Würth Group continues to expand its online sales – B2B online procurement platform Wucato goes live in Germany
Künzelsau/Stuttgart. The Würth Group bolsters its e-business activities by launching its very own B2B online platform in Germany on 1 December 2016. Wucato is an e-procurement solution and online procurement platform for the B2B sector. For the first time ever, it allows customers to access a Group-wide product range consisting of more than 500,000 products from suppliers within the Würth Group as well as third-party suppliers. Wucato will serve as a pioneering sales channel, enabling the Würth Group to respond to the more complicated demands of its customers and react to new market conditions.
“With Wucato we are well equipped to react to developments on the market, which are driven by digitalization and the evolving procurement behavior of our customers. Furthermore, it consolidates Würth Group's areas of expertise. Wucato offers our customers a unique purchasing and procurement platform and represents a big step towards expanding our digital competitiveness,” says Bernd Herrmann, Member of the Central Managing Board of the Würth Group.
In the future, Wucato will allow customers to buy all of their products from one central marketplace, thus optimizing their purchasing processes. All ordering and invoicing processes are compiled together on a single platform, which in turn significantly reduces transaction costs. For suppliers, Wucato represents the birth of a new sales channel with a wide customer base and thus an opportunity for further growth.
The existing sales force of the companies within the Würth Group will visit and attend to larger customers from the fields of craft and industry in combination with this new platform, thus integrating it optimally into the existing sales structures of the Würth Group.
About WUCATO Marketplace GmbH
WUCATO Marketplace GmbH was founded on 19 October 2015 as a subsidiary of the Würth Group. The start-up, headquartered in Stuttgart, currently has 13 employees. Wucato is a central online marketplace for craft and industry, connecting business customers with a wide range of suppliers. In addition, cutting-edge e-procurement functions ensure increased efficiency throughout the entire procurement process. The platform was developed in close cooperation with numerous large customers. Further information on Wucato can be found at www.wucato.de.
About the Würth Group
The Würth Group is the world's market leader in its core business, the trade of assembly and fastening materials. It currently consists of more than 400 companies in over 80 countries with more than 71,000 employees on its payroll. Approximately 31,000 of those employees are salaried sales representatives. According to its annual financial statement, the Würth Group generated a total sales volume of EUR 5.9 billion in the first six months of the 2016 financial year. About 13 percent of that are generated through e-business.
In its core business, the Würth Line encompasses the product range for trade and industry with over 125,000 products: from screws, screw accessories and anchors to tools, chemical-technical products and personal protective equipment.
The Allied Companies of the Würth Group, which either operate in business areas related to its core business or in diversified business areas, round off the range by offering products for DIY stores, material for electrical installations, electronic components such as circuit boards, and financial services. They account for more than 40 percent of the Würth Group's sales volume.
