Olam Nuts, a division of Singapore-based Olam International Group, has chosen a digital path in order to offer smaller volumes of its product to small manufacturers and businesses in the US and Canada, such as bakeries, caterers, and restaurants, by partnering with US multinational software firm Adobe Inc.
According to Nikhil Tandon, Senior Director of Trading at OlamNuts.com, the company has chosen Abode's cloud system Magento Commerce to host its OlamNuts.com website for business-to-business transactions, with the website developed by e-commerce web design firm Redstage.
Adding Liquidity
Olam, which had previously focused on bulk and wholesale quantities from large manufacturers in truckloads, considered expanding its offerings to small businesses in order to add liquidity and tap new markets.
According to Tandon, the challenge for Olam Nuts was increasing sales while reducing the quantity of its product without affecting profitability. The company decided to take a different route because it was not possible to do so through its traditional offline business model, which required its sales team to manage it in person.
At the same time, the US-based company, which is one of the largest suppliers of bulk nuts and seeds to 60 countries, had to overcome the challenge of transitioning its existing customers to the online platform, as well as gain the trust of new customers.
As a result, Olam Nuts pioneered e-commerce and created an online store. Magento Commerce was chosen because it was found to be robust in business-to-business functionality and scalability.
Paying Rich Dividends
Tandon stated that the move has paid off handsomely, with Olam Nuts experiencing a 470 percent increase in new customers per month. It also achieved a 1.5% conversion rate and reduced support calls by 500%.
"We're enjoying higher liquidity, serving more customers from more verticals, and operating more efficiently as a result of the online experience delivered by Magento Commerce," said an Olam Nuts official.
The company's process has been automated, allowing smaller businesses to deal directly and buy bulk nuts and seeds directly from the source. He claims that this provides better price transparency, a higher quality product, and faster delivery.
Online ordering allows sales staff to provide 24X7 service, while orders are shipped and executed seamlessly thanks to integration with ShipperHQ.
Expand beyond N. America
OlamNuts.com now plans to expand beyond North America, thanks to the scalability enabled by its online solution, according to Tandon.
"By embracing the power of Adobe's Magento Commerce, Olam Nuts has successfully innovated itself on an e-commerce-led growth path, allowing them to strengthen their market position." "Our goal is to continue to be a strategic digital transformation partner to businesses like Olam Nuts, assisting them in quickly going online, scaling up, and optimizing multi-channel e-commerce operations on a single integrated platform," said Nitin Singhal, Managing Director, Digital Experiences, Adobe India.
Olam Nuts' new website will provide nuts and seeds ranging from organic almonds to tricolor quinoa in bulk quantities of up to 35,000 pounds (15,875 kg) with an easy-to-navigate interface.
Customers can also view live prices for nuts and seeds, as well as stock availability, before placing online orders. It also allows customers to open accounts online, which will help the sales team better manage clients, according to an Olam Nuts official.
He also mentioned that Magento Commerce and OlamNuts.com's customer relationship management system are integrated for analysing customer behaviour and improving service delivery.
