How a distributor persuaded more dealers to order online instead of calling, from Internet Retailer.
With a new e-commerce portal for dealers, VHA, a distributor of wireless phones, is now processing more than half its customers’ orders online.
As a distributor of prepaid wireless phones to thousands of retail stores for the Sprint Prepaid Group of Sprint Corp., VHA Corp. two years ago addressed a problem: too many of its dealers were placing orders over the phone, and only 5% to 7% ordered online.
The overall prepaid wireless phone market was booming for products such as the Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile phones VHA distributes. But VHA was behind the times with a rudimentary online ordering system that lacked user-friendly features and caused most customers to call in orders through its customer service center. The company couldn’t keep up with competitors that processed many of their customers’ orders faster and more efficiently via the web, says Steve Lin, sales director for VHA.
