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Orgill, Inc. has announced it will be harnessing the latest in interactive meeting technology to make its upcoming e-Volution online buying event a more immersive and interactive experience for attendees.
Orgill is partnering with Zoom, the industry leader in online video communications, to integrate the company’s meeting technology into its e-Volution platform. Orgill announced earlier this year it would be hosting its first-ever e-Volution online buying event Aug. 24-Sept. 4.
“By partnering with Zoom and utilizing their state-of-the art technology within our e-Volution platform, we will be able to create efficient and seamless interactions between our customers, our sales representatives and vendors participating in the event,” says Boyden Moore, Orgill president and CEO. “We are very excited to offer this groundbreaking technology to enhance the online buying experience for both retailers and vendors.”
The combination of these two powerful technology platforms will allow retailers to see calendar availability for vendors, schedule meetings and initiate Zoom video conferences all within the e-Volution framework.
“Our systems will completely manage the availability of all the participants, and their respective time zones, and allow retailers to easily schedule time with Orgill vendors during the two-week event window,” says Marc Hamer, Orgill executive vice president and chief digital information officer. “The dealers will also have the option of including their Orgill sales representative in any of the meetings they schedule allowing them to have a completely interactive experience.”
Because the Zoom software will be integrated into the e-Volution platform, Hamer adds that participants will be able to use the video conferencing capabilities even if they do not have their own Zoom account.
“It’s important that when we look at implementing a technology into anything we do that it enhances the overall experience but it is also important that it adds to the user experience and that it is intuitive,” says Hamer. “We worked very closely with Zoom to integrate their unique capabilities into our own systems to ensure that it is easy to use and adds to the overall functionality of the event.”
Greg Stine, Orgill executive vice president of marketing and communications, adds that the company’s partnership with Zoom also has the potential to add greater communications capabilities outside of buying events.
“Integrating this into our e-Volution platform is just the first step to how we might be able to utilize this technology that has become more and more a standard operating procedure for businesses today,” Stine says. “The functionality it provides us for the online buying experience is just a starting point for how we might be able to integrate it into other areas of the business.”
Orgill first announced plans to host its first-ever e-Volution online buying event in June. The decision to launch the online event came as the distributor announced plans to cancel its Fall Buying Market because of concerns over COVID-19 and related travel and social distancing issues.
Through the e-Volution platform, retailers will be able easily browse through a variety of buying opportunities typically found during Orgill’s live Dealer Markets, including: warehouse item and pallet specials, Door Buster Booking, drop-ship event specials from Orgill vendors and a Fall Spotlight area with a range of other buying and booking opportunities.
Additionally, retailers will also be able to visit vendor’s “online booths” and even set appointments with vendors to discuss their product lines, product trends and more, according to Jeff Curler, Orgill’s senior vice president of purchasing.
