ize systems for Tundra’s specific needs. However, as the software has improved and caught up with the particularities of E&S distribu- tion, Tundra has found itself creat- ing fewer custom solutions. As the director of e-commerce, Spaulding believes the company now has a strong understanding of what tech- nologies need to be built and what can be purchased. “It stems back to trying to figure out what’s going to create the best customer expe- rience,” See says. “We’re trying to use internal tools that make sense to maintain those relationships.” So far, Tundra has been suc- cessful in using technology such as Google Analytics and IBM Cognos reporting software to reach that goal. Those two systems work in- dependently but together provide a fuller picture of how specific chang- es impact problem-solving, making it easy to identify causation. Being able to identify that cause-and-ef- fect is especially helpful for under-
standing how different approaches impact customer interactions. For example, when Tundra sends out a marketing email it can measure the amount of website traffic generated in response, allowing it to deter- mine what works best and achieve its larger goal of cultivating repeat buyers. “We don’t want to be a supplier that’s selling one time to one customer in their lifecycle,” See says. “We want to build relation- ships. When you make the right de- cision based off what you’re seeing, it’s easy to build off that.” Even as they create solutions, bringing in new software and systems have their own challeng- es. See contends that the biggest obstacles usually occur during the transition period when onboarding new software. Employees must see the value of the change before they buy into it and then undergo training to learn to use it properly. The key, See says, is to listen to employees and understand their challenges
so that a solution can be found. “There’s always a reward after we’ve gotten through that process,” she adds. “We have to stay current in order to be successful. Be fear- less in the pursuit of change.” For other distributors wanting to modernize, See recommends that they do thorough research first. “Find out what your competitors are doing: what works, what doesn’t. Listen to your employees.” “Sometimes it’s better to start small than to not start at all,” Spaulding adds. “It’s a very daunt- ing feat to try to embrace everything that the internet has made possible for companies. More often than not, it’s best to start small and then scale up from there once you see the results.”
Parts Town
Ordering the wrong size box of garbage bags is a pretty low-stakes mistake but getting an incompatible replacement knob or adapter on
STEVE SNOWER RECOGNIZES THAT THE INCOMING GENERATION OF WORKERS HAS A HIGH LEVEL OF FAMILIARITY WITH TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN HELP COMPANIES SUCH AS PARTS TOWN THINK AHEAD AND PREPARE FOR THE DIGITAL FUTURE.
18 FEDA News & Views
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