Aldrich Solutions Brings Southern Lock to Its Full Potential with E-commerce for Distributors

Having a website that accurately represents your business is critical to ensuring its success. But sometimes, you don’t really know what you’re missing until you’re forced to look for a solution.

“People don’t have a lot of patience for slow tech.” As said by Sarah Duncan, proud employee of Southern Lock, “that was something we wanted to upgrade.” In the age of technology, Sarah, along with her long-time colleagues, realized it was time to make a change with the company’s website, and start establishing an online presence.

But finding a solution required a strategy of its own. After extensive research, the Southern Lock team came across numerous positive reviews for Aldrich Web Solutions. They were ready to take their website - and their business - to the next level.

About Southern Lock

Southern Lock is a family-owned distributor of security products. Partnering with over 200 manufacturers to distribute merchandise, they have been in business since 1946, and now have 3 branches across the United States.

Cue 2020 when the COVID pandemic took businesses on an unexpected journey. Southern Lock realized they needed to make their products available all in one place, online, with a new and improved website that could stand toe to toe with its competitors. This was the beginning of partnership with Aldrich Web Solutions.

Aldrich Web Solutions - exactly what Southern Lock needed

Southern Lock started realizing the limited functionality with their existing website provider, a disadvantage that Sarah knew would only continue to hurt the business. “We couldn’t really customize or tweak anything. We wanted more capability.”

As Sarah goes on to say, the team quickly realized they needed an e-Commerce solution that made their product information accessible to their customers in an organized and streamlined way. “I thought, we need to do some retooling, some redesigning, and come up to speed with current trends.”

While researching possible solutions, she couldn’t help but notice all the positive reviews associated with Aldrich Web Solutions - specifically regarding their customer service.

"We liked the feeling right off the bat. The values seemed very aligned for us, as far as helping customers grow and not being another number… the responsiveness, the willingness to help, that’s what set Aldrich apart."

WebAlliance E-Commerce - The Distributors’ Dream

Among their many products and services, Aldrich provides the best integrated e-Commerce solution built for distribution via WebAlliance - this was the perfect solution for Southern Lock. WebAlliance e-Commerce allows for deeper customer connection, while inspiring growth and removing unnecessary integration hassles.

With Order Templates, Checkout Attachments, Customer Resources, and more, Aldrich Web Solutions has integrated with Prophet21, TrulinX and other ERPs to create a powerful, flexible e-Commerce platform made for distributors who are ready to have a top performing website.

And to create an even better customer experience, distributors can customize their website to align to their specific needs. The Content Builder, Homepage Editor, and Design Manager are just a few of the many easy-to-use ways businesses like Southern Lock can have a unique, and on-brand website that customers can use effectively.

Aldrich’s solution was created so that distributors could focus on the task at hand: distribution. At Aldrich, we’ll make sure your website is taken care of so you don’t have to. As Sarah puts it, “it felt like you were rooting for us.” We love seeing businesses succeed, and we’ll provide you with all the tools and guidance to ensure your website helps you reach every goal you have in mind.

Not just a number

At Aldrich Web Solutions, we believe our customers are more than just a number. On top of creating a solution built specifically for distributors, we’re focused on how to innovate new products that can help improve and streamline an evolving industry.

“Everything I wished we could do with our last website is so easy to do with Aldrich.” With their new website, Southern Lock has been able to expand their offerings and create a website that they’re proud of. “We feel comfortable putting our website up against any competitor.”

Sarah was able to get direct feedback from Southern Lock customers, once the new and improved website was live.

“Some of the first feedback from our customers was ‘wow, this is so fast!’”

Even better, Sarah and her team are aware that the untapped potential is massive, and the opportunities for growth are everywhere.

Eventually, Aldrich became more than just a website provider, and more of a partner to Southern Lock. The timeliness, responsiveness, and open atmosphere proved to be the cherry on top. As Sarah describes never feeling like just a number, she says “I can’t think of a single negative experience.” Now that’s customer service.

For us at Aldrich, we’re eager to help distributors find success for their business, even if that doesn’t include us. Our team is determined to serve our customers with the utmost customer service and care to ensure they can feel confidence and pride in their website.This is what ultimately cemented the relationship with Southern Lock. Sarah finishes by saying, “I would recommend Aldrich Web Solutions - no question.”

What does the future hold?

With the help of Aldrich’s Web Solutions, Southern Lock’s website has now been brought into the 21st century - as Sarah says it. Once relying on in-person pickup, the WebAlliance e-Commerce solution allows for business to place orders online, and stay up to date on current product information. Not to mention, the speed and sleek design of the new website has boosted the confidence of everyone at Southern Lock, as they feel their business has an equal chance amongst other, even bigger, distributors.

Aldrich’s sole mission is to help distributors succeed by providing a platform to streamline their business processes. Our e-Commerce solution was made specifically with distributions in mind, and we are confident our solution will help you continue to grow your business. With our many solutions, such as Product Information Management and Customer Service Portals, our primary focus is to provide you with a website that offers everything your customer needs, exactly the way they need it.

So what does Sarah predict for the future? Southern Lock is excited to expand their offers by taking credit card payments, and incorporating SalesRep Module to streamline sales calls. Now, Southern Lock is no longer trying to figure out how to stay relevant to their customers. Instead, Sarah and her team are excited to continue digging through the Aldrich platform to find more and more opportunities to accelerate their growth.

As Sarah puts it:

"There’s just so much at your fingertips; it would be like losing money if you didn’t take this opportunity to upgrade your website."