Independent alternatives to third-party marketplaces like Amazon are emerging, and some distributors have found success selling through them. This has many wondering if they should build their own marketplaces.
Marketplaces
The Difference Between Alibaba and Amazon: How Alibaba’s B2B Platform Works for Distributors
John Caplan talks about how Alibaba’s customer-focused business model may be a better digital marketplace for U.S. distributors than Amazon Business.
How to Fend Off Amazon with AI Strategies of Your Own
Amazon Business is projected to make $52 billion in sales by 2023. For distributors to fend off this AI-powered giant, they’ll need to understand and adopt AI strategies of their own.
Why Some Distribution Verticals Are More Vulnerable to Disruption
To understand how vulnerable a distribution vertical is to disruption, look at the relationship between the product category’s complexity and the ability for the distributor to deliver that product using common small-package carriers.
The 3 Ingredients You Need to Build a Successful Marketplace
Marketplaces are among the most successful business models of the modern era. From Amazon to Google to Grainger’s Zoro, there’s clearly good money in the marketplace.
HD Supply White Cap-Construction Supply Group Deal is a $4B Look into the Future of Distribution
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.
Wholesale Change Show: Should You Build Your Own Marketplace? (July 22, 2020)
The Wholesale Change crew will talk about how, why and if you should build your own marketplace to fight back.
Why Distributors Can’t Innovate – and How You Can Start
Distributors are learning how to build cultures that drive innovation; don’t wait. The disruptors are at the gate and the battle for distribution supremacy will likely go to the swift and not the strong.
Is ‘Fulfillment by Amazon’ the Beginning of the End for Distributors?
Distributors worry that Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is assuming key distributor roles and erasing them from the equation. The service picks, packs, ships and even manages returns for retailers and distributors, as well as holds inventory in Amazon fulfillment centers.
Wholesale Change Show: Does “Fulfillment by Amazon” Mean the Death of Distributors? (June 24, 2020)
If Amazon Business owns the customer, warehouses your products, does the picking, packing and shipping and handles the entire transaction – why do they need you?