Krones.shop South Africa and Kenya goes live!

The Krones.shop has been up and running for almost five years now – and whereas at first only Germany was enabled, by the end of 2018 customers in 125 different nations worldwide were already ordering spare and wear parts for their Krones machines and lines through the online shopping platform. But one major sales region was missing – Africa!

In March 2019, the eShop Kenya/South Africa went live. This means the Krones eShop platform can now be reached in 173 different countries and in seven different languages, and provides our customers with a choice of more than 4.9 million spare parts. In addition, upgrades, training events, services, product ranges from Krones’ subsidiaries and pre-owned machines are also offered.

The rollout project was launched in February 2017, with the aim of introducing the eShop for the Center South Africa and Kenya, taking due account of specific national requirements, such as different product ranges, functions or invoices. Besides the technical and organisational integration of the eShop in the VT03 order processing system, interfacing with the KRONES eCat online was another important precondition. The project was headed by my colleague Roman Lorber from eCommerce. “When the project kicked off, Krones was already represented with a highly disparate array of sales structures and organisations in more than 50 nations of Africa. For introducing the new online ordering channel, it was also necessary to take into due account specific national requirements in fields like logistics, service support and invoicing. This was a very exciting task, in which our colleagues on the spot always proved particularly helpful.”

In conjunction with our colleagues in eCommerce, initial email campaigns have already been launched and registration newsletters dispatched. The result was highly encouraging: 30 new registrations within one short week. But marketing work is not being restricted to Neutraubling – the subsidiary on the spot is likewise making a proactive contribution. At training events or trade fair stands, for instance, customers’ interest is triggered. Overall, the new Krones.shop in Kenya and South Africa is being very well received. Initial inquiries and orders have already been received from our pilot customers in South Africa and Kenya.

So what does the future hold?

A first step has been taken – the Krones.shop South Africa and Kenya is live. Next on the agenda is a link to the Krones Center Nigeria. Here, interfacing with the Krones eShop has been firmly scheduled for 2020.

Keen to find out more?

Then feel free to take a look at the Krones.shop Africa.