Customer Case Study

FOUR SEASONS GENERAL MERCHANDISE

The Company:

WHOLESALE TRADE COMPANY INCREASES SALES AND IMPROVES CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES BY UPGRADING ITS PLATFORM WITH OUT-OF-THE-BOX SOLUTIONS

For more than 35 years, Four Seasons General Merchandise (4sgm.com) has been a leader in the general merchandise industry. Based in the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ Wholesale District, Four Seasons General Merchandise boasts a 25,000-square-foot showroom that displays more than 10,000 items in at least 50 categories. Its nearly 700,000-square-foot warehouse ships hundreds of orders out to customers each day.

Customers are at the core of its business. The company and its more than 150 dedicated employees have a reputation for providing excellent service to its tens-of-thousands of customers across the country and around the globe. 

As part of its commitment to great service, Four Seasons General Merchandise has also provided its customers online shopping options for years. But in 2017, the company realized its B2B e-commerce capabilities weren’t keeping up with growing B2B buyer expectations. 

Across the board, more and more customers were demanding a B2B buying experience that was as easy as B2C shopping. But 4sgm.com’s e-commerce site was running on an old, outdated platform that continued to limit its ability to expand its e-commerce capabilities and meet customer expectations. 

“Many of our customers wanted to be able to shop online using their mobile devices, but we weren’t able to provide them with that option,” said Mahmoud Paridehpour, vice president of e-commerce and information systems at Four Seasons General Merchandise. “As a result, we started losing customers.”

And there were other features Four Seasons General Merchandise needed to bring its website up to date, such as improved site security and integration with its ERP system, to name a few. Overall, Four Seasons General Merchandise wanted more flexibility within its site and more control with regard to adding capabilities.

After a short search and RFP process, Four Seasons General Merchandise quickly recognized the value of the robust B2B e-commerce platform that QAD Digital Commerce brought to the table. “It was clear right away that QAD Digital Commerce was the best fit for our needs,” added Paridehpour.
COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
Company
Four Seasons General Merchandise
Headquarters
Los Angeles, CA
Industry
Wholesale Distribution
Products
General merchandise, houseware, health and beauty, stationery, toys, baby items
Solutions Utilized
QAD Digital Commerce

 



The Challenge:

SEAMLESS B2B E-COMMERCE OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE AND WEB

By 2017, B2B e-commerce was taking off. More B2B companies had started offering online shopping capabilities to their customers in response to their increasing demands for more B2C-like experiences. As competition grew, B2B e-commerce became more of a table-stakes than a nice-to-have and Four Seasons General Merchandise was feeling the heat. 

As a large wholesale trade company, Four Seasons General Merchandise needed a solution that catered to the complex needs of its unique business. And because its platform at the time was so limited, it needed technology that would allow for much more flexibility within the platform.

One of Four Seasons General Merchandise’s biggest challenges was its inability to offer its customers mobile device shopping capabilities. “We weren’t mobile optimized, and bringing our platform up to date to provide that option was proving very difficult,” said Paridehpour. 

Like most B2B companies, 4sgm.com also needed a platform that could support inventory visibility, unlimited product fields and attributes, custom pricing and package deals—to name a few. Additionally, it needed to be able to offer the unique payment options B2B customers expect. 

And finally, the company wanted an out-of-the-box solution that it could get up and running quickly, rather than spending extensive time and money building a custom platform from the ground up.


“We now have a modern platform that meets our needs, our customers’ expectations and can easily scale with our business.”

Mahmoud Paridehpour, Vice President, e-Commerce and information systems, Four Seasons General Merchandise



The Solution:

A FEATURE-RICH AND FLEXIBLE DIGITAL COMMERCE PLATFORM

The QAD Digital Commerce platform offered Four Seasons General Merchandise everything it needed and more. 

“Two things attracted us most to QAD Digital Commerce at the outset: the out-of-the-box solution that would allow us to launch quickly and affordably, and the human capital—that is, the knowledge, experience and support the QAD Digital Commerce team brought to this project,” said Paridehpour. 

Four Seasons General Merchandise was also impressed with the vast experience QAD Digital Commerce had specifically in the B2B wholesale trade space. The QAD Digital Commerce team understood and worked closely in the industry.

That meant QAD Digital Commerce offered most of the solutions 4sgm.com needed out of the box, including:

  • Mobile optimization for shopping on mobile devices
  • Improved security to protect the customers and the business
  • A bundle feature that allowed the company to offer package deals
  • Unlimited product fields and attributes for complex products and product configurations
  • The ability to build a kit and sell by unit and case
  • Business rule builder tools that automated business workflows
  • Simplified data import and export to CSV or Excel capabilities
  • Inventory visibility technology and notifications when a product is low or out of stoc
  • Quick order and re-order forms

The company also required a rich API library and business rule builder tool so that the platform was more flexible — and Four Seasons General Merchandise could easily add and remove capabilities as needed. It also needed the platform to easily integrate with its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, Sage 100 and its financial software.

Additionally, QAD Digital Commerce was able to help 4sgm.com expand its site even further—which was not an initial requirement of the project. With the support of QAD Digital Commerce, Four Seasons General Merchandise added multistore capabilities, advanced sales and promotion tools, marketing automation and more, helping the company plan for the future.




The Benefits:

ENHANCED ONLINE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE AND INCREASED SALES

With the new, extensively upgraded e-commerce platform in place, 4sgm.com was able to streamline much of its business workflows and processes. This saved the company time and money over the long term.

And because of the out-of-the-box solutions QAD Digital Commerce implemented for Four Seasons General Merchandise, the company was able not only to launch the site in less than six months, but also at a cost much more affordable than a custom-built platform. 

Additionally, the site met the demands of Four Seasons General Merchandise’s B2B buyers—enhancing their online shopping experience and increasing sales. And finally, it provided the company with a flexible platform that continues to grow with its business.

“The QAD Digital Commerce platform is great for any company that’s looking for out-of-the-box features and wants to go live fast,” added Paridehpour. “We now have a modern platform that meets our needs and our customers’ expectations and can easily scale with our business.”


 

*QAD Digital Commerce was formerly known as WebJaguar 


“The QAD Digital Commerce platform is great for any company that’s looking for out-of-the-box features and wants to go live fast.”

Mahmoud Paridehpour, Vice President, e-Commerce and information systems, Four Seasons General Merchandise

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