Business Challenge
J&M Manufacturing, a leading maker of farm equipment since 1960, provides a wide range of customizable, built-to-order farming solutions which it sells through a network of dealers.
The company’s original ordering process was slow, complicated, and vulnerable to human error. Orders were submitted manually to J&M by phone, by email, or by mail. And small mistakes had a big impact not only to the customer and dealer, but also to J&M’s reputation and bottom line.
The error-prone process taxed J&M’s small customer service and sales teams and made it difficult to manage inventory. The company needed a full-scale digital solution—and tapped Icon for the job.
Solution
Rather than trying to make an existing solution work for J&M, we created a unique experience designed around the customer. After evaluating several options, we ultimately recommended Adobe Commerce to build their website. As Adobe Commerce partners, we knew the platform could provide the fully customized solutions needed to handle J&M’s complex ordering process.
We built a configure price quote (CPQ) system into the website, through which J&M could control the rules for products, packages, and pricing. The CPQ system factored in dealer-specific pricing incentives and provided dealers with a consolidated portal. With these new features, dealers could generate itemized estimates for each customer (complete with pitch decks, list price, and any discounts), check inventory and availability, submit orders, and view order history.
J&M had just invested in a new billing platform that retained historical order information, so to make order history more accessible, we created a shared login solution that allowed dealers to log in once and access both systems.
After the success of this first project, J&M approached us again, this time to build a digital product visualizer. By collaborating with J&M, we combined the company’s CAD rendering abilities with a tool that would allow customers to design their own products and send them directly to their local dealers to complete their orders.
Results
With J&M’s new automated digital ordering system, the type of mistakes that would once shut down the company’s production lines were no longer possible. It provided customers and dealers with a clear and streamlined way of placing customized orders and decreased the chances of miscommunication along the way. The dealer-facing portal we designed smoothly transitioned dealers into the new ordering system while preserving historical customer data. This process eliminated paperwork for J&M’s sales team, enabling it to spend more time selling.
Additionally, the digital product visualizer helped drive lead generation efforts for both dealers and J&M, providing the company with visibility into its customer pipeline and effectively funneling customers toward their nearest dealer.
