Parts Brothers

Managing 3 E-Commerce Platforms from 1 Website

This client wanted to sell appliance parts on Amazon, eBay and their own e-commerce website. But they didn’t want to have to enter the information into each system separately, and they wanted to be sure that inventory sold on one site would be automatically deducted from the available inventory counts on the other sites. Metrix Systems created a system that seamlessly synchronized all of this for them.

With more than 10,000 items from over 30 different brands in stock, Parts Brothers is one of the Los Angeles area’s largest distributors of appliance and television parts. The firm offers excellent service, staff members trained on every product line they carry, and both new and meticulously-inspected reconditioned parts.

Challenge:

Parts Brothers wanted to expand their customer base from local to national by using their existing physical location as the hub for e-commerce sales on eBay, Amazon and their own website. However, the company’s management recognized that entering all of the information for each of their thousands of inventory items into three different systems would be a nightmare. Plus, once something sold in one location (eBay, Amazon or their own website), they would need the “available inventory” information to update at all three sites. After all, it didn’t matter where it sold—once a given part sold it wasn’t available for any other customers.


“We were looking for a vendor that could synchronize all of this for us,” recalls Dimitre Stoilov, Parts Brothers’ Project Manager, “and create a website with a robust content and inventory management system. Adding to the challenge was the fact that eBay and Amazon each have quirks that would have to be overcome in order to create an automated process. I called Metrix Systems because I had worked with them in the past and knew they were capable of creating out-of-the-box solutions at an affordable price point. And they delivered!”


Solution:

The e-commerce website that Metrix Systems built for Parts Brothers has full e-commerce capabilities plus a few bells and whistles, such as the ability to schedule a service visit, that are obvious to website visitors. But the real magic of this site happens on the back end. This is where the product and inventory management wizardry takes place.


When Parts Brothers enters a product into the system, the category, description, image and quantity automatically populate on eBay, Amazon and the www.PartsBrothers.com site, with the same information synchronized across all.


But not all information is the same everywhere. There are two pieces of information that need to be different on each site: the price and the shipping information. “For pricing,” Dimitre explains, “we simply insert our wholesale price. The system uses this to automatically calculate and upload the correct price for each site. A similar thing happens for the shipping terms and conditions. We simply enter certain data, and the system takes it from there. Then, once something sells, it is deleted from the inventory counts at all three e-commerce sites.”


Result:

“With this system,” states Dimitre, “we can post a listing or remove a listing on the fly for either Amazon or eBay, all through the content management system of our own website. We don’t have to go to Amazon or eBay to manage our inventory at all. Needless to say, we’re certainly happy with the results. We described what we needed to Metrix Systems, and they provided a full turn-key solution, including advising us what third party companies to use for shipping, credit card processing, etc. We didn’t have to come up with our own solutions. They did it all!”


“Working with Metrix Systems was great,” Dimitre adds. “They were available anytime, always on top of things. Even now if we need something their service is excellent. They didn’t just delete our phone number. If we need to change or edit something they’re always there for us.”

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