Not everyone with a long knife is a chef, but a good knife is undoubtedly one of the most important tools of a good chef. K. Isler AG supplies such and many other tools for the fine kitchen – or also for the quality butcher, through schlaraffenland.shop.
K. Isler AG, with Balz Zehnder as the fifth-generation CEO and owner, has been operating in Winterthur since 1885. Originally specialized in the production of sharpening steels, the company now offers a wide range of products for the meat and food industry. K. Isler AG primarily sells consumables, goods for daily use, and some small machines. With approximately 1300 items in their inventory available on both HOGASHOP and their own shop, the company supplies butcheries, industrial firms, wholesalers, and individual customers. Through various representations, they have established a dealer network throughout Switzerland.
What is Schlaraffenland, and what are its main advantages?
Schlaraffenland is a purchasing platform for butcheries. With this tool, you can place orders with various suppliers and not worry about minimum order values or postage costs. Orders from a shopping cart are then transmitted via HOGASHOP to individual suppliers. Schlaraffenland consolidates the ordered goods from individual suppliers on the central platform, resulting in a single delivery for the customer.
How has your daily work improved since you started working with HOGASHOP/Schlaraffenland?
We've been able to integrate a fixed process into our operations. One of our team members handles this process: on Mondays, they compile the collected Schlaraffenland orders, pick, pack, and send them to the platform. This means that instead of dealing with 10-15 individual packages throughout the week, we can focus on Schlaraffenland once a week. Additionally, we don't have to pay postage 15 times; we pack everything onto one pallet, wrap it up, and ship it.
How do you maintain customer relationships even when they order online?
We regularly send out newsletters. We have general company newsletters that also go to Schlaraffenland customers, and occasionally we send out a Schlaraffenland-specific newsletter with the Schlaraffenland logo in the header. We use this to promote new products and special offers within Schlaraffenland.
We don't have a traditional field sales team that visits customers. This is due to our company structure, which includes a dealer network and various other groups. Consequently, I don't have someone I could assign to visit all Schlaraffenland customers, for instance, if they encounter a problem. Instead, I take the opportunity for a brief visit when someone faces an issue.
What is your special tip for customers or other suppliers regarding HOGASHOP/Schlaraffenland?
For suppliers: Data quality and efficient management are crucial. Those who have control over this can easily handle larger product catalogs. At HOGASHOP, we don't yet have an automated interface. I can download our product catalog as an Excel file from our ERP and then import it back into HOGASHOP. This process works seamlessly.
For customers, my tip would be to order as much as possible from one place, such as Schlaraffenland. If, in the end, everything can be ordered there, it saves time and adds value. Of course, even if fifteen out of twenty suppliers can be covered through HOGASHOP, it's already a significant gain.
Are you interested in using HOGASHOP or Schlaraffenland as an ordering solution in your business? You can create a free account through our registration link.
Are you a supplier interested in offering your webshop to customers on a platform? Contact our sales team for a non-binding consultation or register directly through our website.
