A phone-and-email supplier gets a working cart, then one system behind it

The Challenge

Customers who had never been able to order online

Anchor supplies wiping cloths, recycled rags and industrial absorbents from Detroit. Its customers ordered by email and phone because the website had no working cart.

Behind the counter, bills of lading and local delivery routes were handled by hand across an accounting package and spreadsheets, and product data had to be reconciled with supplier catalogs and accounting codes.

The business also runs related companies, each with its own way of doing the same things.

The Strategy

Start with ordering, then follow the evidence to the back office

PeakBeyond's first priority was simply letting customers buy: a modern store with supplier catalogs, the client's own pricing and product codes that map to accounting, plus a clean handover from the previous provider.

Launching it wasn't enough on its own — customers had to be told. We coached the team through its first email campaign rather than running it for them, so the capability stayed in-house.

A review of shipping and back-office automation then showed the real constraint was not the website but the manual back office, which pointed to one ERP across the companies. We evaluated partners and checked references, then paused website work so the rollout had the team's attention.

The Solution

A store first, then the systems behind it

Each step was sized for a small team with no technical staff of its own.

PeakBeyond worked with Anchor Wiping Cloth Company's internal team and specialized technology partners to:

• Wrote the transition plan from the previous provider, sourced and reviewed the build proposal and ran weekly reviews through launch
• Managed product codes, barcodes, pricing and supplier catalogs so the store matched the accounting system
• Fixed collection URLs and account sign-up after launch
• Coached the team through its first online-ordering announcement: customer segments, sender authentication, list clean-up, a follow-up to non-openers, a sign-up prompt and a first-order offer
• Reviewed shipping and back-office automation — freight, shipping and route planning, accounting with a CRM, and marketplace fulfillment options
• Evaluated ERP implementation partners, checked references, cleaned up product and customer data, and joined the gap-analysis and scope reviews

The Results

Customers order themselves, and the back office is next

The new store launched in 2024 with a working cart, supplier catalogs and the ability to charge orders to an account — so long-standing customers could stop phoning orders in.

The team ran its own launch campaign with PeakBeyond coaching rather than doing, and kept the skills afterward.

The ERP rollout is under way, starting with accounting, with the partner chosen on references and the data cleaned before it moves.

A traditional supplier now sells online — and is replacing the manual work behind it, in the right order.