Digital transformation for builders merchants
Digital transformation is an overused phrase, but for a builders merchant it means something concrete: selling around the clock, seeing stock and margin clearly across branches, and freeing your counter team from work a machine can do. Here is what it looks like in practice and where to start.
What transformation actually means for a merchant
For a builders merchant, digital transformation is not about buzzwords or ripping everything out. It is about closing the gaps where the business loses time and money: enquiries that go unanswered after hours, quotes that never get chased, stock that is hard to see across branches, and a counter team stretched thin doing tasks that could be automated. Transformation is the steady work of removing those gaps one by one.
It usually rests on three foundations. A capable system of record, such as a modern ERP, so your data is clean and live. A way to trade online that respects trade pricing and accounts. And a layer of automation and AI that handles routine enquiries and follow up so your people can focus on the trade in front of them. Done in that order, each step makes the next one worth more.
Where merchants see the biggest gains
Answering out of hours
Builders plan jobs in the evening. An enquiry answered at nine at night is a sale your competitor did not catch.
Live stock and pricing
When every branch and channel sees the same live data, you stop losing orders to stockouts and pricing errors.
Quote follow up
Most quotes go quiet. Automated, timely follow up turns more of them into orders without extra staff.
Trade counter speed
Self service and automation at the counter cut queues, so busy periods no longer cost you walk outs.
Online trade sales
A trade aware webshop lets loyal customers reorder at any hour without tying up a member of staff.
Freeing your people
Automating the routine lets experienced staff spend time where they add the most value, on the trade relationship.
Where OptiFlow fits
You do not need to do everything at once, and you do not need to finish a big ERP project before you see a return. Otis, our agentic AI sales agent, sits on top of the system you already run, reads your live product, price and stock, and answers trade enquiries around the clock across your website, chat and messaging. Otis Depot brings the same self service idea to the trade counter itself. Both work alongside your existing systems rather than replacing them, so you can start small and grow.
Common questions
Where should a merchant start with transformation?
Start where you are visibly losing money, usually unanswered out of hours enquiries and un chased quotes, because those pay back fastest and do not require a full system change.
Do we need a new ERP first?
Not necessarily. Clean live data helps, but tools like Otis sit on top of whatever system you run today, so you can improve sales before or alongside any ERP work.
Will automation replace our counter staff?
No. It removes routine work so your experienced people can spend more time on the trade relationships that actually win repeat business.
How quickly can we see a result?
Adding an AI sales layer can start catching enquiries within days, long before any larger transformation project is complete.
More from Otis
Start with the gap that costs you most
Talk to us about adding an AI sales agent on top of your current systems, and grow from there.