Meeting the E-Commerce Challenge

LPG Provida recently launched its e-commerce website. John Batty of Bluejohn Marketing Ltd, who oversaw the creation of the website, explains the advantages and pitfalls of online trading.

In April 2009, Meter Provida launched a new division called LPG Provida that brought together all the group’s lp gas activities under the leadership of Richard Smith.

Although there are potentially several large corporate lpg clients, it is a market in which, compared to the natural gas market, the end user often makes key infrastructure purchasing decisions. Furthermore, as well as being relatively small, lpg gas end users, such as home parks and caravan sites, are widely geographically dispersed and difficult to service economically on a national basis.

The aforementioned combination of factors led LPG Provida to investigate the possibility of offering its core product range over the Internet through an e-commerce website. The exercise proved a steep learning curve for all concerned.

It is important to contract with an agency that has previous experience of developing e-commerce websites. Whilst the branding and feel are important, it is the flexibility and reliability of the trading element of the site that is the primary determinant of success or failure.

It is highly unlikely that the web developer you use will have a detailed understanding of your products and the markets in which you operate. The web developer contributes expertise in design, knowledge of e-commerce engines and web transactions and project management. However, the prime mover in terms of objective setting, guidance and provision of product information remains the client.

One of the first challenges is to decide which products to feature on the site. In the case of LPG Provida, many of its products are available ex-stock and are therefore ideal for the e-commerce setting.

The advantage for the supplier with e-commerce is that payment is received before despatch. However, because of this, the service expectations of the client rise accordingly.

Most people have experienced websites where feedback and even orders appear to fall into a black hole never to be seen again. It is vital that the supplier’s back office systems are set up to meet customer’s e-commerce expectations or the brand may suffer.

It may sound obvious, but the web is primarily a visual medium and good quality professional photographs are a sound investment. Although almost everyone can use a digital camera, it doesn’t make them a photographer!

If you were to write down step-by-step the process by which your organisation determines delivery costs in standard business-to-business transactions, you would probably find it’s a pretty complex algorithm. LPG Provida’s products, for example, range from small items, such as replacement meter box keys that can be posted in a Jiffy bag, to distribution modules that are palletised.

Factors, such as weight, shape, quantity, packaging and distance, typically influence delivery costs. Most standard e-commerce engines have some inbuilt flexibility in terms of calculating delivery charges, but it’s no surprise that businesses supplying a mix of small, large, heavy, light, valuable and low value items opt to offer free delivery.

In reality, delivery is rarely free - after all, it’s a cost that comes off the bottom line – and one common approach is to average out delivery costs across the range and factor this into the prices charged. Consequently, online prices may be higher than the standard net price list, and this should be clearly explained to customers who may potentially use both the online facility and normal trading.

One area I misjudged when project managing the LPG Provida website was the time required to complete all the financial administration needed to be able to process payments online. Firstly, you need to complete an application to obtain a merchant number from your bank. The merchant number is required when you subsequently sign up with one of the myriad of secure online payment processors.

LPG Provida chose Protx which, midway through the scheme, changed identity to become SagePay. The terminology used in the Protx registration process was overly complex and caused numerous delays, although the telephone technical support provided was good. A direct debit facility with your bank is also required to enable the payment processor to automatically collect its fees.

Checking and testing the website prior to launch is time well spent. Ideally, a third party who has not been involved with the project should be tasked with looking for faults, omissions and inconsistencies. If you are intimately involved in a project, it’s far too easy to become oblivious to its potential failings.

Finally, maintaining a successful e-commerce website is an ongoing, continuous and time-consuming activity. As part of the initial project plan, you should already have considered your post launch maintenance and development strategy and allocated resources accordingly.

Why not give the LPG Provida website a look? Richard Smith and his team would welcome your feedback.

Contact LPG Provida on 01246 269807 www.lpgprovida.co.uk

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