La empresa APRO, dedicada a abastecer a diferentes industrias de todo tipo de implementos de seguridad desde hace 41 años, decidió digitalizar parte de su operación el año 2015 y hoy el 50% de sus ventas en sucursal Puerto Montt se realizan a través de plataformas digitales, siendo el 40% a través del portal de compras industriales Wherex.
APRO's southern austral zone manager, Pablo Chamy, says that when they started to venture into e-commerce it was not easy. The company had to adapt its sales strategy and understand this new way of doing business. "At the beginning it was difficult because with the platform you lost the right of reply and also the link with the customer that you were used to.
Over time they managed to adapt and today half of the business transacted through digital channels, however, the use of e-commerce varies by geographical area, for example, Punta Arena still maintains traditional sales methods, he says.
Según el ejecutivo la plataforma Wherex les ha permitido optimizar procesos, haciéndolos más rápidos y eficientes. A nivel nacional incluso han logrado llegar a nuevos clientes y en la zona sur han logrado fidelizar la relación con sus clientes.
On the other hand, he highlights the transparency and traceability provided by the purchasing portal, which means that there is no loss of information and access to it is just a click away. "In my industry there is no bribery, but we all know that in Chile this is a reality and this has probably helped a lot to avoid such malpractices," he says.
Pandemic spurred use of shopping portal
Despite the difficult situation that many companies have had to face as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, APRO saw a 37% increase in sales in southern Chile during 2020. This is because they experienced explosive growth in the sale of respirators, masks, gloves and other items associated with the health crisis, he says.
In addition, most of the industries with which they market safety equipment are essential and their operation did not stop.
With the pandemic, e-commerce sales were imminent and the company began to use digital channels in areas where it had not done so before, such as Punta Arenas and Temuco.
“Al inicio de la pandemia, ya no podíamos visitar cliente, ir a las plantas, las oficinas… Así que tuvimos que comenzar a utilizar canales de comunicación que no eran habituales. De esa manera Wherex fue como un anillo al dedo”, comenta.
