Background
Kleen-Tex, the leading manufacturer and distributor of washable rubber-backed mats, introduced the first washable rubber-backed mat in 1970. The company is now a major manufacturer and supplier of quality washable dust mops, wet mops and shop towels. A privately held company headquartered in LaGrange, Georgia, Kleen-Tex has manufacturing facilities and distribution in virtually every modern nation, including countries in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Since 1970, Kleen-Tex has continuously reinvested in its manufacturing and customer support capabilities. Today, Kleen-Tex has the most effective combination of professional people, quality products and powerful support programs in the industry.
Challenge
The existing Kleen-Tex website had an outdated look and a navigation structure that was confusing to its reseller channel. To meet corporate growth objectives, Kleen-Tex needed to provide its resellers, especially resellers of custom/graphic mats, with a user-friendly site that would reflect an updated company look and feel, and would provide powerful tools that would ease business transactions.
The graphic submission, review and order management process is fast-paced and complex. Delivering a management interface over the Web for these processes in an accurate, easy-to-use format was necessary. The Kleen-Tex delivery team was challenged to provide complex product configuration and reseller-specific pricing through the Web portal. Complicating the project, they needed to link into two existing systems to create an integrated solution. To improve workflow, the art department required direct access to data located in a Lotus Notes/Domino application and to thousands of graphics required to automate the custom mat proof process. For fulfillment, the portal had to access information located in legacy backend manufacturing systems. Integration to these systems from the Web server had to take place seamlessly through the corporate firewall.
Solution
To meet Kleen-Tex needs, TwinEngines proposed a content-managed website with a secure customer portal that allows reseller-specific information to be delivered via the Web. This solution is integrated with back-office systems to include Lotus Notes, where client graphics and images are stored, and SYMIX ERP for order processing and fulfillment. The improved navigation and design of this site reduces clicks and eliminates problems locating information, enabling Kleen-Tex resellers to view proofs and process orders more efficiently.
To enable Kleen-Tex to manage all site structure and content simply and intuitively, powerful back-end tools were implemented to integrate content management, e-commerce/ order processing and graphics processing workflow. Resellers can securely access project and order information with integrated e-commerce.
A graphics proofing and approval tool expedites processing of custom mat orders for existing resellers, and provides an enhanced graphics library so additional designs can be requested through a publicly available e-commerce section. An enhanced product catalog and order management interface includes customer-centric sorting and presentation, customer-specific pricing, order history, order verification and shipping information.
The result of this solution design is an integrated, intuitive and user-friendly Web site/customer portal with powerful management tools for Kleen-Tex and its resellers. Visitors can find what they need and want, simply and efficiently. This tool has become the cornerstone for making Kleen-Tex easy to do business with, helping them to retain customers through efficiently integrated customer operations.
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