KION North America Launches New Portal for Distributors and Dealers

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. – The North American subsidiary of the KION Group, KION North America, has completely revamped its online portal for its dealer network. Against the backdrop of rapidly growing e-commerce, the creation of the new portal was equally important with the increased demands on warehouse management and material flow solutions.

Central to this is KION North America’s online portal for its dealer network, based on the Intershop Commerce Platform. Dealers and intermediaries can place and refine their orders here according to their authority levels and contracts, check current stock availability and track delivery status. The sophisticated ordering functionality also allows them to quickly reorder and easily upload order forms. Users can collaborate on uploaded order templates and complete the information or add products. The system also offers users the ability to distinguish between “stock orders” and “emergency orders” during the purchasing process. Emergency orders are then placed with prioritized shipping. The tight real time integration of the Intershop commerce solution with KION North America’s SAP ERP and CRM system enables them to support their business partners in real-time at all stages of the buying journey.

Dealers and intermediaries can also use the portal to view the current warranty status for the equipment they have purchased. If a dealer submits a warranty claim, it’s immediately displayed in KION North America’s Warranty Admin Portal, a second web-based application developed on Intershop technology and seamlessly connected to KION’s dealer portal. From there, sales and service staff can issue individual or collective approvals or reject a claim. In either case, the dealer’s website receives direct notification of the status.

Daniel Schlegel, Vice President of Customer Service at KION North America, comments on the result as being “intuitive, efficient and populated with product images – the new portal creates benefits for everyone involved. It enables us to serve our dealers the way they demand it.”

Markus Klahn, CEO at Intershop, sums up the experience, “Our platinum partner, DSS Partners, completed this project in just five months. We leveraged the DSS Partners Intershop Accelerator Store (DIAS) and were therefore able to build two sophisticated portals in a short time. The recipe for success was – once again – a combination of the user-centric Intershop Commerce Platform, DSS’s experience with manufacturing and distribution customers, and our collective field-proven e-commerce best practices.”

KION North America Corporation
Headquartered in Summerville, S.C., KION North America Corporation is a member of the KION Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial trucks. Their brand companies, Linde and Baoli, serve the specific industrial truck requirements of the U.S. Canadian and Mexican markets with a broad and complementary product portfolio. KION North America produces material handling equipment known for its innovative technologies, reduced energy consumption and low operating costs. KION North America also works closely with its sister company, Dematic, a global leader in automated material handling that provides a broad range of intelligent supply chain and automation solutions.

Disclaimer
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, and the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.

About Intershop Communications AG:
Intershop (founded in Germany 1992; Prime Standard: ISHA) enables the world’s leading manufacturers and wholesalers to digitalize, transform, and boost their businesses. Our e-commerce platform and cloud-based technology give B2B companies the power to establish and expand their digital presence, improve customer experience, and increase online revenue. With more than 25 years’ experience and a global presence, we help our 300+ clients turn products into profits, customers into business partners, and transactions into lasting relationships. Learn more at www.intershop.com.

CONTACT:
Kimberly Sawyer
Marketing & Communications Manager
Phone: 843.875.8000
Kimberly.Sawyer@kiongroup.com

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