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    • August 2022
/ APG's Web 2.0 Overview, How-To Guide, and Next Steps!

APG's Web 2.0 Overview, How-To Guide, and Next Steps!

  • website
APG's Web 2.0 Overview
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Over the past few months, we have been hard at work behind the scenes working on the next iteration of the APG website. Since we’ve launched Web 1.0, we have seen tremendous month over month growth with website onboardings, online orders placed, and total website feedback requests! After receiving, reading, cataloging, and actionizing thousands of feedback requests, we’re proud to announce what APG’s Web 2.0 has for you!

Account Creation

Our website starts with creating an account and getting it associated to your existing APG account, so it makes sense to speak about this first! Our website has two different account types: Associated and Non-Associated. Associated accounts are completely setup and are linked to your APG customer number. This is what allows you to see your specific pricing, place orders on your account, and see your order history and tracking information.

Why register for an online account?

Creating and associating an online account allows you to access various features such as:

  • Your customer-specific pricing, live and loaded
  • Real-time inventory / stock positions
  • Order history and tracking
  • Skip the wait and place orders directly from the web into our system
  • And much more!

Download Guide


Want even more access to the APG website development process? Click here to learn more about our Website Insider Program!

View the Website Account Guide Now!

My Account

We have reconstructed the My Account section from the ground up to give you more answers, insight, and visibility on your account with APG. This includes information on credit terms, pricing tiers, account salesperson scheduling, and most importantly – order tracking. With the reconstruction of the My Account section, we’ve laid the foundation to build a fully self-service portal for you and your sales, purchasing, and accounting teams which should cut back on the tedious processes such as calling and emailing only to wait for a response.

The order tracking utility ties directly into our internal systems so you have:

  • Real-time status information on your orders – if you place an order over the phone on your existing APG account, it will display instantaneously on the web once the order is saved in APG’s systems
  • Backlog/Open-order reports – filter on orders currently “In-Production” to see all of your current open orders or filter of “Shipped” to see what’s currently in-transit.
  • Live order tracking – Once a shipping label is created, get real-time information associated down to the item and quantity to see when it’s scheduled to arrive.

In addition to the order tracking utility, a small but meaningful addition was added on the main My Account page – the “Meet Your Salesperson” area. APG has a team of fantastic, energetic salespeople whose mission is to create a long-lasting impact for you and show how APG can help grow your business. With the meet your salesperson feature, if you haven’t already got a chance to meet your assigned salesperson, this tells you who they are, shows you their contact information, and most importantly lets you schedule time with them to discuss how APG can be an asset for you.

Checkout

All ecommerce sites need to put emphasis on creating a seamless checkout experience, and APG is no different. With Web 2.0, we have put a large emphasis on the checkout process, we had two priorities in mind:

  • Build a foundation we can scale on
  • Give you the checkout features you need most to enter purchase orders seamlessly and easily.


Checkout Step💻 Checkout Enhancements 💻🛠️ Foundation Building 🛠️
1Cart
  • We redesigned the cart for easier readability and to give you the answers you need immediately when it comes to quantity ordered vs. stock on hand readily available.
  • While it might not look it, the redesign on the front and back-ends of the cart opens the door for a “Quick Order Entry” section and custom part number cross-references.
  • The cart functionality will also bridge to “Saved Orders”. You will be able to save a specific cart for future, repeat use.
2Billing
  • Current distributors with lines of credit now have the option to pay up front with a credit card while keeping their live pricing.
  • You are now able to start building out an address book for all your billing and shipping locations. This allows you to quickly select where you need to bill and ship for specific purchase orders.
  • This will pave the way to multiple location management and web account managers.
3Shipping
  • You are now able to select what specific carrier you want to ship your order through AND the method you want to ship.
This is where the fun begins! The shipping section of the checkout process is the first of multiple enhancements in line for shipping.

  • This leads into real-time freight charge calculations and delivery dates, customer-specific carrier choice options, live shipment updates, full and partial shipment options, and eventually blanket order functionality.
For additional information regarding the future of shipping enhancements, check out our Website Insider Program. This is you way to influence the development process and give your input to our developers!
4Payment
  • A redesigned, simplified, and refined screen which houses all the necessary information on one screen.
  • The revised billing page opens the door for alternative payment methods such as Google Pay and Apple Pay for those who wish to utilize it.
5Confirmation
  • The revised confirmation page sets up confirmation sharing via email, confirmation PDF downloads, and future order saving.



APG Website Insider Program
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We’re not done with our website either! Our website is a tool and resource for you and your business to create a more knowledgeable sales team through our Knowledge Base, create a full self-service portal for your purchasing and accounting teams utilizing the checkout process and My Account section, and helps you achieve your yearly targets and goals by incorporating the features you want and need. Our Website Insider Program gives you a direct line into our website development process and allows you to give your input on future iterations of our website.

Future Website Updates:

  • Custom part number cross-reference libraries
  • Quick estimate generation
  • Quick order entry screens
  • Online custom-part configurators
  • And many more!

Interested in learning more? Visit www.apg.blog/insider!