We share the success story of Marcimex and how it underwent its digital transformation with Known Online and the evolutionary support of VTEX.
Marcimex case study
Marcimex is an Ecuadorian company dedicated to the trade of household appliances with a long history of more than 72 years. The company offers direct credits in the acquisition of household products and is a direct importer of Global, Sony, Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Oster brands. It has more than 80 physical stores nationwide and since 2019 has an online site Marcimex.com.
The idea of betting on an online site that could scale
Marcimex’s e-Commerce arose from an idea of one of the owners’ sons to build a digital area, an online wing of Marcimex. In the words of e-Commerce Manager, Peter Jerves: ” It started out almost on a whim and to tell the truth there was not much support or credibility for the digital channel until recently when positive results began to be seen and budgets began to excel. In those early days, Known Online’s team was closely involved in the project, even convincing the authorities of the benefits that the incorporation of a digital channel would bring to the company. We started with the agency at the beginning of 2019 as we used to work only with VTEX but everything was very precarious and manual. With Known Online we started to be accompanied as an IT agency.“.
Development and Evolutionary Support
Known Online developed Marcimex’s website focusing on usability, speed and user experience. We proposed to work on the user experience in order to improve the conversion rate, as well as the quality of the traffic that enters the site. Functionality tests, heat maps and processes were carried out in order to sell more and better.
In turn support was provided in administrative terms, considering variables associated with cataloguing, promotions and the integral purchasing process (order management, payments and deliveries). In this regard, Peter explained: ” They have helped us a lot in the whole configuration of the site, of the specific and complex pricing structure that Marcimex has because we have a direct credit (on the floor), so our entire system (ERP) is managed with multiple prices precisely because of the issue of direct credit, cash credit, credit card, etc. The Known Online team helped us a lot in integrating all these particularities and specificities, they were always involved in the day to day running of the company, always in contact and looking for what else to do and seeing the feasibility of being able to do it in the shortest possible time and in the best way.“.
The Known Online team also advised Marcimex on the acquisition of new technologies linked to VTEX in order to increase sales and automate the operation. “The agency already knows how complicated our ERP is, since it is customized for the company and they already know in detail how it works, and they are always helping us with new projects. They are always helping us with new projects, and for direct negotiations with VTEX to offer us special discounts, for example,” said Marcimex’s digital channel specialist.
Marcimex Case Study: Shared Achievements
One of the great achievements highlighted by Marcimex’s Manager is the following “To raise the e-commerce within Marcimex, to leave it as it is today because at the beginning we had the entire platform in VTEX but we did it manually, we had the minimum necessary. We had very few products, we just sold and that was it, and now we have about 4,000 products. I attribute this digital growth to Known Online, precisely because it allowed us to understand the VTEX platform and to take advantage of it, customizing and adapting it so that it could grow more and more and scale.“.
He also recalled in the interview a milestone of the company: the first Mother’s Day in the middle of the pandemic (May 2020): “All our physical stores were closed, the only Marcimex store was Marcimex.com and We went from selling 40 or 50 thousand dollars a month to selling a million dollars a month the next month. Internally, the company began to see this business opportunity and the importance of activating the digital channel for customers, and Known Online has been there since the beginning of this process”.
What they value most about Known Online Agency
Peter Jerves values the daily work of the agency, the ability to be proactive and the digital transformation they managed to make at Marcimex: “We are very proud of our work.We clicked internally mainly at the digital level, Ariel (Bortz, KO’s Chief Operating Officer) from the beginning told us to do this or what do you think we should do that, always in constant communication. We have about 160 hours a month in support and sometimes we are short of time because the team is very proactive so they are always coming up with new ideas. This has helped us not to always have a static page but to always make changes and improvements. In addition We value the closeness with the owners (despite the virtuality). It is fundamental because you can have the confidence to be able to do things, to be able to put forward ideas and have the solution come from the head of the organization and you feel that everything flows. “.
Marcimex case study: The bet goes on
In the future, the idea of Marcimex is to continue betting and growing digitally.“We are restructuring at the corporate level, and inserting VTEX because trust in the platform is already established. We are currently working on the creation of the new site at the corporate level and with the support of Known Online. “said Jerves.
