From Phone Orders to Self-Service: A Distributor’s Journey to Digital Adoption

For over thirty years, a regional distributor of industrial parts ran its operations in the traditional manner. The phones rang nonstop. Orders were written out on clipboards and entered manually. Entering inventory posts on computers came from warehouse walkthroughs. This family-run business truly prided itself on customer relationships, quick service, and a vast product catalog.

However, even good relationships were not enough against the changing tides of distribution.

Consumers started requesting 24/7 access to product information. An old-time customer said, “I love you guys, but I need to order parts at 10 p.m. sometimes. Your competitor has a portal I might have to switch.” 

That statement hit deep within the heart of the company’s president. She suddenly realized that they were no longer just selling parts: they were selling experiences, and theirs was living in the past.

This is the story of how a traditional distributor went beyond manual phone orders and into a self-service digital platform with DCKAP, a digital commerce enabler for distributors, to future-proof their business.

The Traditional Playbook: Comfortable, But Costly

The processes implemented were reflections of every conventional distributor before the digital revolution:

• Orders underwent placement over the telephone or by fax
• Sales representatives manually tracked and processed every single request
• Inventory was managed on Excel sheets or in paper logs
• Marketing meant sending out print catalogs every six months

It worked well until it didn’t. During peak seasons, backlogged orders meant late shipments and many customer complaints. One misheard phone order almost resulted in an entire pallet being sent back at their cost. Manual processes were just not supposed to work. Customers would get impatient waiting for quotes, and, as new, tech-savvy competitors turned digital, the distributor was slowly falling behind.

The president remarked, “We were efficient in 2005. But by 2020, we were behind.”

The Wake-Up Call: Losing Ground to Digital-First Competitors

A legacy client moving its entire business to a competitor on the national level had perfectly timed this coup.

“They had real-time stock visibility, automatic reordering, and online payment options. We had…PDFs,” the team half-joked.

This embarrassing incident forced the leadership into a sober look at gorillas-in-the-room: Digital acquisition wasn’t optional anymore – in fact, it was imperative.

The surveys revealed the following sticking points with the customers:

• Would not be able to place orders after office hours
• No access to current inventory levels or prices
• Delays in confirming availabilities
• Reps were drowning in follow-ups and other manual tasks

That feedback basically birthed their digital journey.

Choosing the Right Partner: Why the Distributor Turned to DCKAP

After hours of demos, platform trials, and integration horror stories, the search for a solution had begun. Most offerings did not cater to the needs of distributors, including complex product catalogs, ERP dependency, and multichannel pricing.

They then entered DCKAP.

“DCKAP wasn’t just another software vendor. They got distribution,” the leadership team said. “From the first meeting, we saw that their platform — DCKAP Integrator, PIM, and eCommerce stack — could handle our complexity.”

The reasons they chose DCKAP included the following:

• It was B2B platform with distributors in mind, not retailers.
• Composable commerce: Implement whichever tools work best.
• Great ERP integrations: No ripping-and-replacing of legacy systems.
• Scalable, so it would scale with the business.

Together, they defined the roadmap:

• Phase 1: Centralize product data using DCKAP PIM;
• Phase 2: Bring up the online self-service customer portal; and 
• Phase 3: Bring order workflows on autopilot with ERP integrations.
• Phase 4: Empower the sales team with digital quoting and inventory tools

The Digital Transformation Journey Begins

Step by step, the distributor reinvented how they worked.

Cleaning Product Data with PIM

Product data used to be everywhere — in Excel sheets, on printed sheets, and in the memories of employees. DCKAP PIM centralized and enriched this information.

No more duplicate SKUs or vague specs.

Building a Customer Portal

With the new system, customers could:

• Browse products with the most updated images, specs, and availability on a real-time basis
• Place orders and track at any time
• Reorder in one click
• Retrieve past invoices and shipping status

Integrating Systems

DCKAP Integrator connected their ERP (Epicor Prophet 21) with the new digital storefront: syncing orders, pricing, customer data, and inventory in real time.

Training Staff and Customers

Rather than rip out the old system at one go, they started with a pilot group of customers and trained their reps on the new way to help buyers.

“It was not just tech. It was a cultural change,” explained the president.

Overcoming Roadblocks: Change Management and User Adoption

Digital transformation simply brings the software and the people together.

Common Pushbacks:

• Sales reps feared losing their importance.
• Aged customers would rather not bother with “all that stuff online.”
• Internal teams worried about the unavoidable learning curve. 

Solutions That Worked:

• Technology was reframed as a tool to assist rather than replace sales professionals.
• Training videos and webinars were offered to clients.
• Used DCKAP support staff to troubleshoot and refine UX.
• Celebrated small wins: first online order, first self-service reorder, and so forth. 

The president quoted, “Our reps are more valuable now as they spend less time on admin and more on solving customer problems.” 

What Success Looks Like: Before vs After

The results came quickly and were clearly measurable.

Before:

• 75% of orders came in through manual channels
• Order processing time: 8–12 hours
• Error rate: ~10% (phone/fax mix-up)
• Sales visibility was limited

After:

• Now 60% of orders come through the self-service portal,
• Processing time: Less than 1 hour,
• Error rate: dropped below 2%,
• Sales reps are able to close more deals by focusing on high-value customers,

Customers were happy with the convenience, and repeat orders went through the roof! Even skeptical clients became evangelists for the portal.

Key Learnings: Advice for Hesitant Distributors

The distributor’s journey contains impetus for some major lessons:

1. Choose a partner who speaks your language:

Distributors, on the other hand, rarely go for generic solutions. From their point of view and on this basis, their success relies on having truly understood Martin & Sons — the complex nature of SKUs, multi-tier pricing, and the nuances of B2B workflows.

2. Digital gives power to people:

The best technology doesn’t displace jobs, it uplifts them. Staff members become a little faster and accurate and start engaging more in strategic work.

3. Measure and iterate:

Make your measurements on variables such as order accuracy, speed of fulfillment, and conversion rates of sales, and then let those insights do their work of constant improvement.

Conclusion: The Future is Digital, and It’s Within Reach

The distributor never became an Amazon. Nor did they need to.

What they did was tensely relevant, modern-day distribution ready for the digital age.

Their customers are happier; their workforce is stronger, and now their business is growing.

If you still find yourself juggling phone calls, paperwork, and data that is only half-intact, take a leaf or two from their story. The tools are set; the partners exist. And it is so worth the journey.

DCKAP partners with distributors like you to transform operations and customer experiences by way of tailor-fit digital solutions.

Because the forecasted distribution is not merely digital-only—it is digital-first.