Firebox Australia transform their B2B customer service, order accuracy, and sales performance with SparkLayer and Shopify

For more than 15 years, Firebox Australia has manufactured and designed safety products that have been engineered to protect all Australians in their homes, businesses, workplaces and vehicles. These products, along with help of their service partners, ensure that your building or vehicle complies with the latest Australian Fire Safety Standards. Firebox Australia has a complete range of Fire Extinguishers, Emergency and Exit Lighting, Smoke Alarms and Fire Plumbing products which are distributed throughout Australia via one of their five branches and preferred wholesalers and retail distributors.

Firebox Australia works hard to bring strong innovation to the Australian Fire Industry; their latest product is the Li-ION Fire range which includes the first extinguisher in the Australian market suitable for Lithium-Ion battery fires. They couple their product innovation and range with unparalleled service and strive hard to exceed their customer's expectations on a daily basis.

The challenge

Firebox knew they wanted to grow, a team of 40 + nationally came with its difficulties, and adding more staff only came with more challenges.

They wanted to switch from a traditional sales and customer service strategy to an online one for several reasons. First, they wanted to ensure consistent and accurate communication, product data, and customer service. Second, they wanted to increase sales by leveraging upselling and suggestive selling techniques. Additionally, they wanted to create loyal customers and reward them for repeated purchases. Firebox have more than 700 products in their portfolio and counting, it was hard for their staff to know everything about them. With a digital model, they can use landing pages with product explainer videos and other features. The website also allows us to be available 24/7 for our customers.

Firebox had considered moving to an online framework before, but it seemed too difficult because of the number of customers and physical price lists they had. Then they found Shopify and SparkLayer, which offered them some benefits and flexibility with loading price lists and pricing rules, including price breaks, discounts, and much more. Shopify and SparkLayer also enable us to integrate with third-party ERP systems, such as Syspro.

The solution

Firebox implemented SparkLayer into a blended DTC & B2B Shopify store and were able to enable a brand new B2B channel to accelerate their growth. With SparkLayer installed, this has now made possible:

• Self-service ordering for customers with 24/7 access
• Customers have full visibility of pricing as well as volumetric pricing tiers and pack sizes
• Customers can fully manage their accounts such as track orders and repeat purchase
• Firebox now receive orders that are correct with product number, description, and pricing, and also have proof of purchase. They also get confirmation and updates on the status of their orders.
• Customers can now access product images, product dimensions, technical data and safety data sheets, product training and education and more
• Firebox have been able to setup different freight rules for various regions and assign them to the relevant groups
• It's now possible to upload an order via a CSV file in seconds

The results

With SparkLayer integrating seamlessly with SafeStyle's Shopify store, this has brought a number of other key benefits:

• All B2B orders are pushed directly into their fulfillment software, negating the need to input orders manually
• Customers also benefit from being able to place orders anytime and get confirmation that their orders will be dispatched or when orders are ready to be picked up
• Online ordering is much easier and more convenient. Customers can check availability, price, and datasheets online. They can also see that they can save money by buying a carton or pallet
• The ability to show “lead times” against specific products (for pre-ordering)
• The ability to reward loyal customers with quantity pricing breaks
• Customers are regularly giving feedback on the much improved ordering experience

“SparkLayer has been a game-changer for our business. We were able to transition to an online platform with ease and efficiency. Our staff were initially worried that our customers might prefer the traditional methods, but they were pleasantly surprised by how well they adapted to the new system. SparkLayer has helped us improve our customer service, order accuracy, and sales performance. We highly recommend SparkLayer to anyone who wants to take their business to the next level." ~ Shane Duffield, General Manager, Firebox Australia

Explore more

To learn more about Firebox, their product range, and the story of their brand, visit their website.

To see how SparkLayer works with Shopify, you can explore via the links below:

• Shopify & Shopify Plus
• SparkLayer features

Chris Mattingly

Co-Founder & CEO, SparkLayer

Chris is an experience eCommerce specialist, co-founding UK eCommerce agency blubolt in 2006. For over a decade, Chris helped build and oversee their proprietary platform and worked with some of the UK's fastest growing retailers. At SparkLayer, Chris oversees the product strategy and - when he's not playing peekaboo with his daughter - enjoys staying active with golf, tennis, climbing, and hiking to name a few!