At many manufacturing companies, business customers have traditionally had to contact the company by phone or email to access information about their order history, product specifications, and pricing. And for those who sell their services through dealers, those dealers have to manually request updated pricing sheets on a regular basis or risk pricing errors and discrepancies.

Traust recently worked with one such manufacturer of metalworking tools, including CNC punch press tooling, machinery workholding, and press brake tooling, to upgrade the company’s customer portal. The manufacturer asked to remain anonymous, because they believe the portal represents a competitive advantage for their business.

The new portal — built on the Oracle APEX rapid development platform — provides customers with easy access to all their order history, technical drawings, and specifications for the tools the company has manufactured for them. Customers can quickly review their tooling and reorder as needed. The portal also includes order tracking information to keep customers informed on the status of their orders.

Keeping Dealers in the Loop

In addition, the customer portal also allows the manufacturer’s network of independent dealers to access up-to-date pricing and product data based on their region, ensuring that all customer quotes are based on accurate information. This is a significant improvement from the previous process where dealers might accidentally use out-of-date pricing to create their customer quotes.

Finally, Traust created an innovative file-sharing tool for the company’s marketing team that allows them to easily upload marketing files to a designated set of folders on their internal network. These files are then automatically added to the customer portal, including their folder structure, making it easy for customers to access and download relevant marketing materials.

The new portal provides customers with easy access to all their order history, technical drawings, and specifications for the tools the company has manufactured for them.

Project Tech Stack

  • Oracle APEX
  • Javascript

Leveraging Oracle APEX

Traust built the new customer portal using Oracle Application Express (APEX), a rapid application development platform that allows teams to quickly build web applications on top of an Oracle database. With APEX, developers can create database-driven applications using a highly productive environment that allows teams to quickly build scalable, secure, and responsive applications. APEX is built on top of SQL and PL/SQL and can be integrated with other Oracle technologies, such as Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Oracle Database, and Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS). Overall, APEX is a powerful tool for companies looking to build custom business applications with in a shorter amount of time than traditional development approaches.

Customer Self-Service

The upgraded customer portal has improved the manufacturer’s engagement with its customers and dealers, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and more accurate quotes. Customers can access their order history and product information quickly and easily, without having to contact the company directly. Dealers can access up-to-date pricing information, resulting in more accurate quotes for their customers.

Additionally, the file-sharing tool has streamlined marketing efforts and made it easier for customers and dealers to access relevant marketing materials. The portal has been well-received by both customers and dealers, and the company plans to continue to improve and enhance the portal with assistance from Traust.

The new highly-functional and intuitive customer portal has provided a much-improved customer experience, and has streamlined the company’s processes for providing pricing and marketing materials to its customers and dealer network.

Interested in building a custom customer portal for your business? With our extensive experience in building customer portals for a variety of industries, Traust can help you enhance your customer engagement and satisfaction. Contact us today to learn how we can help you build a custom customer portal that streamlines your business processes and enhances your customer experience.