Returned goods can hurt productivity, reduce profitability, and damage customer and supplier relationships. No wonder most distributors focus on reducing them – but they do it the wrong way!
There is a way to get over the widely recognized “small-order” issue in distribution in a truly actionable way. Establishing and monitoring Minimum Order Quantities requires just small changes once the right building blocks are in place.
Many distributors have spent time creating a value proposition their companies rally around, but salespeople often stumble when it comes time to sell that value to prospects. Your company’s value is more than “better pricing” or “great customer service.” Instead, selling value involves a focus on the benefits for the customer.
If you hide so well – in your office or among your own employees – that your employees can’t recognize you, then you are not prominent in your own company and you aren’t a leader.
Distributors hate returns. In addition to refunding the sale, they often have to liquidate the product and deal with the administrative hassles ranging from the customer to the supplier.
Distributors know that any digital initiative requires a great product database. Even after all these years, defining the requirements, nailing down the process, choosing the right technology and maintaining a product database is a daunting task.
This is a look into the future of wholesale distribution. Join us as we discuss how disruptors will drive consolidation as distributors pool resources to protect and grow market share.
If you’re a distributor, keep an eye on White Cap, which – thanks to the help of CD&R and The Sterling Group – is modeling one of the only viable paths to a successful future.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just “advanced technology” – it’s a learning technology that improves on its own without human intervention. AI relies on big pools of data that are fed into machine learning algorithms (math formulas) to continually make decisions, evaluate their own performance and get better over time.
Most customers think they buy from you more often than they do in real life. Similarly, customers think they understand everything they need to know about your company.