The absolute highlight of Imagine was the fact that Youwe didn’t go home empty-handed. Together with our partner Vink we won the Imagine Excellence Award in the category Best B2B Implementation. Now that’s what we call a good souvenir.
Since our collaboration with Vink was such a success, we were also able to present our case during Imagine 2018. Here we inspired the attendees about the successful use of Magento 2. In 2016 Vink decided to transfer their European e-commerce activities to a Magento platform. Together with YouWe Vink VTS was the first company within the company Vink Holdings to fully switch to a Magento Commerce 2 platform, and with this switch, all B2B activities are now easily accessible online. What are the big advantages to this? Vink VTS reduced a lot of calls to their internal sales team and the online turnover plus the turnover from the stock inventory have improved.
Besides that YouWe has inspired people during the event, we are of course also inspired by the many e-commerce experts and the many presentations held during Imagine. An inspirational presentation was The Strength of Machine Learning by Anita Andrews, Director of Analytics Services at Magento. The topic of Machine Learning is increasingly driving our commerce conversations. When implemented correctly, it can help businesses save time, and grow. However, as with every digital movement, it’s easy to get distracted by shiny objects and new technologies. The strength of Machine Learning begins with the data feeding it and continues to the humans optimizing it. This takes the power of Machine Learning far beyond just product recommendations.
In this session, leading European shoe manufacturer, Gabor, shared details on the rollout of their Magento Order Management project to the German market. They used a seamless commerce experience using Magento Commerce 2 and Magento Order Management to create an endless aisle experience. In February 2018, the Gabor marketplace was officially launched and after less than three months, the marketplace is already number one in sales of Gabor.
Building a platform is one thing, getting users engaged is another. Successful B2B clients digitize their businesses, including the strategies they use to onboard users. This session discussed management board involvement, sales motivational plans, adding channels to support clients, and creating on-boarding scenarios using apps and flyers. The attendees learned everything about “Trojan horse” type strategies and “e-commerce in halfway.”
The big question during this presentation was: in a world of increasing competition, why do customers choose to buy from certain brands? The answer is (not so) hidden in the experience of buying. In this session, we explored the value of OMS as the backbone of delivering on customer expectation and creating great customer experiences. We have taken a peek behind the curtain to see how order management allows merchants to be there when their customers need them