A proven framework for manufacturers and distributors to turn data into insights to improve e-commerce outcomes
Every click, search, and purchase leaves an important trail of information. But for many distributors, crucial data is scattered across disconnected systems, from eCommerce platforms and ERP databases to emails and sales notes. This creates a frustrating paradox in which distributors are data “rich” but poor when it comes to insights they can act on.
Gerrie Electric is one of Canada’s largest independent electrical distributors. Founded in 1957, the third-generation, family-owned company operates 24 locations across Ontario, employs more than 400 people, and generates over $200 million in annual sales.
Early in its e-commerce journey, Gerrie Electric needed a strategy to transform a vast amount of raw data into useful insights. In partnership with Optimizely, Gerrie Electric built a tech stack that does just that.
During a popular session at the AD 2025 Functional Success Summit, Darko Milivojevic, eCommerce Director for Gerrie Electric, and Trevor Pope, Senior Director of Solution Architecture for Optimizely, explained how distributors can follow Gerrie Electric’s example and use strategic data insights to empower digital and marketing leaders. Basically, they’ve created a proven, pragmatic process to help distributors:
● Make better decisions
● Create personalized offers and promotions
● Strengthen customer relationships
A playbook any distributor can use
Gerrie Electric has already achieved remarkable progress. But the approach presented at this year’s AD Summit can be used by any distributor willing to think strategically. As Trevor Pope says:
“Start now. Start small. Test every step.”
Step 1: Objectives First
Gerrie Electric kicks off every data initiative with one basic question. What business problem are we trying to solve?
It might be a goal as specific as reducing customer churn in a high-value segment. Or it could be finding ways to improve the ROI of seasonal promotions. Whatever the goal, begin with the business need, not a search for the “right” technology.
It’s crucial to prioritize the projects most likely to generate strong business impacts. For Gerrie Electric, prioritization is an important safeguard to prevent data sprawl. As Darko Milivojevic says, “If we can’t connect a data project to a specific outcome, we don’t pursue it. That keeps us from drowning in a sea of information that doesn’t move the needle.”
Step 2: Collect the Right Data
Gerrie Electric believes in starting with a clean “source of truth”. Given their giant catalogs and thousands of customers, Gerrie Electric mandates that every product listing, from SKUs and UPCs to rich media, is consistent and complete. This helps them build a foundation of good data, which is then integrated with behavioral data from Google Analytics, Optimizely, and the company’s ERP system.
Now the Gerrie Electric team understands far more than just what customers buy. They know why they shop, what devices they use, where they come from, and other key behaviors.
“It’s about connecting the whats, hows, and whys,” says Trevor Pope. “When you know them, you can be precise in your timing, your offer, and your message.”
Step 3: Add Qualitative and Complex Data
Quantitative metrics alone can’t explain why customers behave the way they do. The team at Gerrie Electric uses tools to help reveal the full story:
● Heatmaps from tools like HotJar and Fullstory create a more complete picture of behavior.
● Microsoft Journeys helps map buyer behavior to show sequences of important actions.
● Surveys, pop-ups, and post-purchase emails provide qualitative data that adds context and meaning to data insights.
Together with Optimizely, these tools help identify friction points and streamline the buyer experience.
“With a robust, holistic view of the customer experience, we overcome barriers to conversion in ways that pay extraordinary dividends,” says Darko Milivojevic.
Step 4: Centralize and Enrich Data
When data is scattered across multiple systems, decisions are murky, and desirable actions are unclear. To combat this problem, Gerrie Electric recommends a centralized data warehouse like Optimizely Data Platform, Microsoft Fabric, Snowflake, or PowerBI. As a result, all critical information, from ERP sales data to website behavior logs, is now pulled into a single, unified environment.
From there, the team uses AI and Python-based models to clean, normalize, and enrich the data. With centralized, enriched data, Gerrie Electric can run powerful predictive models and deliver near real-time insights to forecast demand, detect churn risks, and spot emerging trends.
Step 5: Turn Insights into Action
Within Gerrie Electric’s eCommerce system, powerful AI models analyze purchase history and browsing behavior to suggest relevant products. They also time promotions around buying cycles to keep offers compelling without cutting into margins. Campaigns are tracked and refined continuously, so insights from one region or product feed into the next.
The results have been remarkable for the giant distributor:
● The team ran a targeted promotion for a customer segment who had browsed but never purchased a certain category. By timing the offer based on their buying patterns, conversion rates jumped by more than 20%.
● After launching its new AI-driven recommendation engine, the target group’s average order value increased in the first quarter by nearly 15%.
By connecting actionable data insights with the right business goals, Gerrie Electric creates powerfully targeted campaigns, personalize product recommendations, and optimize promotions. And Optimizely Configured Commerce is there, all the way to this important final step.
More on Gerrie Electric's Digital Transformation
Gerrie Electric’s digital transformation with Optimizely has delivered clear, measurable results across its business. With customer response times reduced to under an hour, increased year-over-year revenue, and growing adoption of self-service tools, the company has successfully streamlined operations while enhancing the customer journey.
How Optimizely Can Help
B2B commerce | A B2B commerce stack tailored to your needs — no developer-heavy setup, no technical roadblocks, just repeatable results and revenue growth.
Product and content recommendations | The premier personalization solution, purpose-built to help you build, scale, and refine real-time, hyper-relevant experiences.
Optimizely