Using 3D Data Successfully in B2B Ecommerce

Transferring offline business to online business is a challenge for some companies. The goal is to serve the needs of customers online at least as well as in the offline world - but more efficiently, faster, more digitally.

Ecommerce processes are very complex in the background. But the (prospective) customer should not notice any of this. The challenge is to map the complex processes so smoothly that every user of the online store can find his way around without having to be trained or guided. B2B ecommerce platforms offer companies from the mechanical engineering, plant engineering, equipment manufacturing and vehicle manufacturing sectors various options for expanding the system in such a way that customers and interested parties can process even complex questions independently.

One way to do this is to use 3D data in the B2B online store. How exactly? Let's take a look at two examples to illustrate this.

Example 1

Using 3D data in the spare parts shop

Selling spare and wear parts in a web-shop is a lucrative business segment for most machine, plant, equipment, and vehicle manufacturers. Even more so if customers can independently find the spare parts they need and order them directly online - without having to rely on assistance from support or customer service.

Do you want to make it easier for your customers to identify the correct part? Your engineers and designers use 3D data in the CAD system to design your machines and equipment? Then leverage your existing 3D data and integrate it into your spare parts store. Find out how in our brochure.

What added value does this provide for your customers?

  • Easy to understand: 3D models enable a realistic representation of an assembly or component. Your customers will therefore find it much easier to find their way around. This is further reinforced by being able to directly compare the 3D model with reality.
  • Interactive use: Your customers can interact with the 3D models in the spare parts shop. They can rotate them, pan them, focus on individual parts, hide them, or display them transparently.
  • Easier to identify: This makes it much easier to identify the spare part they need. Incorrect orders are reduced, and your customers are satisfied. Find more benefits of a 3D spare parts catalog for catalog users here.

Example 2

Online product configurator with 3D data

A product configurator in the B2B web-shop paves the way to new sales potential for customizable products with a wide range of variants. If this is supplemented with 3D data, it offers your customers a completely new purchasing experience: impressively real and yet virtual. With the help of an easy-to-use online configurator, your customers can independently select from various components, combine them, and thus develop their own product variant without in-depth specialist knowledge. Intelligent rules ensure in the background that only technically feasible and sales-wanted variants can be combined.

Your advantages:

  • Online product configurators are a powerful lever for accelerating sales processes and optimizing process costs.
  • Your sales activities are independent of the availability of qualified sales staff and customer consultants.
  • Your customers can already familiarize themselves with your products independently before they contact your staff.
  • Playing with different variants is fun for most customers and ensures greater satisfaction and customer loyalty.
  • Your sales representatives can thus already build on your customers' initial designs and thoughts. Processes are accelerated.
  • By using 3D product configurators, you show innovative strength and differentiate yourself from the competition.

Bottom line: 3D models make products tangible

There are many advantages to using 3D data in B2B ecommerce. In addition to creating opportunities for interaction and increasing the ability of customers to visualize products, they also pave the way to new sales potential.

Our Customer Success Stories

Read how HP Scitex significantly accelerated the process of identifying the correct spare part and made it more efficient by upgrading from 2D to 3D spare parts catalogs. The result: The 3D catalog is indispensable for the maintenance of the complex machines and helps to reduce machine downtimes.Read Case Study