Company Background
Cookstown Panel Centre is a supplier of kitchen materials and components based in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. With over 30 years’ experience serving the kitchen and fitted furniture trade, the company supplies professional customers across the island of Ireland.
The business offers a wide range of products including kitchen doors, sheet materials such as MFC and MDF, worktops, drawer systems, hinges, sinks, taps, and related fittings. Cookstown Panel Centre works closely with established manufacturers and holds distributor status with selected suppliers, supporting product quality and availability.
“The Experlogix support team is excellent. The team is always responsive and incredibly quick to help whenever we need them.”
–Mark McElhone M.I.S Support – Cookstown Panel Centre
In addition to product supply, the company provides technical support for architects, designers, and shopfitters, along with manufacturing capabilities to meet specific customer requirements. Operating from a centrally located facility in Mid-Ulster, Cookstown Panel Centre runs its own delivery fleet and maintains a showroom where customers can view products on site, supported by an experienced sales team with deep industry knowledge.
The Challenge
Before introducing an Ecommerce system, most customer orders were received by phone or email and manually entered by staff. Even a simple order required staff time to record and process in the ERP system.
This approach limited how many orders staff could process and created ongoing administrative work. As order volumes increased, this manual step became a constraint, tying up staff who could otherwise focus on customer service or sales activity. It also meant customers needed to contact the business during working hours to place orders or arrange delivery details.
Another consideration was maintaining customer relationships. Many trade customers were accustomed to ordering by phone and speaking directly with staff. Moving to online ordering needed to support these existing working practices without replacing them entirely.
The Solution
Cookstown Panel Centre implemented an online Experlogix B2B webshop connected to its ERP system. Orders placed on the Experlogix B2B webshop automatically transfer into the ERP and enter the normal order processing workflow without manual input or intervention.
Additional automation was introduced to support delivery scheduling and order handling:
- Orders placed online are automatically entered into the ERP system
- Picking dates are calculated automatically based on each customer’s delivery schedule
- A calendar allows customers to select available delivery dates
- Order cut-off rules prevent next-day delivery selection after the daily deadline
- Internal alerts notify staff if customers add notes requiring manual review
- Customer credit status in the ERP is reflected on the webshop
These changes ensured that online orders followed the same operational rules as phone and email orders, allowing the webshop to fit naturally into existing warehouse and fulfilment processes.
The Result
Orders submitted through the webshop now enter the ERP system instantly. Previously, each order required staff time to be checked, keyed in, and validated before processing. With online ordering, this step is removed for web orders, reducing duplication and the potential for manual entry errors.
Over time, the number and proportion of orders placed online has increased gradually. While the business has not formally measured all operational changes, staff report noticeable reductions in time spent on routine order entry, particularly during busy periods.
Automation also means orders move directly to the correct warehouse processing steps without staff intervention, helping to maintain consistency and reduce delays between order placement and fulfilment.
Outcomes
Customers responded positively to the webshop. Trade customers value being able to:
- View their own pricing and quantity breaks
- Place orders at any time, outside normal business hours
- Select delivery dates that align with their schedules
- Choose between multiple delivery addresses
For customers who place repeat orders, the webshop provides a quicker and more predictable ordering process, while still allowing them to contact staff when needed.
Some customers continue to order by phone, particularly long-standing trade buyers who prefer speaking directly with staff. The business continues to contact customers regularly to maintain relationships and discuss additional products they may require, using the webshop as a support channel rather than a replacement.
“We’ve seen the number of web orders steadily increase year after year. Every order placed online drops straight into our ERP and follows our normal sales processing routine automatically. What used to take minutes to enter manually now takes zero time from our team, freeing staff up to focus on customers rather than data entry.”
– Mark McElhone M.I.S Support – Cookstown Panel Centre
The webshop has also increased visibility beyond the company’s traditional geographic area. Enquiries have been received from outside the core delivery region, including from customers in the UK who discovered the business through the webshop.
Benefits to the Business
The main benefits reported by the business include:
- Reduced staff time spent entering and checking orders
- Orders automatically entering the ERP workflow without duplication
- More consistent and efficient internal processing of sales orders
- Fewer manual touchpoints in the order lifecycle
- Staff able to spend more time on customer communication and sales activity
- Improved accessibility for customers who prefer self-service ordering
- Wider visibility of the business to potential new customers
Importantly, the online channel complements rather than replaces the company’s existing sales approach. Staff continue to work closely with customers to maintain relationships, provide advice, and identify additional product needs, while the webshop handles routine ordering more efficiently.
