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The eCat iPad app from SuperCat has come a long way during its first year in business. The company now serves multiple segments in the case goods, accent furniture, lighting, accessories and gift industries.
The company has recently expanded eCat’s features to offer highly flexible discounting, unlimited custom data fields, user interface enhancements, a simple bar code scanning interface, and support for international currencies. And, improvements have been made to build on eCat’s ability to sync securely with a web server to keep product, pricing and inventory information current, and to share updated information with the sales team.
Impact on Operations
Efficiency and speed are two key words that keep popping up when customers share details about how eCat has helped their business. When sales reps have all the updated information they need, right at their fingertips, it also frees up home office employees to get more accomplished each day.
“Reps don’t call as much as they used to for product details such as the wattage of a lamp, shade size and availability because they’ve already got it,” says Erin Yevak, sales and marketing manager at Wildwood Lamps and Accents and Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture. “I’ve reduced by a third the number of calls per day. Reps send in orders via email rather than by faxing them in, making the system much more efficient for everyone.”
Emailing orders speeds up the entire process, resulting in product shipping to the dealers much more quickly.
“When the rep inputs the order, it goes straight to the office. We get more orders completed each day, since in the past most things were faxed in, which took a lot longer,” says Michael Beaver, president of Somerset Bay/Modern History. “eCat simplifies the order process, which results in more business, since sales reps can spend more quality time with dealers.”
Ease of Use
For many companies, the app has revolutionized the way their reps work with dealers.
“We’d been talking about developing into a more technologically friendly arena for some time,” says Bill Frazier, vice president and national sales manager for Bassett Mirror. “The goal was to make it easier to write and submit orders, and that goal has been easily accomplished.”
The days of carrying around cases full of photos are gone. With eCat, current information is always available, allowing reps to easily sell the whole bag. Because the iPad can also capture details in a photo, such as carvings on a turned leg or the depth of a finish, it is better than a static product photo.
“It’s definitely more cost effective and creates higher product visibility in our company, both internally and externally. All team members can stay on top of sales activity,” says Charles Hoffman, partner at Sarreid, Ltd., the company where eCat was originally developed.
For some companies, reps were concerned about how difficult it would be to master the program. But they quickly learned they had no reason to worry.
“It’s really easy to use, even for people without tech backgrounds. The sales reps and everyone in the home office have embraced the use of eCat,” says Moore Councill, president of Moore Councill Furniture Company. “One or two have been behind the curve, but with just a little hand holding, they caught on very quickly.”
“It is definitely an intuitive product,” says Monty Sihweil, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Butler Specialty Furniture. “When it comes to functionality, it’s seamless. With just a stroke of your finger you control the whole program.”
Customers say they’ve received great feedback from dealers since the app allows reps to be current and up to date with promotions. Reps can easily look up items in stock and in transit. They are able to sell with confidence and reliability, and the dealers are assured there is a great system backing them up.
Customer Service and New Features
SuperCat’s clients say when it comes to customer service the company is second to none. Customers say there are no surprises, since the team at SuperCat offers a timeline for when new features will be added.
“The extremely high level of customer service has made all the difference,” says Joel Stern, vice president of IT for The Godinger Group. “There were less expensive apps but you can’t compete with this level of service and you get what you pay for.”
Also, for many customers, the fact that eCat is constantly adding new features is a huge plus. The app evolves and expands as the industry does, and it’s always up-to-date and current.
“Other companies offered a similar product, but it was a one size fits all. eCat gives us flexibility to conform to the way we do business. We are very pleased with what it enables us to do,” says Sihweil.
The Bottom Line
The overall sentiment from customers is that eCat makes the entire selling process more professional. Dealers are impressed when a rep shows up with an iPad and not a suitcase full of photos, and the streamlined process saves money and results in more business.
“When a rep from our company walks into a store and pulls out their iPad with eCat, it reflects very positively on our company,” says Councill. “It shows that we aren’t old school but are leading in technology. When reps show a sales presentation, it is more effective and organized than when they used to do it, fumbling around with loose leaf pictures or catalogs. This has definitely resulted
in more sales.”
And, eCat helps the entire team stay on top of what’s being sold.
“eCat allows us to have a real handle on product inventory, and how it relates to sales on a daily basis,” says Hoffman. “It gives great clarity to inventory levels and also allows us to utilize the sales management tools constantly and effectively. We’ve virtually eliminated the cost of sales prints, which saves a lot of money.
Printing those color photos adds up.”
A sales rep from The Godinger Group summed it up by saying,“Over the past 25 years, eCat is the best thing that has ever happened to this company.”
SuperCat Solutions, LLC (supercatsolutions.com), develops and markets the iPad app, eCat, a sales presentation and order taking tool specifically designed to meet the needs of companies and sales representatives who are selling a visual product on the road for the home furnishings, lighting, gift and other industries. eCat vividly displays product, reduces marketing costs, speeds product introductions, improves inventory turns, and enhances company operations and sales efficiency. eCat has been used in field sales by representatives since September 2010.
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