North American Steel
Complex catalogue with advanced filters, educational resources, and online ordering system
North American Steel is a manufacturer and supplier of steel components to create industrial shelves and racks. It is one of the biggest manufacturers of these products in Canada and the USA, and supplies components, systems, and parts to various industries. It is dedicated to supplying businesses and warehouses of all sizes.
- Complex online part catalogue
- Advanced product filters and categories
- Spider-web relationship between categories
- Detailed assembly breakdown
- Educational resources and tools
- Custom product selection
- Online ordering system
The problem with North American Steel was that they lacked a comprehensive website for customers to browse through. Visitors were usually lost, not knowing what parts they needed, where to go to order these parts, and how to use the parts they ordered. There was no online order system, no quotation requests, and no way to understand how products worked together.
- Complex catalogue of parts, assemblies, and systems
- Filtered paths leading from large-scale systems to individual components
- Search filters with special categories
- Complex “spiderweb” links between all categories and components
- Breakdown of assemblies and systems into parts through steps
- Online library of educational resources
- Organization of part listings by order of assembly
- Custom product selector
- Online ordering system
The system developed for North American Steel is one of the most complex out there. The goal was to craft complicated relationships between the products in their database. A part catalogue is available online with all their systems, assemblies, products, and components listed in an informative manner. The catalogue is constantly updated with new products and the relationships are being perfected every minute.
Each part and system listed on the catalogue is organized well. The company has a vast range of small components in their inventory. Each component can be used to create a larger assembly. Assemblies can be put together to build complex racks and systems. Each of these is filtered by categories like their application, system type, or even their industry and specific product. These filters are highly specialized and well-organized to make browsing that much easier for customers.
Each category, product, system, and assembly is linked intricately to each other. For example, a customer who selects their industry will see a list of systems relevant to their industry listed. They can select the system that matches their requirements, and will be led to a breakdown of the assemblies that make that system. They can then choose their assemblies and see their individual parts listed as well. Each category is linked to the other, so that customers can achieve the same goal regardless of where they start their search.
Each product page contains additional educational information about the part, system or assembly. This information is structured so that a customer can read through it and understand the applications. This knowledge can be used to make more informed buying decisions when they browse and order items. There is also a separate set of educational resources that can be used to learn more about each part, how it works within a complex system, and what each can be used for.
Customers can select the products they want while browsing and request a quote for the products they want. This can be done electronically, increasing the convenience for customers. They can provide their details, the type of business they operate, as well as a PDF of their required system. This allows North American Steel to browse and make suggestions for parts that would be better suited to a customer’s requirement, boosting their customer satisfaction significantly.
Each larger system is composed of smaller parts. The organization of the part listings on the North American Steel site showcase this order of assembly. Customers browsing product listings can see exactly what each system is made of, working their way down from a large system or up from individual parts. Each step leads up to the next step, providing an educational experience for each person on the site. significantly.
