Jerry Evans, Director of Business Information and Pricing, says the right pricing strategy and supporting eCommerce processes are the hidden backbone of the electrical industry. In his role, Jerry leads the development, management, and implementation of pricing strategies, processes, systems, and actions to ensure Gescan achieves optimal price realization. He also supports Gescan's growth by creating and managing business intelligence tools.  

Education, experience, and excellence.  

Jerry brings over 25 years of eCommerce experience in the electrical industry implementing full-service eCommerce marketing solutions. He graduated from Kwantlen Polytechnic University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance, followed by academic pursuits with the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada. Passionate about continuously learning, Jerry also holds multiple certificates from institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  

Jerry started his career by creating his own analytics and reporting tools for executive leaders in the electrical industry. As part of this role, he also designed, built, and implemented a web storefront that was quick, reliable, and had comprehensive product content. In 2015, Jerry progressed to eCommerce Designer and Pricing Architect, working with end-users to create responsive web designs based on customer needs. Before joining Gescan in April of 2021, he held the role of Pricing and Web Services Manager leading a team of pricing analysts to improve processes and documentation and grow profit. 

In 2018, Jerry and his team were honoured with a finalist nomination for best Website Redesign of the Year by eTail Canada, an award recognizing retailers' extraordinary achievements as eCommerce visionaries, emerging disruptors, Omni-champions and more.   

Big challenges make for big achievements. 

Jerry describes his award-nominated eCommerce platform, created for this previous employer, as one of his biggest challenges yet greatest accomplishments, "You're working with a limited budget and no staff, but you're eager to achieve and create something that will compete on the level of the big players. It took time and a lot of automation, but I was able to produce a product generating millions of dollars in sales that didn't have to be spent." 

Jerry continued, "I think being able to build a successful eCommerce platform from scratch, taking all the inputs from your peers and customizing it to your business's unique needs, is a big achievement. To create a blueprint, a base on which new changes can be enabled - that's my biggest achievement professionally."  

Jerry attributes his success to his drive to always deliver the best, "I will never give you something the way we've always done it. How do we make that improvement? That is the real job."   

Weathering COVID.  

Are we ready to handle economic emergencies? No company truly is, but we all learned new lessons during Covid. 

In preparation for the unforeseeable, Jerry and his team continually seek out operational advantages and anticipate barriers to overcome: "I always look at what can be tweaked a little more and how much money that saves or generates. Tomorrow's going to be another storm, and we better be ready for it. Let's make sure our back end is completely strong to be able to handle that storm. You don't want it to blindside you. That's how I always think."  

He continued, "I look at everything we do. For example, I look at the transactional cycle -- How expensive is that transaction? How many times do we have individuals touch it? How many times do we have individuals correct something? If we can cut down on the cost-to-serve model, we can get ready for that storm while also still being able to serve customers at that same level because the transaction through the website is minimal."   

Jerry concluded, "With something like consolidating billing, you are shrinking those channels to have less contact, less points and delivering to the customer what they want to see."  

Making customers' lives easier.  

Jerry said it is important to keep small vendors and their challenges in mind to find scalable yet profitable solutions. "Both my uncles are electricians, they have small companies, and I've seen what they have a hard time dealing with. So, I look at things that will save them money. Not so much on the products side of things, but in the cycle of their business," said Jerry.   

He explained, "For example, for GST and PST reporting, they have to go into each of their invoices, transpose the data, and then put that into the system. It's monotonous and annoying. The idea would be to build something into the system that shoots out a GST government-type form for them.”  

“It's fully scalable and cheap to do, but you don't realize how important that is to small contractors. It's those little things that can really help make the customers' lives easier. That's why we're here. That's what differentiates us," Jerry added. 

Outside of Gescan, Jerry loves to spend time outdoors with his family. "We have travelled across the country with our Tesla and my little teardrop trailer. I've done the West Coast Trail twice. I'd like to continue this journey," he said.