CARL RAS crushed the 100 million DKK mark in digital revenue with B2B platform

Technologies

Optimizely, inriver, Microsoft Azure, MicroSoft Dynamics AX, SlimStock, Lazernet, Apsis, Power BI Raptor.

When professional craftsmen and industrial clients need tools or equipment for their projects, Carl Ras is the go-to supplier for a speedy, personal buying experience. The scalable and ultra-fast B2B commerce platform and major digital marketing efforts have once again boosted Carl Ras’s online revenue.  

In 2024 our partnership resulted in an increase by 19% in Carl Ras’ revenue compared to the year before and the company hit the 100 million DKK milestone for online revenue.  

The platform is built on Optimizely, inriver PIM and a Microsoft Azure omnichannel integration layer. IT architecture and the right technology have reduced time-to-market and provided a solution that loads much faster than its competitors. 

Alongside the focus on the costumers, the digital transformation has helped Carl Ras with valuable data and insights. The B2B commerce solution built with IMPACT Commerce and the digital strategy resulted in increased revenue from Google Ads by 27% in 2024 compared to the year before. 

Carl Ras’s new commerce solution consists of web and related apps that are identical to the web solution, so masters and journeymen can order goods by phone. 

At the same time, Carl Ras’s apps collect all datasheets for the products used, thereby ensuring that the craftsmen always have all safety information available, regardless of which construction site they are on. 

Today, when master craftsmen log into Carl Ras, they can: 

• See individual prices, discounts, delivery methods and delivery terms. 

• Create job sites to keep track of materials for the different projects and get delivery directly to the job site. 

• Order items for multiple sites at once in one common cart. Once the cart is full, they are only one click away from completing the purchase.  

• Delegate the orders to journeymen and tailor the shopping experience to their needs by limiting what products they can order and the amount they may spend. The master only has to swipe to approve the purchase.

For example, through the created “building sites,” the master can keep track of what kind of spring steel nails have been used on a project, so they can easily order the same kind at the five-year review. 

Carl Ras had the ambition to increase online sales from 4% to 10% – and of course, to boost total revenue. 

Carl Ras sells tools to professional craftsmen and industrial clients. With more than 40,000 product numbers and customers with different needs and projects at the time, Carl Ras’s platform left quite a lot to be desired regarding scalability, oversight, time-to-market and not least, user-friendliness, for the master craftsmen when they must order products and keep track of their construction projects. 

Carl Ras had a clear wish: to be the tradesmen’s preferred supplier and give them a whole new experience of buying tools online, handling product ordering, reordering, invoicing, delivery, etc. 

The collaboration between Carl Ras and IMPACT Commerce led to a new B2B commerce solution that makes it easy to edit and add new items quickly, while for end customers it is easy to shop, manage job sites and remember previous orders. 

As part of the solution, Carl Ras’s entire IT architecture has been modernised to create a future-proof solution. It includes transition to the cloud, a new architecture based on microservices and a headless commerce approach that ensures an agile solution with faster time-to-market. 

Carl Ras can reuse services across the business and perform replacements of back-office systems without having to change the customer-oriented applications.  

The IT architecture surrounding integrations and data layers has been rewritten to focus on an omnichannel architecture that creates a uniform purchasing experience across all channels. In addition, a Microsoft Azure integration layer is a strong factor in the solution loading much faster than those of the competitors. 

Carl Ras has chosen Optimizely as the commerce platform. Optimizely excels in user-friendly editing facilities and fits seamlessly into Carl Ras’s IT strategy, as several of their applications are cloud-based. 

To ensure uniform data across channels and a faster time-to-market, Carl Ras has implemented an inriver PIM system. This provides an overview of their data and makes it easier for editors to create product lists and prepare new products. 

Carl Ras wanted a digital partnership from the start – not a supplier who just delivered a solution and disappeared. We quickly established a clear project organisation, with output focus and business goals as benchmarks.  

Every month, employees from Carl Ras and IMPACT Commerce meet for a performance meeting, where the coming initiatives and improvements are decided. Once a quarter, we take a helicopter perspective and look at Carl Ras’s entire business with a critical view, challenge decisions and evaluate the ambitious roadmap. This is how you get the best from your investments. 

Phase 1: Interview with customers and stakeholders 

IMPACT Commerce’s UX & Design team made some important discoveries. Most master craftsmen spent a tremendous amount of time ordering products for their journeymen and keeping track of the products for the various building projects, addresses, customers and payers. A focal point of the solution became easing the ordering process, improving oversight and making it easier for the master’s to delegate purchases to the apprentices.

Phase 2: Prototypes and testing 

The same team developed prototypes that they tested on the same masters. That gave us direct feedback on how the solution proposals fit into the customers’ daily lives as a helping hand. Interviews, prototypes and tests were all conducted in less than a week. 

Phase 3: Easy-to-use, focused navigation 

Based on the findings, the navigation/menu structure was made more user-friendly and focused. The same applies to all important landing pages, such as category and product pages as well as the check-out flow and the entire B2B customer universe. 

Customers are greeted by an intelligent search engine (built in ElasticSearch) that can search for products, specifications, labels and product numbers.  

Editors can create a list of synonyms and add search terms related to the items. Thus, customers easily find specific products, get a quick overview of relevant products, are inspired to buy and have a quick buying process. 

Product filtering and category structure are shown with both text and image. Instead of storing the categories away in a menu, they are visible at the top of the page to simplify navigation. Personal recommendations based on their purchase history, while favorite lists and individual interests also facilitate the customers’ buying process. 

REGULAR PERFORMANCE MEETINGS ENSURE LONG-TERM SUCCESS

Carl Ras has not just benefited from the dashboard. Throughout the project, IMPACT Commerce has acted as a dialogue partner and still does so now that the solution has gone live. The dashboard helps IMPACT Commerce and Carl Ras to ensure the right focus and follow market developments.

Every month, employees from Carl Ras and IMPACT Commerce meet for a performance meeting, where the coming initiatives and improvements are decided. Once a quarter, we take a helicopter perspective and look at Carl Ras’s entire business with a critical view, challenge decisions and evaluate the ambitious roadmap.

This is how you get the best from your investments.