RS Components has launched its new website and catalogue.
The new RS website has an upgraded search and navigation engine powered by Endeca Technologies, an information access software company.
Through a powerful search engine and abundant product information, the new website enables electronics designers and maintenance engineers to easily and quickly research, select and order products from RS Components online.
The simple yet powerful web solution, developed by RS Components in collaboration with Endeca, is the result of an extensive intuitive analysis of customers’ expectations regarding web functionality.
The new website brings to customers a good online experience, based upon guided navigation, exposed product pictures, range and attribute filters.
'The development of the new websites has been driven from an in-depth review of customer's needs. The overall project, from research to concept, through to build and launch has taken over 12 months' says Scott Fawcett, head of e-commerce at Electrocomponents Plc.
'We now have excellent foundations in place to enable us to accelerate our e-centric strategy and continue to grow our e-commerce business.'
Showcasing more than 200,000 products online, over 1 million product attributes and related technical documents, customers can make use of the better, faster and more efficient web tools to easily and accurately select the products they need.
Customers who order via RS Online will reap the benefits of this substantial investment in RS Components' e-commerce strategy, specifically:
An improved and intuitive search and browse solution built upon enhanced data: Through more intuitive web tools, customers are able to browse the full breadth of the product catalogue using integrated category and search filters.
Search results are summarised by product attributes so customers can easily evaluate the ideal available options, and determine the ideal solution for a specific need. Visitors benefit by always viewing the relevant products based upon their filtering criteria and specific product requirements.
Daily publishing: RS Components understands the importance of delivering what customers need when they need it in a more cost effective way. To this extent, RS Online dynamically offers new products and technologies introduction information on a daily basis.
One-stop-shop: Customers can access multiple suppliers' products from a single place. They can then compare and order any product in one click which enables electronics designers and maintenance engineers to save both time and money.
Product attributes: Six key attributes including manufacturers brands, are displayed on the search results page from which customers can apply new filters to their search criteria. Customers can then use up to 5 additional attributes from the results table to compare products.
Coinciding with the launch of the new website, RS Components is also launching its new RS Catalogue in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan).
The new RS catalogue has also focused its catalogue changes on making it even easier for engineers to find, compare and select the products they need.
Products have been reorganised into eight super-sections such as semiconductors, connectors, mechanical, tools and tools storage. Each super-section is colour-coded by technology providing engineers with quick and easy reference to the similar colour-coded pages within each super-section.
Layout of the catalogue has been changed to accommodate one- or two-columns per page, with common attributes included for each product summarised in module level tables. The new page layout allows more product data to be presented in a better format.
Section dividers in the catalogue have also been improved to help customers with easier navigation through the catalogue. The new section dividers contain detailed section index by product description, highlights of key products or brands within the section, as well as clear links to related or accessory products to help customers select products across sections.
With a massive range of 65,000 products featured in the catalogue and more than 200,000 products showcased online, the new catalogue and website make it easier for customers to find and purchase what they need when they need it.
RS Components' new website has been successfully implemented in and across Electrocomponents' operational companies in Europe. The new website and catalogue will be fully deployed across Asia Pacific from April 2008.