The Plastic People: Cut-to-size pricing and live ERP data on BigCommerceThe Plastic People: Cut-to-size pricing and live ERP data on BigCommerce

Case study · The Plastic People

Cut-to-size pricing and live ERP data on BigCommerce.

A B2B and B2C BigCommerce store for The Plastic People, integrated in real time with its Merlin ERP, with a cut-to-size price calculator and a custom delivery date app.

Delivered by Agency51, the PureNet Group’s BigCommerce agency.

The challenge

Since 1969 The Plastic People have made plastic parts, components and products for customers in many industries. Their digital plans were held back by a legacy Kentico website that couldn’t support ecommerce: even simple changes were hard, and important data was locked away.

Agency51 recommended BigCommerce. The new store had to serve B2B and B2C customers, integrate with the Merlin ERP so the back office stayed the single source of truth, add bespoke features for their products, and make the most of BigCommerce’s apps.

The Plastic People’s home page on a laptop

The Plastic People

The project

A thorough discovery phase with the client set out exactly what the store needed to do. Then Agency51 built:

  • Two-way Merlin ERP integration, sharing stock, account information and product data in real time
  • Cut-to-size pricing: a calculator where customers choose a shape, size and measurements and see the price change, using Agency51’s middleware and the BigCommerce APIs. Customers can upload technical drawings for complex jobs, which are stored with the order for the workshop.
  • A custom delivery app that recalculates lead times whenever something goes in the basket, offers a choice of delivery dates and sends the choice back to Merlin, plus click and collect

Plastic sheet products and the size calculator on a laptop

The results

The new store made an immediate difference: conversion is up 60%, orders 9% and customer engagement 28%. Next, The Plastic People plan to use more of the platform to add features and automate more processes, for greater back-office efficiency and further sales growth.

“Working with Agency51 on our new BigCommerce site has been an excellent experience. The platform they delivered has transformed how The Plastic People operates online, giving us the tools to showcase our products effectively, engage customers more creatively, and drive real digital growth. Their expertise and understanding of our business made the entire process smooth and collaborative.”

Mark Carter, Managing Director, The Plastic People