Driving repeat purchases with predictive procurement in food wholesale

As the former head of business development at KASTNER, Maximilian explored new business opportunities and shaped the company's digital strategy. He led projects that brought new features to KASTNER's online shop, streamlining B2B procurement and boosting its technological leadership. Today, he works as an independent eCommerce consultant and co-founder of an AI-based supply chain and trading platform.

KASTNER is one of Austria's leading food wholesalers, offering over 60,000 products online to nearly 10,000 B2B customers. Founded in 1828, this family-owned company employs around 1,000 people. With an annual turnover of 290 million euros, KASTNER isn’t the largest in the industry but competes well with the big players. Its edge comes from its commitment to innovation and digital technologies, which it adopts and tests faster than its competitors. Learn more about KASTNER.

Solution

To help customers quickly find the right products, the eCommerce team integrated FactFinder's product discovery solution. This had an immediate impact on the B2B procurement process and strengthened customer loyalty: "Our customers immediately found many more products. Many started shopping almost exclusively with our system because it is convenient and supports them in their daily work," says Maximilian.

To facilitate repeat purchases and increase the shopping cart value, KASTNER introduced FactFinder's Predictive Basket. This patented solution uses machine learning algorithms to generate daily, highly relevant product suggestions. Maximilian explains, "The nice thing about this solution is that it is displayed in a simple slider. It is something unobtrusive, something that customers are already familiar with. The customer shouldn't see the intelligence and the complex algorithms behind it at all."

In the background, the AI analyzes individual order patterns, general shopping behavior and seasonal cycles. In the suggestion list, buyers find most of their current needs and can click on the products they want to reorder – without searching or forgetting anything.

Results

Since integrating FactFinder, customers have come to appreciate the improved search and Predictive Basket as unique features of KASTNER. Maximilian once received a call from a customer who praised the Predictive Basket, comparing it to an additional employee who reminds her to order forgotten products.

Besides enhancing customer loyalty, the Predictive Basket also boosts key eCommerce metrics like cart value. On average, users of this tool buy 2.3 more products. "These aren't new products or cross-sell items. Customers would have needed them anyway - they just forgot to order them," says Maximilian.

He further explains that the usage rate of the Predictive Basket caught up with the "Essentials List" within a few months. Now, the Predictive Basket is used significantly more often. "It has developed fantastically, and people have gotten used to it. Our customers trust the Predictive Basket more than their own order history."

There has also been a noticeable reduction in the workload for customer service, which is the first point of contact when buyers forget something in their order. "We have significantly fewer reorder requests," says Maximilian. "We receive far fewer calls from customers because the Predictive Basket simply reminds them of what they forgot. This saves us logistics costs, reduces internal sales costs and results in much happier customers."

By optimizing the B2B procurement process with FactFinder's solutions, KASTNER has improved repeat purchases and created a seamless shopping experience that drives customer satisfaction and loyalty.