Consumers are connected, informed, and empowered. They have unprecedented access to information, and to each other, and can partner with and purchase from anyone, anywhere, and at any time. They expect a unique customer experience and they want to do business THEIR way.
Wholesale distribution business models are being challenged
Industry lines are becoming more blurred as disruptors enter markets traditionally served by distributors. To stay relevant, Distributors need to provide valuable, memorable customer experiences and create new services and revenue streams. To accomplish this task, many distributors are trying to capitalize on the demand for more and new services in a hyper-connected world.
There is opportunity for innovators
Innovator or follower? Growing or stagnant? Digital predator or digital prey? For decades, distributors have thrived primarily on reliable existing customer relationships. Now? Simply breaking bulk and having great relationships is not enough. Industry leaders are using digital technology to create, deliver, and sustain new, meaningful, and profitable customer experiences.
Re-imagine the wholesale distribution business
Wholesale distributors must rethink their business processes and models while using their vast wealth of data to remain relevant, leapfrog competitors, and stop disruptors in their tracks.
Leading distributors are reinventing themselves into information-centric companies through:
- Value-adding services that create new revenue sources
- Real-time distribution. Perhaps the use of drones or Uber drivers to deliver within hours
- Infinite inventory by using 3D printing in-house or at a customer’s location
Business processes are being modernized and digitized to:
- Transform marketing, personalization, and customer loyalty with detail-driven customer engagement and segmentation
- React to trends in real time based on up-to-the-minute insight gleaned from predictive analytics
- Facilitate supplier collaboration to address operational inefficiencies, negotiate the best deals, and enable touch-less, automated processing
Driving digital transformation for wholesale distribution
To stay competitive, Wholesale Distributors should be looking to interconnect all aspects of their value chain to drive business outcomes in real time. Now, more than ever, it is important to align the customer experience with supplier collaboration, core business processes, workforce engagement, and the Internet of Things. What does that mean for a digital Wholesale Distributor? Increased customer loyalty, higher productivity, and new revenue streams.
