API Enablement
Venkel selected Orbweaver to enable an application program interface (API) for their customers. The primary goal was to reduce friction throughout the procurement cycle, improving customers’ ability to see real-time pricing and inventory, and enabling them to purchase materials more quickly.
Venkel’s custom solution, built upon Orbweaver’s universal data integration and translation platform, Connect, allows suppliers to facilitate API procurement using their existing data.
Connect provides all of Venkel’s API interfaces with security, scalability, and long-term fiscal peace of mind.
Venkel’s e-commerce platform currently holds over 700,000 electronic part numbers including resistors, capacitors, and LEDs. Prior to working with Orbweaver, Venkel struggled with maintaining their customer-facing platform. Their previous system required heavy internal support and would frequently stall or break down, most often during high demand hours. Instead of focusing on important strategic initiatives, key stakeholders at Venkel were forced to fix business-critical functions at inopportune times.
This maintenance was particularly costly for the lean workforce, as “urgent” fixes often were both time and labor intensive. Venkel recognized that an unreliable system requiring server maintenance around the clock was untenable for maintaining and growing their global business.
Furthermore, given the complexity of part intake and data organization, Venkel was manually reviewing and processing hundreds to thousands of requests. Other industry players likewise experience the strain of data deluge.
When the backlog of manual processes continues to grow, businesses become stuck in a constant cycle of catch-up instead of cultivating new partnerships and scaling their business. Venkel recognized its Achilles heel, and decided to turn to real-time data connectivity and sales automation via a centralized solution for greater success.
“After considering several other companies, we were impressed with Orbweaver’s comprehensive understanding of our industry. They immediately spoke our language and knew the complex nature of the part data we were managing manually. They listened to our problems and provided solutions to automate key processes which ultimately had a direct impact on our business. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Orbweaver to further advance our customer-facing technology.”
Anand Venkatrao, Director of Business Development
Venkel
Venkel needed a flexible and reliable platform that could perform multiple functions:
- Provide an excellent customer experience for parts lookup and purchase
- Efficiently manage order and part requests
- Real-time part information updates
- Support extremely high-volume transactions (millions of API queries monthly)
- Maintain secure connectivity to customers and ensure reliability of data accuracy
- Eliminate expensive service and maintenance bills
A Transformative Partnership
Venkel, using the Orbweaver Connect API solution, rolled out two significant changes: part lookup and PO execution. Both of these were directly integrated into Venkel’s existing ERP solution so no business process changes were required for order integration.
Part Lookup
This functionality enables customers to access their most competitive pricing along with existing stock position and supporting product information for any part. The API takes a part number and quantity, returning all supporting information directly from Venkel’s system in real time.
Purchase Order (PO) Execution
After gathering the part information, the user applies that information to execute a PO automatically. The PO API takes in 1- n lines, each with a part number, quantity, and requested delivery date. It also allows for seamless credit card orders, ship and debit orders, and contract or open PO number orders.
The Orbweaver Platform streamlines and automates key processes, including delivery of real-time part information, pricing, and inventory through a direct API.
Orbweaver Connect improves a customer’s ability to review and bulk order necessary components directly via API. Orbweaver’s partnership had a direct impact on Venkel’s business and freed up significant and valuable time for employees to focus on strategy instead of data entry and maintenance.
Unparalleled Customer Support
With Orbweaver, Venkel found a partner that has a comprehensive understanding of the electronics manufacturing industry. Orbweaver’s dedication to successful implementation, integration and optimization of their solution has Venkel’s business needs in mind, demonstrated by their customer success. Ultimately, the scalability of the Orbweaver Platform met and exceeded Venkel’s immediate needs, and the cloud-based, self-updating, integration-based solution continues to grow with their future goals and initiatives. Venkel and Orbweaver remain strategic partners, improving business models and processes while building new long-term strategies and solutions to increase productivity.
