HydroGarden grows seven-figure online sales channel with Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Sana Commerce

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: HydroGarden grows seven-figure online sales channel with Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Sana Commerce.

A new integrated web store has generated £250,000 revenue per month for UK hydroponics wholesaler HydroGarden.

Implementing Sana Commerce's integrated e-commerce solution alongside Microsoft Dynamics NAV has also increased website order values by 58% and order volumes by 31% in the first year.

HydroGarden has always believed in e-commerce and its clients were also enthusiastic but poor website performance deterred them from ordering online. It previously worked with an e-commerce system developed by its ERP system provider, however orders could take up to 30 minutes to process.

The company wanted a new e-commerce solution to provide a faster, easier online shopping experience that would assist clients buying through the web store. A key advantage with Sana Commerce is that orders would be processed quickly and directly within the ERP.

HydroGarden selected Microsoft Dynamics NAV as its new ERP and needed an e-commerce solution that integrated with it, deciding that Sana Commerce was best placed to meet its requirements. The company had originally considered a bespoke solution, however, product demonstrations made it clear that Sana's standard solution would meet its needs.

Since the launch of the Sana Commerce web store online orders have increased generating £1m in revenue in just five months and around £250,000 per month. HydroGarden has also seen website order values significantly increase by 58% in just one year (YTD versus the same period in 2016) and a 31% increase in order volumes from the same period.

"An integrated e-commerce solution ensures fast, efficient order processing for our business," said David McFall, IT Manager, HydroGarden. "With Sana Commerce customers can order during the weekend as well. This grants clients more freedom to buy when it suits them, while saving time for the company's inside sales team, who are now a lot less reliant on the phone."

Sana Commerce also makes it much easier for the marketing team to work with product data and images in conjunction with the ERP, saving time and avoiding duplicate content and potential errors. Fewer telephone order queries also means the inside sales team has more time to nurture existing customer accounts and increase sales.

An increasing percentage of HydroGarden's revenue is outside of the UK, coming from mainland Europe and the rest of the world, because the web store allows clients to place orders whenever they want, regardless of time zone, allowing 24/7 supply of products around the world.