Finch, a poly outdoor furniture company, builds a large amount of inventory during the winter to prepare for the spring rush. When dealers make an order to replenish their displays for the spring season, Finch can pull from their inventory and ship out the orders right away.
While this reduced lead time for dealers, it created an internal problem. Finch did not have an efficient system for communicating with hundreds of dealers. When a dealer called about a specific item, someone had to physically check whether it was in stock and call the dealer back.
Merv Esh, Finch’s owner, knew there was a better way. Why not create a website that allowed dealers to browse in-stock products? And why not let dealers choose their furniture and order it online?
Presenting the idea
Merv proposed his idea at Finch’s annual planning meeting with the Rosewood team. Rosewood had recently built a similar dealer-facing online inventory list for Mountain Spring Nursery and contributed some ideas for how it could work. After agreeing on the features and workflow, Rosewood created what is now the Finch dealer portal.
The new portal
The Finch dealer portal allows dealers to instantly see which products (and how many) are in stock using a computer, tablet, or phone.
A dealer can be talking to a prospective customer and order an in-stock dining set on the spot. The customer is happy about the quick service, the dealer is happy because he sealed the deal, and Finch is happy about satisfying a customer from existing inventory.
Before, dealers could only inquire about a few items at a time; now they can search through Finch’s entire inventory themselves even after business hours.
How it works
Imagine you are a dealer, and a customer has just bought your last octagon table. You need to order another one before the next customer comes in to buy the same thing.
Using the powerful search feature on the dealer portal, you can instantly narrow down the hundreds of stocked items by color, category, item number, description, and more. You will find what you need quickly with a simple search for “octagon”.
- The portal emails the order to both Finch and you.
- You have the option of picking up the furniture as soon as that day, or having Finch ship it the next day.
Tony, a Finch employee, keeps the inventory up-to-date. As new furniture is built, he adds it to the platform.
“Our dealer portal works awesome. It definitely helps us sell more products. I would recommend something like it for other manufacturers. The dealer portal streamlines everything. Its ease of use allows both us and the dealers to sell more products.” -Merv Esh, Windy Valley Woodworks, Finch
Your own portal
What good things would happen in your business if you could help your dealers serve their customers better with a dealer portal like Finch’s? Take the first step toward a solution, and call Rosewood to schedule a consultation.