CenterStone Technologies announced that Petzl, with North American operations based in Clearfield, Utah, is now “live” for specialty retailers on the company’s iVendix software application. iVendix provides a business-to-business (B2B) online ordering system for Petzl’s retail dealers and sales reps.

Petzl dealers in North America are now able to place their pre-season orders and all their re-orders by logging on at www.petzldealer.com. Dealers and sales reps will also be able to check on the availability of product as well as track and monitor the status of their orders on iVendix since it is accessible 24/7 via the Web.

“CenterStone provides a world-wide B2B e-commerce solution that is currently used by thousands of specialty retailers and sales reps in the outdoor industry, and therefore many of our dealers are already familiar with their solution,” according to Roody Rasmussen, president of Petzl's North American business. “In order for Petzl to continue to provide excellent customer service to our valued specialty retail customers, and to provide the convenience of 24/7 access to our products, the company realized that it needed a field-tested online solution. We pride ourselves in designing and producing innovative and high quality products, and we also want to ensure that our business systems match that brand promise. Great tools are a pleasure to use–in the mountains or in the office.”

“Specialty retailers all face the same challenges: balancing their back-office operations with the requirement to provide superior customer service at the retail storefront. And now that Petzl is providing an easy-to-use yet sophisticated retail support tool, our dealers will be able to spend more time during the day on the shop floor with their customers and will still be able to check availability and order Petzl products 24/7. Quality time with customers is also important because of the products we sell and our tradition of product education,” added Rasmussen.

“We speak with specialty retailers every day, and an enormous percentage of dealers in the outdoor recreation industry are very vocal about wanting to conduct business on a 24/7 basis at their convenience, and one of the top brands that they have been requesting on our iVendix solution is Petzl,” said Tom Detmer, chief executive officer of CenterStone Technologies. “It is a very positive reflection on the senior management team of Petzl that they pay such close attention to their dealers. We are particularly excited that Petzl has selected CenterStone to handle their online B2B e-commerce business in Europe as well as North America. Based upon our success with other brands in the outdoor retail industry, we have no doubt that CenterStone will contribute to the ongoing growth of the Petzl business.”

“According to our most recent retail survey results, 54% of retailers spend more with vendors who have online ordering systems like CenterStone’s, and they spend, on average, 13 percent more with these vendors. Our iVendix solution delivers a large and extensive user community that is continuing to grow at a very rapid pace. And it is the adoption rate by this user community that will drive the ROI for Petzl and will help them continue to grow their brand in the specialty retail channel,” Detmer added.