Background
Living Proof, a US-based premium haircare brand, have been using Shopify Plus for their B2B sales since migrating from their previous B2B platform. Following an acquisition by Unilever in 2016, they have continued to expand their world-renowned science-based product range, selling to independent retailers, salons, and distributors across the globe.
They started using SparkLayer in 2022, and we’re proud to be supporting their B2B wholesale success!
The challenge
Living Proof were struggling with a cumbersome implementation on their previous B2B platform where B2B customer product pricing and B2B customer product eligibility were closely tied and had to be driven from their ERP system, SAP byDesign. This was problematic because Finance owned the pricing in SAP byDesign based on B2B customer contracting, but product eligibility was managed by the B2B Ops team. This led to operational and communication challenges.
In addition, the usability of their previous B2B platform, the B2B admin portal (which was complex and difficult to navigate), and the B2B front-end experience (which was basic and slow) were less than ideal. Finally, the licensing costs of the previous B2B platform were significant, making Living Proof question the value for money they were getting.
One of the main challenges they experienced was the level of manual tasks involved in their sales process. Their internal SalesOps team had to physically add each relevant product to customers’ price lists for them to be visible. These price lists then had to be reviewed by the Finance team to ensure each product price matched what had been assigned to that specific customer. Doing this for each customer was slowing down their SalesOps team and any human errors meant additional time was spent resolving issues with customers’ orders. Living Proof also had to continuously manage product visibility by manually updating which individuals could see which products, pricing, and shipping options.
One of the issues Living Proof faced was managing the range of price lists and discounts they had available for both B2B customers and internal use. Their Sales reps need products to take to salons and distributors and there’s a high demand for influencer and affiliate marketing. As such, a large percentage of the transactions Living Proof process through their platform is internal, and they needed a better way to keep track of it all.
A lot of their products come in aerosol containers and require different item numbers depending on the region they’re being sold in due to local laws and regulations. They needed multiple versions of the same products on their site that would only be shown to their respective location-specific customers. This required a level of customisation they weren’t able to achieve with their existing platform.
The solution
Living Proof implemented SparkLayer in 2022, which has already saved their SalesOps team significant time and cost. We provided a rapid (under 2 months) deployment on Shopify Plus, leveraging an off-the-shelf Shopify theme for a robust UX/ UI customer experience. This deployment heavily utilised SparkLayer for enhanced B2B capabilities and an optimised B2B checkout and My Account experience.
Integration was key to this project as Living Proof’s biggest customers use SPS Commerce as their EDI partner. Smaller and internal orders from Sales reps are processed in SparkLayer before going into Shopify. This integration enables seamless pricing and orders via SAP byDesign.
Having a self-service platform has empowered their international sales customers thanks to the 24/7 access and intuitive interface designed to replicate a typical D2C shopping experience. Living Proof leveraged our rich feature set, enabling their Ops team to take full control of product eligibility at a customer level within Shopify, using its user-friendly Admin Portal interface.
Establishing a B2B login page has ensured they can gate their discounted prices and can change customers’ online experiences depending on who is logged in. Living Proof’s SalesOps teams and customers are also easily able to manage B2B orders and set up new customers for custom discounts and samples. We leveraged our Payment on Account feature to support their internal free product allowance programme. Other customisations and extensions allow the download of customer price lists as CSVs that can be uploaded for bulk imports of orders.
The results
Our solution enabled much easier management of Living Proof’s B2B system by their Ops team. Pricing can now be managed centrally within SAP byDesign, and the B2B Ops team are also able to control product eligibility and easily set up promotion bundle products. This is something that was not easy to do previously on their last B2B platform.
Living Proof’s SalesOps teams are now able to process internal orders quickly - we added a bespoke ‘No Cost’ button to their checkout thanks to our customisable field feature. This allows them to segregate internal, ‘free’ orders that relate to samples and influencer/ affiliate marketing and has significantly improved their front-end customer experience.
Implementing SparkLayer has had a hugely positive impact on Living Proof’s customer journey. Their B2B portal is easier to use and customers can search by SKU, view promotions, use our Quick Buy option to rapidly purchase repeat items, and upload CSV orders. This has enabled enhanced customer experience, as well as better product management and operational efficiency.
The ability to quickly view promotions and know what products they’re getting for free or with a discount is a boost for salons, too. The increased visibility and option to check out using the ‘No Cost’ button or using their assigned credit has had a big impact on their experience with Living Proof.
In addition, Living Proof have been able to set up over 100 bespoke customer groups and tags, making the most of SparkLayer’s integration with Shopify. This has enabled them to establish price and shipping tier options based on the location of their global customers, as well as offer discounts to salons and distributors.
The feedback from Living Proof’s SalesOps team has been brilliant, and the time saved from streamlining this process is invaluable to the business. This has freed them from their complex and manual processes, allowing them to focus on growth activities like recruiting and working with new customers. Our solution has also dramatically reduced their licensing costs.
“Everyone at Living Proof has said that SparkLayer is easy to use and looks beautiful, and they love having all this information at their fingertips. It was very time-consuming having to manually do things before, and it’s reduced the opportunity for error as there is less manual input needed." ~ Sarah Sorrentino, Sales Operations Manager
Explore more
To learn more about Living Proof, their product range, and the story of their brand, visit their website.
To see how SparkLayer works with Shopify, you can explore via the links below: