Success Stories
<< Return to list

Baldor Technology—Online Account Access Is Growing In Popularity

"At a recent Baldor Sales Meeting, I used a handheld BlackBerry PDA device (mobile email, corporate data wireless device) to check my e-mails during the day long off site meeting. I was impressed with this little device, not the technology alone, but what the device does for better communications with customers. We have a really effective IS department providing many quality online services for our employees, factories and customers…and the programs they develop help us to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations…" John McFarland, CEO

The topic of Web-based business solutions is as hot as a pistol these days. Everywhere you look, you see cover stories and conferences. If it is Web-related, people are talking about it. Firms everywhere want to revolutionize themselves by offering more e-services.

More and more, customers are working with our Baldor Offices to share their ideas for online business solutions and to interact in the development process. As a result, Baldor offers its customers many online services: access to EDI (electronic data invoicing), product quotes, orders (stock and custom), product specifications, manuals, and a look at real-time inventory in 36 warehouses. "We have many customers who want to do a lot of their business electronically, particularly, those who want faster access to data and the convenience of 24 hour access," says Jeff Hines, Baldor’s project manager in the IS department. "Some prefer to do all of their order transactions in a self service mode, where there is confirmation of the transaction, everything is detailed and there’s a record trail. Baldor has already incorporated this type of service into standard business practice with its VIP (Valued Internet Partner) program. Customers have used the Baldor VIP online tools successfully for well over five years. And lately, we’ve enhanced VIP by adding a ‘generator quote’ and ‘sizing’ module for customers."

"Online services and tools like the new ‘VIP Generator Quote System’ are a great help to those customers who order engineered generators and other custom products," says Lynda Magritz, a Baldor product specialist for generators. "We allow customers to access VIP by using a password and there they can enter their basic requirements for generators by making choices from tables created as drop-down boxes. For example, customers may choose their voltage, phase and hertz requirements as well as many other characteristics from a drop down box that pertains to the kW rating of the generator. We also allow customers to configure the options they might be interested in, so they can better meet their own specifications, by choosing these options while online. We find the online VIP quotes and eventual orders to be more consistent and accurate."

"That kind of online program—and service—is an absolute boost in customer service for our international customers," says Lap Bui, Baldor’s international sales director. "We have customers who have difficulty reaching us because during their workday, it’s night here and vice versa. "If they want to do a generator quote for a customer application, or if they want to check inventory on a particular motor or drive anywhere in the world, we don’t have to be in the office for them to get the information they need."

"Making more online tools and services available is strategic to helping our customers be more efficient," said Randy Breaux, Baldor’s VP of Marketing. "Baldor wasn’t necessarily looking to invest more money on tech services, but to invest IS resources more wisely. We were looking to support more mobile workers with better tools, including: historic sales data, and a resource library with educational and support materials. Most importantly, we wanted to speed the overall ordering and delivery process for our customers. Customers tell us that the online order and information tools are good productivity tools and they reduce errors that often occur in multi-step manual processes."

The essence of providing electronic business solutions is eliminating wasteful activity, reducing the amount of time spent duplicating efforts. Jeff Hines who has worked with many VIP customers points out: "It is not always the large customers who are interested in online access. Really small companies often are more interested because staffs are smaller and someone who wears many hats may be more likely to seek out electronic shortcuts. I remember when we rolled out the first version of VIP emphasizing what’s commonly referred to as ‘real-time’. Customer feedback was very positive…if somebody in my office signs on to BaldorVIP to place a motor or part order and sees there are twenty units on a shelf, then we know there are twenty available right then and there. It’s real-time live information."

"Our customers spread the gamut when it comes to technology," says Randy Colip, Baldor’s VP of Sales. "There are traditional customers who would prefer talking to a person instead of leaving a voicemail message. Many of our customers are on a first name basis with people in Baldor and they like that person-to-person approach to doing business. They value the personal contact with their Baldor representative. Nevertheless, online account access is growing in popularity. We have a good mix of customers interested in ordering product online and other customers who are less interested in orders but more interested in getting product information including drawings and manuals. Quite a few customers have told us that having access to live product inventory 24/7 is something they really need. Others have said that finding information to answer the questions they get from customers has gone from hours to minutes."

"Companies that offer electronic solutions for customers are always working to improve them and we do the same at Baldor," explains Hines. "For example, electronic billing is a recent new service offered by Baldor, although not as widely requested as some other services, it is nonetheless an area growing in interest on the part of some customers. Shipment tracking is becoming increasingly popular---customers can track the whereabouts of expected deliveries in real time terms that say when the package left the warehouse, when it arrived at the nearest carrier terminal, and loaded onto a local truck for delivery to them."

Every online solution Baldor has designed or offered thus far has been something that the customer really needs. "We only design programs and services after we are confident that they will either bring value for our customers or bring efficiency internally," says Randy Breaux. "The most important part of the development process for any Web-based service we offer is listening to our customers and basing our decisions on their needs. That’s crucial because Baldor has a reputation for providing the best service in the industry. We have a lot of talent in our IS group and in the Baldor Marketing/Web Services group. Any way they can find to help a customer ---and focus on more efficient services---they will. That talent is serving Baldor customers well."