Sunstar GUM® is one of the world’s leading healthcare companies in the field of oral and dental care. Since 2015, the manufacturer has also been selling directly to end customers – using JTL software.
In Germany, the high-quality products such as toothbrushes, dental floss, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. are mainly sold through pharmacies, dentists and wholesalers. GUM products were also available via wholesalers in various dental shops on the Internet, online pharmacies and via the Amazon and eBay marketplaces.
Since the beginning of 2015, Sunstar Germany has now launched its own manufacturer store on the internet, which end customers can use to buy directly. “We want to further expand the availability of our GUM products for consumers,” says Nadja Münch, Junior Marketing Manager at Sunstar Deutschland GmbH.
The manufacturer store shop-gum.de is operated by the long-standing Sunstar sales partner Dentorado. It uses the JTL-Wawi merchandise management system, the JTL-Shop shop solution and the JTL-WMS warehouse management system.
Image and advertising video for dental care sticks from Sunstar GUM Germany
Certified for JTL-Wawi, JTL-eazyAuction and JTL-WMS
From xt:Commerce to JTL-Shop
The next big step towards becoming a JTL power user came at the beginning of 2012, when click-licht.de wanted to replace the now unsupported xt:Commerce shop system with the new, modern JTL-Shop as part of a major shop relaunch.
“If you are setting up a completely new store that is already running well, then you should definitely use a future-proof system,” Rudi tells us. “And xt:Commerce was no longer being actively maintained at the time. It was very obvious for me to opt for the JTL-Shop system because this shop harmonizes 100% with the Wawi – and JTL-Wawi was at the center of our activities.”
Since the Dentorado shop was already running with JTL-Wawi, JTL-Shop and the JTL-WMS warehouse management system, it was obvious for us to simply dock the new GUM-JTL-Shop to the existing ERP system.
All we needed was the Multishop module for JTL-Wawi.
In the months that followed, eloquium worked with Sunstar and Dentorado to develop the first direct web store for the large Swiss company. “The customer had precise ideas about how the web store should look and function,” says Stephan Tessnow. “Of course, Sunstar’s globally valid CD/CI had to be implemented precisely”.
The homepage of the GUM store in fall 2017
In addition, it is important to the manufacturer that the store not only “sells”, but also offers service and great benefits for the consumer. Special advice sections are also intended to strengthen the image of the brand.
“We made numerous changes to the JTL-Shop system for the GUM-Shop and developed some things ourselves in order to meet all the functional and visual requirements,” explains Stephan Tessnow.
The new GUM store offers visitors an introduction to product selection from two perspectives. On the one hand, indication-related, i.e. based on their specific needs. The second is product-related, i.e. with the help of the nine GUM product categories.
Information, service and usability
“Depending on whether a visitor is looking for products for gum care, for white teeth, for sensitive teeth, for dry mouth or children’s dental care, they will be listed in a pre-sorted order. This makes it easier to find their way around our range of over 130 different items,” says Nadja Münch, describing the indication-based navigation. “If they are looking for a specific product, they can access it via the product-related navigation and then filter again according to indication.”
Color worlds for orientation
“We have introduced a color scheme to make it even easier to find your way around the categories. The nine indications are displayed in different colors throughout, right down to the individual product. This also applies to the font colors and buttons at item level. For example, children’s dental care is orange throughout and orthodontic care is purple. This means that the buyer always knows which section they are in,” continues Stephan Tessnow.
Different colors for different needs and themes
In addition to the product offerings, customers should also have the opportunity to obtain comprehensive information on the topic of oral health. For this reason, an “ABC of oral health” has been set up. Here, not only are frequently asked questions and tips on oral health answered, but it is also possible to ask individual questions to the GUM specialists using the contact form.
Stronger customer loyalty through newsletter and social media events
“The customer then receives the all-round information package, so to speak, through our GUM oral care newsletter. Our team also regularly provides further tips on social networks,” concludes the Marketing Manager.
Successful start
Sunstar is breaking new ground in Germany with the GUM store. In addition to the expertise of dentists and pharmacists, which is still very important, customers now also have the opportunity to obtain comprehensive information themselves. In the end, visitors always end up with the right products for their specific problem or concern in the area of dental care and oral hygiene.
Dentorado currently sends around 10,000 parcels a month. The gum store’s share of this has been growing steadily in recent weeks. This shows that Sunstar’s manufacturer store in Germany has already been well received since opening and is becoming increasingly popular.
The Sunstar GUM range is now also available to end customers
Tasks
Implement manufacturer-oriented template
Integrate newsletter & social media
Transfer to existing merchandise system
Solutions with JTL
Excellently designable, responsive store template for your own website
Wide range of options/interfaces for the integration of suitable plug-ins
Shipping administration using the JTL-WMS warehouse management system
