Carrier Enterprise (CE), now generates more than 60 per cent of its revenue through digital channels, a milestone reached 12 years after the HVAC distributor decided its contractors deserved the same buying experience as consumer e-commerce shoppers.
CE recognised early that consumer e-commerce was reshaping how B2B customers expected to buy and chose to lead in HVAC distribution, not follow.
CE's transformation began with an observation: consumer e-commerce had reset what contractors expected from a buying experience. Contractors wanted what they had when they bought everything else—24/7 365 days out of the year, instant access on their phone, with full visibility into price and stock.
As an example, when Amazon offered Prime two-hour delivery, we too partnered with a carrier and launched our own version, Delivery Express, same-day delivery to a job site, selected during checkout.
Rather than view this as an IT or e-commerce department initiative, CE's leadership team treated digital transformation as a top-down company-wide effort from day one.
CE's approach centred on three fundamental pillars of change: People, Technology, and Process.
People: The company identified and developed people who knew CE's products, operations, and customers to lead the effort. Rather than seeking e-commerce platform experts, CE selected a system solutions provider who had the technical skills to build it, and prioritised people who understood the business.
A customer service group was formed, dedicated to the e-commerce channel to ensure six-second responses to live chat requests and efficient sourcing of backorders.
Technology: CE built its technology foundation starting with a Product Information Management (PIM) platform for organising product data and an e-commerce platform tailored to HVAC distribution. AI tools now sharpen site search and surface product and inventory information faster.
Process: E-commerce requirements streamlined CE's internal processes across registration, inventory management, and order fulfillment, reducing manual steps and increasing operational efficiency.
CE's digital transformation reflects a broader organisational commitment: to serve customers not just with products, but with solutions, convenience, and expertise.
Intentionally designed for customer convenience and an intuitive experience, CE's e-commerce platform offers 24/7 access and features in English, Spanish and French.
It provides up-to-the-minute details on product availability, customer-specific pricing, order history, and much more, whether accessing it from a desktop or mobile phone.
CE launched with a pilot program to gather feedback, and customers embraced the platform immediately where adoption happened naturally.
Customer input drove the company to build HVAC specific features such as commercial, ductless, residential AHRI matched equipment, listed with all necessary accessories to complete an installation.
Quick lookup of equipment parts with visibility to superseded and substitutes were added to drive efficiency. Same-day two-hour delivery of equipment, parts and supplies to a jobsite can be scheduled right at Checkout.
CE strategically uses AI to enhance every aspect of the e-commerce experience. From AI algorithms that refine product searches to deliver more relevant results, to intelligent live chat that answers common questions instantly, and hands off to human experts for complex issues.