Southwire
Southwire is one of the world’s leading developers, manufacturers, and suppliers of building wire and utility cable, as well as the tools used in their installation. Southwire strives to ensure that every product developed helps increase safety, improve productivity, reduce manpower, save time and save money—both on and off the job site.
Project introduction
In a bid to further their business by delivering power to American homes and enterprises, Southwire adopted a custom iPad-based sales solution to bolster their marketing efforts. However, customers weren’t too happy with it being on iOS alone.
To fix this, Southwire decided to reach more users by expanding to tablets, desktops, and PCs; while overhauling the existing iOS app. Since they lacked the in-house capabilities needed to develop a new app, Southwire engaged Mutual Mobile for help on this front.
Challenge
Chief among the challenges was to build a mobile catalog. Southwire’s bulky and labyrinthine catalog had to be converted into a handy mobile resource that could be easily used by customers and sales reps alike.
In addition, the new web app had to be easier to use, more intuitive, and at home in updated web-based architecture. This was how things were defined when we started.
Approach
We kicked things off with a Discovery Workshop, which also comprised critical discussions relating to strategy, design, and delivery while employing automated QA to truncate regression timelines and better streamline iteration.
The platform allowed users to order wires of different sizes and types. Its configurator would let them select how the wire would appear. After filling out the shipping details, the platform would move the request to the system, generate a price, and relay it back to the customer. To do this, the platform had to:
"Communication was open and active. The team explained how each tool and process would bring our ideas to reality. We built personal relationships with expertise, transparency, and mutual trust. It’s been fantastic." - Russ King, Director of Contractor Solutions, Southwire.
Impact
While working on Southwire’s Configurator Plus, we achieved several key milestones, which included:
Southwire’s iOS app initially had around 230 users. Within a month of the new one’s launch, the number quickly climbed to 400, and then to 1,300.
User engagement and sales productivity improved with the simplicity the iPad’s Configurator brought, which helped register a whopping 700% growth in business.
Southwire’s move from heavy and overwhelming Excel sheets to interactive tools paid off, and customers could place more complex orders because the system was now easier to use.
The newly developed Configurator app reduced ordering errors and time taken to complete complex configurations while lowering overheads.
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