Customer case: Bakeronline

Customer case: Bakeronline

Buying fresh croissants, bread or pastries without having to queue: thanks to the Belgian company Bakkersonline this is the new reality for the modern and digitised consumer.

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Founded in 2012, Bakkersonline is part of Localtomorrow NV. The idea originated in his student dormitory, and the company was founded during his studies in commercial sciences at the UGent: Maxim Sergeant set up his company Bakkersonline. He was named Ghent's student entrepreneur of the year in 2015 with the groundbreaking concept. Bakkersonline proved so successful that, due to its ever-growing international character, the e-commerce venture is now also known as Bakeronline.

And the growth of the progressive Bakeronline did not stop there. In 2018, Bakeronline joined forces with Puratos, the international producer of semi-finished products and raw materials for the bakery, pastry and chocolate sectors. With this collaboration, Bakeronline quickly surpassed its start-up phase and transformed into a successful scale-up. This has set the tone for the digital transformation of bakers, patissiers and chocolatiers. With the tool, they can shape their own business both online and in-store.

A special proposition: e-commerce for local bakers

With the rapid and increasing digitisation, both B2B and B2C entrepreneurs are in command: they have complete control over the way they do business online. And especially in times of COVID-19, this means that e-commerce entrepreneurs see and seize opportunities. Now more than ever, standing still means actually declining. Local entrepreneurs must keep up with the changes to keep their businesses successful.

 

 

Due to Maxim's entrepreneurial mentality, other entrepreneurs can switch quickly and, despite the coronavirus, respond strategically to online consumer needs. Maxim does this by providing a digital platform - a customised e-commerce tool - where local bakers can market their products online. ''With Bakeronline, I want to help local bakers digitise their business,'' says Maxim, CEO of Localtomorrow. "It's all about the bakers and their products, making Bakeronline's proposition unique."

 

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PAY: for all (payment) markets

Bakeronline's reach is unprecedented: the e-commerce player is now active on a global scale. Local bakers use Bakeronline not just in Europe but also internationally. Their business model is highly successful because of the focus on personalised online webshops. It allows local bakers to sell their products in their webshop, designed in their house style.

An e-commerce tech giant like Bakeronline needs a partner to manage the back-end payment processes. "At the front-end, I have more than enough work to do," Maxim laughs. "It's so great when payments run seamlessly through an optimal and well-functioning platform. I could not imagine a better match than with PAY. as our current Payment Service Provider and partner. Things often went amiss with our previous payment partner. Both the system and the technology didn't work properly and were unstable. As a result, consumers frequently could not pay online, and we faced problems when the money had to be transferred directly to the bakers. The move to PAY. has therefore been a world of difference. PAY. is highly advanced in terms of technology. The transaction costs are competitive, and the communication is top-notch! I feel that as a partner, I am unique and heard. PAY. thinks along in an entrepreneurial way to improve Bakeronline's business even more. Indeed, PAY. is a jack of all trades."

The best in this market? That's PAY! Joining PAY. gets you the benefits of a large PSP and the advantages of a tech scale-up. PAY. has most of the finest payment methods and the best technology to facilitate payments. I am mainly referring to the personal contact: the management and the team at PAY. are very young, innovative and agile. The advantages of PAY. are endless... !
 

e-commerce localtomorrowE-business with confidence

In e-commerce, the bar is set very high, but Bakeronline knows how to respond to customers' wishes effortlessly. And with a Payment Service Provider like PAY, that thinks out-of-the-box, ideas are implemented effortlessly and at high speed. This helps Bakeronline to be successful," says Maxim. As for out-of-the-box thinking, Maxim refers to the PAY. Alliance partnership where the best of both worlds is brought together. Benefits of such a partnership include offering payment options without license fees, reduced credit risk and cost savings on Risk & Compliance.

As a partner of PAY. Bakeronline is the merchant offering its services through the platform to sub merchants. Maxim: ''This is a great extra service that few Payment Service Providers offer. And one less thing to worry about. If I want to connect 100 new bakers to the platform in a week, I don't have to worry about anything. PAY. takes care of the entire KYC onboarding process: from screening to setting up compliant payment flows. By the end of the day, I get a clear overview of the status of all customers in the onboarding process. And if complications arise along the way? No problem at PAY. I can call my account manager Joost even at the weekend. There is always time for a chat, and no question is too much. PAY. is the best!¨

PAY. is very close with their partners - I speak from experience. A few years ago, there was a big launch for the payment of online orders via the Bancontact app. I also wanted to offer this option to the customers of Bakeronline. To make this possible short-term, PAY. drove to Bancontact's head office to ‘fix’ this bump.. and that was just a few days before the Christmas season! Thanks to PAY. Bakeronline was able to process payments via the Bancontact app. That is customer service at its best. PAY. walks through fire for you.

InternationaallocaltomorrowA taste for more: further internationalization

Bakeronline has quickly become the most used online e-commerce tool among local entrepreneurs. The company initially focused on bakers. However, since the platform has expanded its empire it has now added Slagersonline.be and (recently) Chocolatiersonline to their portfolio.

In addition to the expansion of other sectors, Bakeronline wants to take its international growth to an even higher level. Unfortunately, further internationalization does not come without a struggle. Customer’s online payment needs vary a lot, also worldwide. "But with PAY. that’s not a concern for Bakeronline either," says Maxim. "PAY. offers a wide range of payment methods. Our customers in Belgium mostly use Bancontact and Payconiq and our Dutch customers use iDEAL. In addition, Visa and Mastercard are often used in France and Spain. Finally, our German customers prefer to use SOFORT Banking and Giropay. PAY. really has the most popular payment methods for every online and offline consumer market."

Bakeronline has been able to introduce its e-commerce tool in many different countries, but the international dream continues. That is why Maxim wants to add several countries to his platform in the upcoming period while doing so with PAY: "We are ready to become the largest e-commerce business. We want people to be able to order online in every village. Not only with bakers, but also with other local entrepreneurs. With PAY. on our side we are going for it!''