In the pandemic, from the second week of April 2020, a private initiative promoted by the Easymax company, through its Ferrimax product, helped to maintain the business of the hardware store through a technological platform by connecting through the ferrimaxcerca site .ec with more than 3000 of these companies, across the country, with their clients.

Now, with an initial investment of approximately $60,000, Ferrimax has launched a new digital tool nationally, the Ferrimax App job for job for mobile phone orders, from hardware stores to hardware suppliers.

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Roberto De Stefano, CEO of Ferrimax, assured that the innovative tool corresponds to the mobility, immediacy and freedom currently required to supply, as well as a means to manage and consult online products and transaction information.

Ferrimaxcerca.ec was created to connect customers (end users) with local hardware stores, and the Ferrimax app has a similar spirit, which is to create value for hardware stores using technology, but with a different focus: creating a digital channel between suppliers and hardware stores, how would increase the simplicity, productivity and profitability of the entire hardware supply chain.

According to De Stefano, the application has been enabled since April 3 and to date there are already more than 1,000 hardware stores with applications authorized to place orders with one or more supplier companies. Ferrimaxcerca.ec continues to work and evolve, given that hardware stores need to innovate with this type of tool to avoid disappearing, ensuring that small (and not so small) local hardware stores face many typical SME problems : barriers of size, financial, knowledge and directives.

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For example, he explained, they have to choose the product categories and brands they sell, because they cannot wage a price war with bigger competitors.

Additionally, he lamented that although they all have a name, very few have a brand. “The brand guides the customer on what kind of services, what assortment of brands and products, payment methods, etc. he will find in that store. The customer can conclude what kind of shopping experience he will have in home center certain brands, but you can’t do that for sure at any local hardware store”. And he warned that ironworks, if they continue without introducing changes, will disappear, because other formats retail, Like home centers or the manufacturer’s own stores, continue to open stores.

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How does it work? Ironmongers can download the Ferrimax application from Google Play (it will also be available for IOS), register by entering their data in the application, select the companies they want to do business with, wait electronic mail register to start ordering now.

To use the web portal, you can go to www.ferrimax.com.ec in your browser.

Regarding the service providers available in the app, De Stefano assured that there is no limitation from the technology, but there is from the point of view of maintaining the value proposition, heor which requires supplier analysis and selectivity. For this reason, they plan to end up with two to three more suppliers in 2023, for a total of five or six. “During 2024, the inclusion of new suppliers will continue to be selective, as it is in our interest to ensure the success of the entire value chain, both the ironworks and the suppliers.”