Author: Helen de Souza, Marketing Manager at Maropost
Running a successful ecommerce business in a niche industry isn’t easy — especially when you’re managing complex products, wholesale customers, and in-person sales all at once.
I sat down with Bruce Goldman, Owner of Whitsunday Discount Marine, to talk about how he’s built a growing B2B and B2C business using Neto by Maropost, and what it really takes to run an efficient operation.
Q: Bruce, can you tell us a bit about your business and what you sell?
Bruce:
We’re a marine retailer, so we sell a wide range of products — everything from stainless steel fittings and marine plumbing through to catamaran trampolines and bulk equipment.
We sell to both direct customers and businesses — marinas, chandlery shops, charter companies — so it’s a mix of B2C and B2B.
A lot of the products are quite specific. Customers aren’t just browsing — they’re looking for something that needs to work with something else.
Q: What were some of the challenges you faced early on?
Bruce:
The biggest challenge is managing complexity.
In the marine industry, if you sell the wrong part, it won’t work — it’s that simple. So you need to be able to manage product variations, compatibility, and all those details properly.
We also needed to support both wholesale and retail customers, which behave very differently.
Q: What made you choose Neto?
Bruce:
I looked at Shopify and Magento, but what stood out with Neto was its flexibility.
You can build parent products, variations, and entire product trees — and it’s easy to manage. That was a big factor for me.
I also liked that I could make it my own, rather than being locked into something off the shelf.
Neto also has an Australian-based team, with a lot of them in Queensland, and they were very helpful. If they didn’t know something, they’d point you in the right direction.
Q: How do you use Neto day-to-day in your business?
Bruce:
It runs pretty much everything.
We use it for the website, managing products, handling orders, inventory — and also in the warehouse through POS.
We’ve got a physical warehouse where customers can come in and buy products directly, so POS is really important for us.
Q: You mentioned POS — how does that fit into your operations?
Bruce:
I love the POS because it’s simple.
I use it every day in the warehouse. If a customer walks in, I can look up products, pull up their account, and process everything straight away.
Up here, internet can drop out sometimes, so I keep the POS separate from the EFTPOS terminal. That way I can still keep things moving.
Q: Your product range is quite complex — how do you manage that?
Bruce:
That’s where Neto really helps.
You might have something like a boat fender with 20 variations depending on size and use. You can structure that properly and keep everything organised.
And then you’ve got products that look very similar — like stainless steel fittings — so you need a system that helps you tell them apart and manage them accurately.
Q: Do you use kitting in your business?
Bruce:
Yes, a lot.
We sell things like bilge pump kits, where it’s not just one product — it’s a combination of parts.
Neto lets me bundle those together, price them properly, and then when the order comes through, it breaks everything down for picking.
It prints every item on the delivery docket, so staff can tick them off. It reduces mistakes — it’s a no-brainer.
Q: How do you manage your warehouse and inventory?
Bruce:
Everything is labelled.
Every product has a label on the shelf, and larger items have barcodes and descriptions on them. I generate all of that through Neto.
When you’ve got close to a thousand products, you can’t rely on memory — the system has to do the heavy lifting.
Q: How has the business grown over time?
Bruce:
We’ve been growing at about 10% per year, and I haven’t had a year where we’ve gone backwards.
A lot of that comes down to having the right systems in place and being able to manage everything efficiently.
Q: What role does online play in your business today?
Bruce:
It’s a big part of it — about 40% of our revenue comes from online.
But it’s not just about direct sales. A lot of wholesale customers find us online first, then get in touch.
So the website is really important for generating leads as well.
Q: How do you track performance and profitability?
Bruce:
The reporting is very good.
I download the profit report every month and get a really accurate picture of how the business is performing. It gives me everything I need.
Q: What’s next for Whitsunday Discount Marine?
Bruce:
We’ll keep growing steadily.
I’m always looking to expand the product range — adding new lines and improving what we offer.
I’m happy growing at around 10% a year. It’s manageable, and it’s sustainable.
Q: Finally, how would you describe Neto?
Bruce:
It’s a bit like an iPhone — you get used to it, and it just works.
Final Thoughts
Whitsunday Discount Marine is a great example of how the right platform can support a growing, complex business — from managing detailed product catalogues to running efficient warehouse operations and serving both B2B and B2C customers.
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