WDS | Catering Trade F&B Wholesaler

WDS spent years telling their customers about how good their range of products were, but they still were not seeing sales grow. Using Orderlion WDS was able to reduce admin time for their field and telesales teams and improve average order values across the board.

Background

Based in the North West of England, WDS Group has built their reputation as a trusted wholesaler offering everything from craft beer to cleaning supplies. With over 2,000 products in their catalogue and a growing customer base, they realised it was time to modernise their ordering process to better serve their customers.

Challenges

WDS Group was facing growing pains that many successful distributors encounter. Their old website was proving difficult to navigate, leading many customers to resort to phone calls and text messages for placing orders. This created a real headache for their team, who had to manually process each order while trying to maintain accuracy.

More concerning was that customers weren't discovering WDS Group's full range of products. Despite carrying thousands of items, many customers stuck to ordering the same products repeatedly, simply because they weren't aware of everything WDS could offer them. The team knew they were missing valuable opportunities to grow their business and better serve their customers.

Meanwhile, staff were spending countless hours managing orders across different platforms - answering phones, responding to texts, and dealing with a clunky website. This left little time for what really mattered: building relationships with customers and focusing on business growth.

Solutions

WDS Group found exactly what they were looking for in Orderlion - a single, powerful platform that could transform their customer ordering experience.

Gone was the confusing old website, replaced by a sleek ordering platform that showcased their entire product range in its best light. For the first time, customers could browse through crystal-clear product images with live pricing, making it easy to discover new items and place orders with confidence.

Instead of juggling multiple ordering channels, WDS Group now had one efficient system that brought everything together. To ensure a smooth transition, they launched a comprehensive marketing campaign, complete with branded materials and QR codes, making it simple for customers to start using the new platform.

Results

The impact of Orderlion on WDS Group's business exceeded expectations, delivering impressive results across every aspect of their operation.

Within weeks of launching, the new platform began transforming their business:

Sales Growth: As customers explored the full product catalogue, basket sizes grew significantly. "As soon as our customers could see the images of the products and live prices on there - we started to increase our sales," notes Samuel Evans from WDS Group
Stronger Customer Relationships: The platform's user-friendly features, like saved ffavourites and personalised shopping lists, made reordering seamless. This convenience has led to increased customer loyalty, with buyers consistently choosing WDS Group over competitors
Time Saved: By eliminating manual order processing, the sales team could finally focus on what they do best - building relationships with customers and growing the business
Quick Customer Adoption: The platform proved so popular that WDS Group reached their target of 50% customer adoption two weeks ahead of schedule, with 90% of customers now regularly using the app.

Client Perspective

Samuel Evans, Sales Director at WDS Group, shared:

"I think what we've seen is that the customers using Orderlion seem to be more loyal to WDS because it's so efficient... It just makes life so much easier for the sales team, and it makes life so much easier for the customer."

Looking Forward

Building on this success, WDS Group is exploring new ways to leverage Orderlion's full potential. The team is particularly excited about using the platform's marketing tools to showcase products and run targeted promotions. They're also using data insights from the platform to better understand customer preferences and identify opportunities for growth.

The Bottom Line

The partnership between WDS Group and Orderlion has delivered more than just a new ordering system - it's transformed the way they do business. By consolidating their ordering channels into one efficient platform, they've not only streamlined operations, but also strengthened customer relationships and significantly increased sales. With a more engaged customer base and efficient processes in place, WDS Group is well positioned for continued growth.