Menu
How we created a well-arranged e-shop with an accurate calculation of the price of custom-made products
In this case study, you'll find out
Asseco's Helios software is the most widely used ERP system in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In the case of iMitrade, we connected it with the e-shop thanks to cooperation with the external company AMI Plus, which configured the client's Helios to make the connection as efficient as possible. We have a great experience with this company long-term, because they provide active support and constantly improve their services.
Currently, all the most important information, such as prices of products and prints, stock levels and customer data, is sent to the online store via the API. Therefore, there is no need to intervene in the e-shop on the client's side, they edit the data only in Helios and the online store then immediately takes it.
Currently, not only the Slovak but also the Czech version of the e-shop is connected to Helios. In this way, the customer can manage both stores under one interface, which saves them time and resources.
iMi trade offers more than 200,000 types of goods. Approximately 30,000 of them are displayed on the e-shop. In addition, almost all of the products have several colour variations.
Of course, it can be difficult for customers to navigate through so many items. That's why we've implemented several ways on the e-shop to help them find the right product and make their purchase easier.
Customers who have an idea of what they need can enter their query into a full-text search. It's built on ElasticSearch technology, it also counts with typos and shows results for synonyms of the searched word. In addition to products, it also searches in category names. The found goods are sorted according to relevance and then it's possible to filter them further according to availability, price or colour.
To improve clarity, all categories in the main menu are displayed together with an image. After clicking on the main product group, the customer can continue to navigate in subcategories using the quick overview above the product list or in the sidebar. When browsing a specific product, they can return to the category via breadcrumbs, i.e. the so-called crumb navigation, above its name.
For the most specific selection of products, customers can also use the faceted search in the sidebar. It contains parameters such as price, stock status, size, performance or capacity, which, when selected, narrow down the selection of displayed products in real time, without the need to manually click the Search button again. In addition, for some criteria, instead of checkboxes, a slider is prepared to speed up the selection.
Above the list of products, customers also have the option of sorting and filtering products by labels such as In stock, New, Sale or Promotion. Again, the products are filtered in real time and if multiple labels are checked, they can be cancelled with one click.
The e-shop constantly works with information about the sale of goods and based on it, compiles a ranking of the seven most desired products for each category. In addition, a description and information about stock, price and ratings is also available to the customer.
All these functionalities significantly accelerate the purchasing process and thus help customers to better orientate in the large amount of products.
The e-shop also stores the history of the customer's search from the currently used browser. Based on this, when browsing other products, it offers the buyer a list of the recently displayed goods, so that they can return to it faster if needed.
iMi trade has its own production with an area of over 1,300 m2. It implements 6 different types of printing and it also offers embroidery of textile products, embossing or engraving.
The methods of personalisation of products are specific to each product and depend on the type of its surface. For most products, multiple printing methods are possible and the customer can choose between them.
The price of personalisation is calculated for each item separately and depends on its type and size of personalised area. In order for the final price of personalised products to be available to customers immediately, we've prepared a unique configurator for the e-shop.
For customisable goods, the print options are displayed in the right side panel. If the user is interested in any type of printing, they can click on the Order with print button. Subsequently, the e-shop redirects them to the configurator consisting of several steps.
1. Product Selection
The first step is to choose the colour design and the number of pieces of the desired product.
2. Logo upload
Subsequently, the user has the option to upload their vector logo in multiple graphic formats. In the case of a registered user with a logo stored in their profile, the base is loaded automatically.
If it isn't a company with a logo, the customer can also insert an illustration, text or photo.
3. Selection of the type of print
With multiple printing methods, the user can choose from them according to their preference. The tooltips with basic information about the types of printing and examples of implementation help them to choose the right one. For each type of printing, it's then necessary to select additional parameters, such as the number of colours, the length of the logo, printing dimensions, etc.
4. Additional modification of graphic materials
The logo entered for printing must comply with the graphic specification defined by the operator. In case that it doesn't meet it, in this step, the customer can choose, for example, to convert the logo into vectors or even to create a logo by the iMi trade graphic designers.
5. Adding another design
If the product has multiple areas for personalisation, the customer can click on the Add another logo button and repeat the process. Then they indicate in the note which type of print they wish to place on which surface.
The print price list works with the data database in the Helios system, where it's managed by the operator. This includes the basic price for each type of printing. The price often consists of several items, such as preparation for printing or the number of colours used for personalisation. For each additional logo, the price is calculated separately.
In addition to the price, the configurator also evaluates the difficulty of the personalisation and adjusts the expected delivery date accordingly.
Since the e-shop focuses mainly on the sale of promotional items, its priority target group are companies that most often buy one time and in bulk. In order to make the purchasing process of this specific group of customers as smooth as possible, we've included several useful elements into the functionalities of the e-shop.
Every customer has the opportunity to view the prices of products including and excluding VAT. However, in the header of the page, they can choose which of these amounts is the priority for them. Subsequently, this price will be displayed in larger and colourful fonts.
Registered users with the entered company ID number are entitled to a wholesale discount, the possibility of ordering samples or payment on invoice. In addition, large or state-owned companies can, based on communication with a sales representative, gain additional benefits that are set for the selected profile directly by the administrators of the e-shop.
When buying a larger number of pieces, each customer receives a quantitative discount. It's unique to each product and customers can find it in the product detail, in a clear table in the right sidebar. It's then recalculated automatically in the basket, when the required amount is reached.
The functionality designed for iMi trade sales representatives allows for exporting the contents of the basket into a visually attractive presentation. It contains all the information about individual products, prices and personalisation options. Employees of iMi trade can thus create a personalised offer for any client and effectively prepare for a meeting with them.
The most important incorporated modules
Technologies used
What awaits us in regard to this cooperation?
I really enjoy working with bart.sk. At business conferences, we often hear about the need to digitise companies. And thanks to bart.sk, innovation in iMitrade.sk is becoming a reality. Today, I can assess that together we have managed to combine progressive solutions with a proven way of selling promotional items. I appreciate the professional, but at the same time human approach of bartans. I was most surprised by their ability to carry out complex tasks and their interest in understanding our processes. That's why, in addition to the further development of iMitrade.sk, we decided to cooperate with bart.sk on a completely new project from another field.
