Alphatronics - from Magento 1 to multiˣ suite

About Alphatronics
Alphatronics is a leading Dutch distributor and manufacturer providing high-quality solutions in the fields of intrusion detection, fire alarm systems, video surveillance, and access control. The company supplies a network of installers with products, expertise, and support, enabling these solutions to be installed at end customers, including both businesses and individuals. As part of the publicly traded TKH Group, the slogan "We innovate security" highlights the innovative character of Alphatronics. This is achieved by strengthening in-house product development and offering a comprehensive portfolio of product lines from relevant brands.

Ambitions and challenges
Alphatronics faced the challenge of an outdated Magento 1 webshop, which had become deeply integrated into their complex system landscape over the years. Due to severe obsolescence, the webshop was no longer functioning reliably, and expansion or renewal was no longer possible. At the same time, Alphatronics aimed to serve more offline customers through the webshop, enabling them to place orders and access information independently. Additionally, the webshop needed to serve as a powerful marketing channel for promotions and up- and cross-selling.

The transition to a new (SaaS) solution presented a complex challenge due to the specific and unique requirements of Alphatronics. Their business customers have different roles, rights, and pricing structures, where products are publicly visible, but prices, stock levels, manuals, and specific content should only be visible to selected customers. It was crucial to carefully integrate these requirements into the new webshop. Furthermore, the webshop needed to function as a source for a market-specific data pool from the PIM system.

What Alphatronics needed
Alphatronics needed a solution to replace the outdated Magento 1 webshop and meet current and future needs and requirements. They sought a new (SaaS) solution for:

Complex customer structures: Alphatronics' business customers have different roles and rights, meaning the webshop needed to support various pricing structures and access levels. Products had to be public, while prices, stock, manuals, and specific content should only be accessible to selected customers.

PIM integration: The new PIM had to function as the primary source of extensive product data for the webshop and a market-specific data pool.

B2B functionalities: The solution needed to include various B2B functionalities, such as displaying prices excluding VAT, invoice payment options, a discount matrix based on customer and product groups, and access to prices, documents, and content behind a login.

Automated forms: Due to the high complexity of various projects in security technology, Alphatronics offers extensive service to its customers with a strong focus on knowledge sharing and proactive thinking. To optimize this, they wanted customers to be able to easily submit requests, with forms automatically filled with already available account information, such as name and address details.

What we achieved for Alphatronics

NextChapter provided a comprehensive solution by implementing the complete multiˣ suite, consisting of PIM, SIM, OMS, CMS, webshop, and multiˣ connector. The realized solutions include:

The old PIM was replaced by the NextChapter PIM, which is part of the multiˣ suite. This ensures a seamless and maintenance-free connection between PIM and webshop

Thanks to our multiˣ suite, the need for a separate integrator (Conneqt) was eliminated.

NextChapter implemented an integration with Exact Online for ERP functionalities such as: article master data, customer management, purchasing, offline sales, and accounting.

The new webshop supports various B2B functionalities, such as: prices excluding VAT, post-payment on invoice (from ERP system), a discount matrix based on customer and product groups, and access to prices, documents, and content behind a login.

For logged-in customers, forms are automatically filled with available account data, such as name and address details, to prevent repeated entry.

Alphatronics uses the blog and FAQ modules from NextChapter to optimally inform and support their customers.

The end result
Thanks to the integration of the NextChapter multiˣ suite, Alphatronics now benefits from a seamless all-in-one solution that combines user-friendliness with extensive functionalities. This has eliminated system fragmentation, resulting in significant savings in time and investment costs.

Additionally, they have received excellent feedback from customers regarding the revamped webshop, which is not only faster but also significantly more user-friendly. This marks an important step towards an optimal customer experience and the shift from offline to online sales.

The result? In a short time, the number of web orders increased by 6%, leading to an online revenue growth of no less than 14%.

What the Future Holds
Since replatforming to NextChapter, Alphatronics aims to further increase the number of online orders and to enhance the integration of the webshop with their own applications as well as those of their customers. In the future, they can easily expand with additional webshops and enter new markets without worrying about maintenance, outdated versions, or missing functionalities. The company can now focus on improving the webshop in terms of product data, content, and marketing.

New requirements are always discussed with NextChapter, where strategies and solutions are considered collaboratively. With continuous maintenance and innovation of the NextChapter platform, Alphatronics will no longer face large investments to meet the fundamental needs of online sales.

View the webshop now: www.alphatronics.nl/nl/