The Plastic People
The Plastic People have been committed to providing high-quality plastics and products, effective project management, and outstanding customer service since 1969.
They manufacture a wide range of plastic parts, components, and products for customers across many different industry sectors.
The Plastic People had a strategy centred on digital transformation but were being held back by their legacy Kentico platform, which lacked the capabilities needed to support an ecommerce strategy. Making even the simplest of changes was difficult, and key data was locked down. They approached Agency51, who recommended BigCommerce as the platform to revolutionise their online presence.
Any new ecommerce platform had to enable The Plastic People to fulfil the full potential of their product offering. It needed to cater for both B2B and B2C customers and integrate with their ERP system, Merlin, to maximise efficiency and ensure that the master data source remained in the back office rather than being spread across multiple system ‘islands’.
Furthermore, the new platform required a range of bespoke features to help The Plastic People make the most of their product offering. They also wanted to leverage BigCommerce’s extensive ecosystem of third-party apps to enhance the platform’s functionality.
Technology
The Approach
Agency51 conducted a comprehensive Discovery Phase, working closely with the client to define exactly what The Plastic People needed the new platform to deliver.
Agency51 implemented a full integration with the Merlin ERP system so that data could be both pulled from and pushed to the ecommerce site.
One key tailored feature delivered was dimensional pricing, enabling customers to purchase cut-to-size products. This was achieved using Agency51’s middleware to connect with BigCommerce APIs and dynamically adjust product pricing based on size. This allowed customers to use a custom calculator to specify shapes, sizes, and measurements to get exactly what they needed. Customers could even upload technical drawings for more complex requests, which were stored via the middleware against the order to support the workshop in producing bespoke shapes.
Another major enhancement was a custom delivery app, which uses bespoke APIs to recalculate lead times each time a customer adds an item to their basket. It then presents a range of available delivery dates for selection, passing this information back to Merlin. A click-and-collect option is also available for added convenience.
Highlights
Integration with Merlin ERP System
Realtime Integration into the Merlin ERP to allow linked stock, accounts information and prroduct data
Cut-to-Size Pricing Calculator
Dimensional pricing allows customers to create the tailored shapes they need for custom orders
Custom Delivery App
Agency51 developed an app integrating with BigCommerce via bespoke APIs to recalculate lead times each time a customer adds an item to their basket
The Outcomes
The new site has had an immediate impact on The Plastic People’s online performance,
There are ambitious plans for the future, including leveraging additional functionality from the integrated platform to add new features and further automate processes, driving even greater back-office efficiency and sales growth.
Benefits
Increase in Conversion Rate
The new site has seen conversion increase by 60%
Increase in Orders
Orders have increased by 9% since launch
Satisfied Customers
Customer engagement has increased by 28%
"Working with Agency51 on our new BigCommerce site has been an excellent experience. The platform they delivered has transformed how The Plastic People operates online, giving us the tools to showcase our products effectively, engage customers more creatively, and drive real digital growth. Their expertise and understanding of our business made the entire process smooth and collaborative."
