PACT enabled supplier feature Q&A with Tim Brotherton, Elta Automotive Marketing Manager
More than half of all orders of Elta Automotive products are now conducted through the PACT electronic trading initiative.
A third of all Elta invoices are generated through PACT and sent electronically to customers, saving both money and time.
Q. Do you find electronic trading allows you to trade more effectively?
“Electronic trading has been instrumental in allowing us to trade more effectively & efficiently with availability and pricing available to customers 24/7. It is error free, with no intervention at Elta until the warehouse picking process. Customers are able to place orders at both evenings & weekends when the sales office is closed and we can also accept VOR orders later in the day as they are processed directly to the warehouse.”
Q. What trends are there with electronic trading that may differ from other ordering methods? .e.g. amount of order, time of order etc
“The number of stock availability and price enquiries has increased dramatically, which suggests how easy customers find this method of trade. We are able to see the orders on our warehouse in real time, allowing us to plan for the busy periods.”
Q. What other efficiencies have been created within the business?
“Errors have reduced simply due to lack of human intervention of the orders. Elta have also invested in a new business system (K8) so this along with PACT has definitely reduced picking errors.
“Furthermore, electronic trading has enabled us to grow, without having to add cost to our Customer Service Team. In fact, time has been released so we can be pro-active with our customers.”
Q. What are your thoughts on the uptake of electronic ordering by customers? In such a service led sector, has the marketplace been quick or slow to embrace electronic trading?
“The uptake of electronic ordering has been high within the buying groups. However, we still receive UK orders by fax & phone from independent accounts. Invoicing via PACT is growing and we see significant opportunity to develop this area further.”
