Custom e-commerce integration

Eager to improve the user experience and automate their internal workflow, PrimeHort engaged Publica to deliver a fit for purpose e-commerce platform that connects all software seamlessly into one solution.

PrimeHort is a leading distributor of horticultural and landscape supplies to businesses across Aotearoa. When their team approached Publica, they were operating an off-the-shelf proprietary system with a dated design and faulty integration into their ERP accounting software, Accredo. Employees were wasting time manually collecting and managing data from multiple systems and lacked insight into critical information such as inventory and online sales. 

An initial discovery workshop with the PrimeHort team combined with a deep dive into Google Analytics indicated that the convoluted site structure, crowded webpages and multi-step checkout overwhelmed users and resulted in high cart abandonment rates. This insight gave us a clear directive to design a simple horizontal navigation, eliminate unnecessary steps during checkout and add advanced search functionality. 

As a B2B business, we optimised the new site with portal customisation, shared shopping carts, contract pricing and bulk buying. Customers can now create multiple sub-accounts under one parent company, toggle to view GST and add different product quantities with varying sizes and specifications to their cart easily. 

Together with PrimeHort’s ERP provider, our team developed a custom Accredo API to ensure all accounting data is synced seamlessly across the new platform. Employees now update product information assured that any changes in the backend are automatically reflected across the website, and have a consolidated overview of the business at all times. 

Having a fully integrated online storefront makes internal operations smooth and B2B shopping for PrimeHort’s horticulture and landscaping customers seamless. Since the launch, Publica continues to work closely with PrimeHort from a website support standpoint and add functionality to stay competitive in the market and constantly impress customers with their online offering.