COLONS Optimizes Product Search and Expands into New Markets with AI from valantic
The online wholesale specialist COLONS, focused on the HVAC trade, was seeking an efficient solution to enhance its product search capabilities while facilitating entry into international markets. In collaboration with valantic colleagues from Langenfeld, our AI-powered search solution was successfully integrated into the COLONS online shop after thorough evaluation. Thanks to this innovative solution, the company can now tap into new target markets without the need to translate product data.
The Company
COLONS
A large warehouse with tall blue and orange shelves labeled with section numbers, filled with boxes and pallets. The space is brightly lit and features a high metal roof.
COLONS is a specialized online wholesale distributor for the HVAC trade (sanitation, heating, air conditioning, roofing). The company operates under the umbrella of the Pietsch Group, which boasts over 100 years of expertise in wholesale trading.
With a product range exceeding 300,000 items, COLONS complements traditional wholesale operations with a modern online alternative. The online shop is exclusively tailored to professional tradespeople, thereby supporting the three-tier distribution system.
The user-friendly webshop enables professional customers to place efficient and fast orders for high-quality products at competitive prices. Purchase authorization is granted in real-time, eliminating cumbersome registration processes.
Challenge
The company required a simple, cost-effective method to expand its reach beyond German-speaking markets.
Consulting Approach
By leveraging valantic’s AI-powered search, users are enabled to search in their respective languages without the need for translating product data.
Customer Benefit and Solution
The existing search function was significantly enhanced, particularly to reduce zero-result searches. Additionally, it facilitates swift and simple internationalization and supports all major languages through AI.
The Challenge
In discussions with valantic colleagues in Langenfeld, it became clear that our AI-based search optimization was the perfect solution for COLONS. The company required a simple and cost-effective method to expand its reach beyond German-speaking markets.
Until now, COLONS had focused on professional customers within German-speaking regions, reaching the majority of its target audience. However, with increasing searches from customers in other countries and users whose native language is not German, the need for a multilingual search solution arose.
Solutions & Detailed Results
By implementing valantic’s AI-powered search, users can perform searches in their native languages without requiring product data translation. For COLONS, this provides a cost-efficient and rapidly deployable pathway to entering new markets and reaching new user groups.
The valantic team, considering COLONS’ specific requirements, implemented the following:
- Development of a proof-of-concept for AI search at COLONS to evaluate feasibility and benefits under realistic conditions within a defined timeframe, thereby minimizing project risks.
- Collaborative review of the results, followed by COLONS’ decision to integrate the AI solution into its search functionality.
- Implementation of the AI search into the existing COLONS shop, built on Spryker, and subsequent rollout.
A unique feature of our solution: Search results combine outputs from the AI knowledge base and the traditional search engine, ensuring reliable results for both free-text queries and technical identifiers such as article numbers.
Benefits for COLONS
The implementation of the AI-powered search provides the following advantages for COLONS:
- Significant enhancement of the existing search functionality, particularly in reducing zero-result searches.
- Capability for fast and seamless internationalization.
- Support for all common languages through AI integration in the search functionality.
- Automatic conversion of various units in any format, such as 1/2 inch vs. 1/2″.
