Walter hopes that the cooperation will give it access to customer groups that are increasingly meeting their needs for cutting tools outside the traditional tool trade.

Change in procurement

The machining industry is facing a noticeable upheaval. Purchasing processes in companies are increasingly shifting to digital channels, while at the same time expectations are growing for simple, fast ordering processes in the B2B sector that are based on consumer experiences. Suppliers are therefore facing new market mechanisms.

Against this backdrop, Walter has deliberately opted for Sparepartsnow, which is considered a digital pioneer in the market and has consistently geared its procurement processes towards speed and user-friendliness. According to Walter, the platform serves tens of thousands of customers in Europe and offers round-the-clock access to more than five million immediately available spare parts.

New customer segments for both companies

Both companies expect to be able to tap into new customer segments through the collaboration. A central element of the cooperation is the integration of the so-called Walter GPS directly on the Sparepartsnow homepage. This is a digital navigator designed to enable customers to find the right tool solution for their application with just a few clicks and order it immediately - from technical configuration to delivery, completely digitally.

Digital sales channels as a core competence

"We were specifically looking for a partner who sees digital sales channels as a core competence," explains Gianfranco Dell' Aquila, Head of Sales Region Germany at Walter. "Sparepartsnow has developed its entire platform infrastructure independently. We use this in-depth knowledge of digital customer behavior to offer our products where many customers are exclusively looking for them today: online - quickly and easily."

The platform also sees the cooperation as a strategic step. Dr. Christian Hoffart, CEO of Sparepartsnow, says: "Our platform is designed to radically simplify the procurement process for machine components. The integration of Walter tools offers our customers enormous added value. We don't just sell tools, we offer a complete digital solution for all workshop requirements and have won over the best-in-class supplier of cutting tools."