Success Story: Optimizing Customer Experiences in Magento Through a Custom Parts Catalog

Introduction: Martin Energy Group

Martin Energy Group is a leading provider of complete power plant packaging based out of Latham, Missouri. Martin Energy had previously worked with Blue Stingray to completely overhaul their combined heat and power (CHP) calculator. That project led to the creation of a cloud-based, responsive, and intuitive tool that effectively determines power generation options for clients.

Recently, the company recognized the need for an online catalog to allow customers to purchase generator parts and components. However, the new site would need to account for novel variations in Martin Energy’s products.

The Problem: Creating an Online Catalog To Replace a Manual Quoting Process

Martin Energy Group provides a range of parts, and in the past, their knowledgeable staff has provided customers with guidance for finding appropriate components for different types of engines. Moving their extensive catalog online presented a few issues:

Some parts have multiple part numbers.
Some parts are compatible with different engines, but are used for different purposes. For example, a certain bolt might be compatible with several engine components from different years.
Some parts have been discontinued, remanufactured, or replaced in product sheets with new part numbers.

When the company received a request, their staff would be able to guide the clients to the appropriate component — but this created an enormous amount of work for the team, and it wasn’t practical for the online catalog.

The Solution: Accurate Product Configurations for Intuitive Ordering

For Blue Stingray’s Adobe Commerce (Magento) team, the first step was to walk through the user’s workflow and understand pain points that could be resolved to make the site as effective and intuitive as possible.

“The tricky part was trying to figure out how to display the part numbers in a clear and concise manner, and which part number we should showcase,” explains Garrett Flynn, Project Manager at Blue Stingray. “They really wanted to start educating their clients to get used to their part numbers, as opposed to old outdated OEM part numbers that manufacturers themselves have even changed.”

The site needed to assist a bit with that education process while preventing accidental orders, which was a challenge for the Blue Stingray team.

“We added confirmation messages that say, ‘Hey, this is for this part. If you’re looking for this motor, then you want this part.’ They’d also need to choose the motor they’re using before adding the component to their cart, which would update the other parts displayed.”

That process prevented customers from accidentally selecting parts that weren’t compatible with their equipment — and greatly simplified the work for Martin Energy Group’s team.

When users searched for a specific component, the right part would need to come up — regardless of which (accurate) part number the user entered.

The Results: A Clean, User-Focused Catalog, Built with Magento

Within about six months, Blue Stingray was able to build a site with a robust search function, clear part number mapping, and a streamlined quote request system.

The online catalog simplified part identification and ordering for Martin Energy’s clients, reduced manual effort for the sales team, and improved overall efficiency. Martin Energy plans to expand the platform’s functionality to include additional ecommerce capabilities and integration with their inventory management system. Those improvements will further enhance the customer experience and streamline operations.

St. Louis Magento/Adobe Commerce Development from Blue Stingray

At Blue Stingray, we’re dedicated to helping businesses find ways to optimize processes and address novel challenges — and by taking the time to understand the workflow of our clients (and their customers), we provide scalable ecommerce solutions that begin providing value on day one.

Call Blue Stingray today at 314-266-8097 or email info@bluestingray to schedule a demo.