Fastener Focus: Hillman
As Hillman continues to expand its product portfolio, fasteners remain its top-selling category.
The company’s namesake brand, Hillman, is recognized by the iconic green box and stands as the leader in the fastener category. The Deck Plus and Power Pro brands have set the pace for cutting-edge fastener innovation and leading consumer trends.
For its success, the company points to its relentless pursuit of solving unmet consumer needs through innovation, which has led to significantly expanded engineering capabilities and an embracing of advanced technologies.
One of the company’s recent advances in technology and innovation can be found inside the store environment: smartPart.
A long-standing challenge in retail is helping consumers identify the exact fastener they need, with or without assistance from store associates. For years, various technologies have attempted to solve this issue, but none have truly succeeded until now.
In partnership with Skubot Scanning Technology, Hillman developed smartPart, a revolutionary 3D scanning system designed to identify fasteners and similar hard-to-find parts. In addition to identifying new parts, the system can work on bent, broken and rusted parts. The system works by importing fastener CAD models and specifications into a cloud-based database, creating a unique "fingerprint" for each part.
Customers can scan their fastener at the in-aisle retail display using their smartphone, and smartPart will match it to the database, identifying the exact product and its location in the store. The store display provides a QR code to launch the web-based application. The system also suggests alternative and premium options when available.
In addition, smartPart features a search function that allows users to browse the store’s inventory for the fastener they need. This technology not only saves customers time and frustration but also assists store associates, particularly those who may not have an extensive knowledge of fasteners.
