Office supplies firm Waltons is enhancing and expanding its digital services, to offer customers a one-stop office supplies hub with the convenience of online purchasing and integration with enterprise procurement systems.
Waltons, with 65 years in the stationery and office supplies business, aims to take its operations increasingly digital to offer greater convenience, says Vincent Bellingham, group e-business manager.
The company, which is part of the Bidvest Group, has offered online purchasing for the past 14 years through various online ordering platforms, says Bellingham, making the company one of South Africa’s e-commerce pioneers.
Major retailers such as Sunglass Hut and JD Group, financial groups, including Nedbank and FNB, and mining groups such as Anglo are among its long-standing online procurement clients.
Waltons has now upgraded its online procurement functionality with the adoption of a customised version of the Bidvest Direct procurement system developed by BluePepper, the e-commerce development division of Bidvest New Zealand.
Waltons’ client base – extending from several blue chip companies across numerous verticals, to small offices – can now register on eLine to make one-stop purchases of stationery, office furniture and consumables, office catering and hygiene supplies, and a range of electronic goods. The system interfaces with major enterprise systems to enable seamless ordering, authorisation and invoicing.
The move to eLine will be promoted through a roadshow and staff training early in 2014, and is supported by a re-launched website, upgraded warehouses and improved logistics support, says Bellingham.
“We are investing heavily in our support infrastructure at the moment,” he adds.
Aiming to register around 3,000 clients on eLine next year, Waltons’ online service is backed by a nationwide retail footprint.
“E-commerce is showing strong growth in South Africa, but the days of physical stores are not over,” says Bellingham. “In future, retail stores may become more of a showroom than a point of purchase, but we have a long way to go before South Africa moves completely from bricks to online.”