out on aconsistent basis because we're
(19:54):
just trying to serve at a highlevel, all right.
So thank you guys, so much forlistening.
Hopefully you have a wonderfulday.
Thank you for all that you do.
I know for you guys out there inmanufacturing and that are
serving in the eco-service area,it just means so much to us,
just that we can be a small partof your business and we just
hope that you can continue to beblessed and we just thank you
(20:16):
so much for working with us on aconsistent basis.
So have a great day and youknow what's coming.
Keep asking why.
Thank you for listening to.
Eeco Asks why this show issupported ad-free by Electrical
Equipment Company.
Eeco is redefining theexpectations of an electrical
distributor by placing peopleand ideas before products.
(20:38):
Please subscribe and share withyour colleagues and friends.
Also leave comments, feedbackand any new topics that you
would like to hear, to learnmore or to share your insights,
visit EECOASYcom.
That's E-E-C-O-A-S-K-S-W-H-Ycom.
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