A more responsive shopping experience for DIY enthusiasts
When a Fortune 500 tool manufacturer faced challenges meeting surging DIY demand and expanding their direct-to-consumer capabilities, it needed a comprehensive digital transformation. Their existing systems created barriers to customer engagement, with outdated interfaces, limited e-commerce functionality, and disconnected customer touchpoints hampering growth potential.
The manufacturer partnered with HCLTech to implement a customer-centric Salesforce ecosystem that revolutionized how they connected with consumers. This lead to an increase in online sales and a stark reduction in product launch time from 3 months to just 4 weeks—positioning the company for sustainable growth in the competitive tools market.
The Challenge
The tool manufacturer struggled with several critical limitations in their customer engagement capabilities:
- Limited e-commerce functionality: Inability to effectively support DIY enthusiasts through online channels despite surging demand
- Poor user adoption: Highly customized, complex legacy implementation created barriers for staff
- Inconsistent customer experience: Fragmented systems prevented delivery of seamless interactions across touchpoints
- Mobile limitations: Lack of mobile-first capabilities restricted engagement with increasingly digital-savvy customers
- Distribution dependency: Reliance on traditional distribution channels limited direct customer relationships and data collection
To capitalize on the growing market and support global expansion goals, the manufacturer needed to modernize their entire digital ecosystem while creating a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model that enhanced customer relationships.
The Solution
We implemented a comprehensive Salesforce-powered transformation that revolutionized the manufacturer's digital capabilities:
- B2C Commerce Cloud implementation: Launched a new online store in just five months, capable of supporting over two million customers with seamless order management, payment processing and returns handling
- Salesforce Lightning migration: Transformed the user experience by migrating from Classic UI to Lightning, streamlining application use and improving lead management and jobsite creation
- Integration ecosystem: Connected Salesforce applications with Azure iPaaS middleware, SAP, Google Analytics and CyberSource to create a unified customer data platform
- Enhanced customer data collection: Implemented product registration and opt-in features to gather valuable end-user information while improving service capabilities
- Comprehensive application support: Provided ongoing management for 13 Salesforce organizations including Sales, Service, Communities, Commerce Cloud, Chatbots, CPQ, Field Service Lightning and Pardot
- Enterprise system integration: Created seamless connections with BizTalk, Five9, ServiceNow, DocuSign, Nintex DocGen, SAP and QlikView to enhance operational efficiency
The Impact
The manufacturer's Salesforce-powered transformation delivered significant measurable improvements:
- 18% increase in online consumers: Enhanced e-commerce capabilities attracted and converted more digital shoppers
- 70% faster product launches: Launch time reduced from 3 months to just 4 weeks, enabling more responsive market strategies
- 27% increase in marketable user data: Improved data collection supported more targeted marketing and product development
- 6% cost savings per order: Direct-to-consumer model reduced distribution costs while improving margins
- 20% improvement in service efficiency: Self-service capabilities enhanced customer experience while reducing support costs
- 25% increase in end-user adoption: Lightning interface improvements drove significantly higher system utilization
- 90% reduction in deployment issues: Streamlined processes improved implementation reliability
- 65% reduction in release cycle time: Accelerated development enabled faster innovation and market response
Beyond the Numbers
This transformation fundamentally changed how the tool manufacturer connects with customers. The shift from distribution dependency to direct consumer engagement improved margins and created valuable feedback loops that inform product development and marketing strategies.
The improved digital capabilities enable more personalized customer experiences. With enhanced data collection and a unified customer view, the manufacturer can anticipate needs, tailor offerings and build stronger brand loyalty in an increasingly competitive market.
Celebrating Success
HCLTech remains committed to helping manufacturers enhance customer experiences through intelligent, technology-driven strategies. Our partnership with this Fortune 500 tool manufacturer demonstrates how digital transformation delivers both immediate operational improvements and long-term strategic advantages.
As consumer expectations evolve, this modernized Salesforce foundation provides the agility needed for ongoing innovation. Itenables the company to continuously enhance how customers discover, purchase and use its products while strengthening its position in the growing DIY market.
