Success Story Manufacturing

PVF Distributor Transforms B2B Commerce to Boost Online Sales

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Cooney Brother’s reputation for responsiveness and above-and-beyond service has made it a leader in PVF and plumbing distribution for over 85 years.

The 3rd generation, family-owned business offers more than 33,000 PVF parts online and backs its products up with unsurpassed product expertise to ensure customers get the right solution every time.

As Cooney Brothers grew over the years, its commerce platform had started to reach its limitations from a scalability, UX and SEO perspective. It had identified Optimizely Configured Commerce (formerly B2B Commerce Cloud) as its solution of choice to meet both its current and future needs. It turned to Apexon to help migrate to the new platform without disrupting its customers or its day-to-day business operations.

  • Family-owned and operated since 1937

  • Partnered with leading manufacturers

    Partnered with leading manufacturers

  • Leader in PVF and plumbing distribution

    Leader in PVF and plumbing distribution serving customers in pharma, food, and beverage, OEMs, industrial, power generation, hospitals, and universities

the Results

Key Outcomes

81% ONLINE SALES GROWTH
81% online
sales growth

52% INCREASE IN ONLINE ORDERS
52% increase in
online orders

84% INCREASE IN AVERAGE SITE VISITORS PER DAY
84% increase in average
site visitors per day

The challenge

COMMERCE CAPABILITIES LAGGING MARKET DEMANDS

Cooney Brothers’ existing B2B commerce platform had become increasingly unstable. Beyond the poor user experience (UX) for its customers, it had also made it more difficult for the company’s IT team to keep up with the performance issues.

To overcome these challenges, it was clear the company needed to migrate to a new platform. But it could not risk disrupting its key revenue generator. Some of the most critical requirements included:

A modern customer UI and UX

A modern customer UI and UX

Easier search functionality

Easier search functionality

Significantly enhanced SEO capabilities

Significantly enhanced SEO capabilities including customization capabilities

Business user friendly capabilities

Business user friendly capabilities to minimize requirements of the IT team for support

The IT team had settled on Optimizely Configured Commerce. It was much better suited to support the company’s growing line of product offerings and increasing demand for custom configuration. But it needed help migrating to the new platform. It was especially concerned about disruptions to its existing business as well as ensuring that it was deploying the Configured Commerce platform for long-term success.

The Solution

OPTIMIZELY CONFIGURED COMMERCE PLATFORM SUPPORTED BY APEXON

Apexon helped guide Cooney Brothers through the migration process, outlining a deployment plan to minimize business disruption, and launching the new capabilities to drive adoption and conversion.

Some of the specific functionality and capabilities deployed include:

A modern customer experience with real-time information

Integration with Active Directory

Integration with Active Directory – customization for URL segment (brand name and mfg. #), concatenation of attribute values for Units of Measure

Integration with Eclipse for Catalog and Customer Information

Integration with Eclipse for Catalog and Customer Information providing real-time information for pricing, inventory, order and invoice history

Fed-Ex and UPS integration

Fed-Ex and UPS integration for real-time shipping rate calculation at the point of purchase

UX Enhancements

Filter options on order history page

Filter options on order history page

Order history listing to expand each order

Order history listing to expand each order and see line items

Account Inquiry page to include AR summary

Account Inquiry page to include AR summary

Invoice details page to show customer delivery signature

Invoice details page to show customer delivery signature

Allowing logged-in customers

Allowing logged-in customers to add/delete customer part # for a product; support for multiple part #s for a specific customer for a product

Hovering over a part name shows spare part highlighted

Hovering over a part name shows spare part highlighted on product image

Configured spare parts list on product

Configured spare parts list on product – hovering over a part name highlights the spare part on the product image

Search & SEO Enhancements

Search-friendly URLs

Search-friendly URLs with customization, e.g., a single URL for every page including product

Ability to utilize stock items

Ability to utilize stock items as well as frequently sold items to boost search results

Customized search functionality

Customized search functionality to include customer part #

Customized blogs page to show filters in left hand navigation

OTHER OUTCOMES

As a result of the new Optimizely solution deployed by Apexon, Cooney Brothers now has a stable, high-performing commerce platform that provides its customers with convenient and intuitive self-service capabilities.

This has produced several important outcomes for its business:

81% online sales growth and 52% increase in online orders

84% increase in average site visitors per day

84% increase in average site visitors per day

90%+ new customers originating through online channel

90%+ new customers originating through online channel

Completely optimized organic search traffic driving increased conversion

Customizations for search results translating to stronger performance

Customizations for search results translating to stronger performance

Ability for business users to manage the platform with minimal IT support

Ability for business users to manage the platform with minimal IT support

FAQ’s – B2B Commerce

B2B commerce refers to online transactions between businesses, where companies sell products, services, or solutions to other businesses rather than directly to consumers. It includes features like bulk ordering, personalized pricing, and account-based purchasing to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

Digital transformation in B2B commerce enhances customer experiences, streamlines operations, and drives sales growth. By modernizing online channels, businesses can offer self-service portals, automate workflows, and provide personalized product recommendations, leading to increased efficiency and revenue.

A modern online channel enables seamless ordering, real-time inventory tracking, personalized pricing, and data-driven insights, making it easier for businesses to purchase and manage their accounts. This leads to higher conversion rates and improved customer retention.

A successful B2B commerce platform includes features like self-service portals, AI-driven recommendations, multi-tier pricing, seamless ERP integration, mobile optimization, and advanced analytics to improve efficiency and enhance customer experiences.

Common challenges in B2B commerce include complex pricing structures, long sales cycles, integration with legacy systems, customer onboarding, and the need for personalized user experiences. Overcoming these challenges requires scalable and flexible digital solutions.

Automation in B2B commerce simplifies order management, invoicing, inventory tracking, and customer support. It reduces manual errors, speeds up processing times, and improves overall business efficiency, leading to higher customer satisfaction.

A data-driven approach enables businesses to analyze customer behavior, forecast demand, and personalize recommendations. This helps improve decision-making, optimize marketing efforts, and enhance the overall buying experience for B2B customers.

Mobile optimization ensures that businesses can access B2B commerce platforms anytime, anywhere. With the increasing use of mobile devices for procurement, a responsive and user-friendly mobile experience enhances engagement and accelerates sales processes.

AI-driven personalization tailors product recommendations, pricing, and promotions based on user behavior and historical data. This increases conversion rates, strengthens customer relationships, and drives long-term loyalty in B2B transactions.