Van Marcke embraces an integrated e-commerce approach
Van Marcke, a Belgian wholesaler of sanitary fixtures and heating equipment, wanted to enhance its employee and customer experience with a single integrated platform. With a catalogue of 50,000 products and an extensive distribution network, Van Marcke opted for the SAP Commerce Cloud suite.
This PCM module helped streamline the company’s business processes and manage its extensive product range more efficiently. To optimize interaction with its customers, a webshop was implemented for the branches in Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.
Digital landscape
Wholesale
SAP Commerce Cloud
SAP CPI
AS400
SAP S/4
Channable
Resourcespace
SAP Identity Management
Less complex, more efficient
Van Marcke had a substantial list of requirements, which included:
- Reducing the coding time for new products by 20%
- Simplifying product data management in a single location for all employees
- Setting accurate European standards for data classification, with sufficient flexibility for future changes
- Safeguarding data quality through regulations and dashboards
SAP Commerce Cloud is the ideal e-commerce solution, allowing for effortless product data management from various sources. This solution has brought less complexity and greater efficiency to Van Marcke.
Streamlined workflows and processes
With one central commerce tool, product data and catalogues can be efficiently created and enriched, thereby simplifying their management. SAP Commerce Cloud also facilitates collaboration among employees when entering and processing product data, which contributes to more streamlined workflows and processes.
European validation
Validation rules safeguard data quality at all levels, which is crucial for compliance with European data classification standards and ensuring future flexibility. Additional quality regulations and dashboards are implemented to guarantee ongoing data quality.
Shared milestones
2019
Implementation of the PCM module
2021
Launch of New Blue B2B e-commerce shop in three countries
Van Marcke’s New Blue B2B e-commerce shop goes live in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg
2021
SAP Commerce: move to the cloud
2022
24/7 managed services
2022
App integrations
Integration of all ‘Blue’ apps
2022
AS400 – S4 migration in Luxemburg
2023
AS400 – S4 migration in Belgium and France
Today
Continuous improvements
On to the road to composable commerce
SAP Composable storefront pilot in the US
Continuous improvements and support
Continuous improvement of user experience
SAP Commerce Cloud is an integral part of the daily operations of the three product data teams in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Malta, encompassing roughly 50,000 active SKUs.
The platform supports more than 600 sales employees with accurate and updated product data, including photos, technical documentation, and references to alternative items. SAP Commerce Cloud is the sole source for all product data used by other applications and supports European data classification standards, such as ETIM.
Since the go-live, user experiences and new functionalities and integrations have been added to the e-commerce platform, with the aim of modernizing and enhancing the user experience for employees and customers alike.
About Van Marcke
Van Marcke is a West Flemish family company specializing in sanitary fittings and heating equipment, founded in 1929 by Raymond Van Marcke. Today, Caroline Van Marcke – the granddaughter of the founder – is at the helm of the Van Marcke Group. With more than 1,600 employees, the company operates in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the United States, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Malta. Van Marcke has been the market leader in Belgium since the 1960s.
