Launched as a B2B marketplace in 2018, ChemDirect set out to provide more efficient sales transactions in the chemical industry – including sourcing, price discovery, and the entire procurement process.
Among its early goals were to better serve chemical buyers and deal with suppliers: handling large transaction volume and managing and tracking inventory. It addressed those issues by working with Adobe Inc.’s Magento ecommerce software, and the Webkul Marketplace platform, and McFadyen Digital, an agency with a specialty in marketplace technology.
Upgrading the checkout experience
ChemDirect initially used the Stripe payments platform to process payments. It also developed a process for letting customers pay via purchase orders but found this process was not scalable both for ChemDirect’s customers and its internal team.
“There was significant user demand for additional payment methods, and we knew we needed to address this,” says Grant Lacy, ChemDirect’s head of product.
“B2B checkout experience has too often been a series of screens with dozens of fields and limited payment methods,” says Thomas Gaydos, chief marketing officer of McFadyen Digital. “In B2B, the checkout process has historically been somewhat onerous for the customer.”
It pays off, giving customers more ways to pay
In addition, ChemDirect decided to also offer a more comprehensive range of financial services, including customer invoicing and financing. In 2021, ChemDirect worked with McFadyen Digital to deploy an accounts receivable and payments system from Balance. New options for customers included the ability to choose payment terms — pay on delivery, Net 30, or Net 60.
The results of the new payments system include:
- More than $20 million in buying power available to buyers via the ChemPay/Balance system;
- Financing made available to more than 2,000 buyers;
- Financing of 24% of all purchase transactions since a new checkout process launched in March 2023.
“We believe in building products with B2B functionality and a business-to-consumer experience,” Lacy says.
David Haase
ChemDirect president speaks at EnvisionB2B
At the EnvisionB2B Conference and Exhibition next week, ChemDirect president and chief operating officer David Haase will speak on the June 21 panel, “Keys to Success on B2B Marketplaces.”
That panel will be moderated by Tom McFadyen, CEO of McFadyen Digital, who will also lead a 2-hour workshop on June 20, “B2B Marketplace Master Class: How to Build Scale with Multi-Vendor Ecommerce.”
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