Distributors with valuable customer data and digital capabilities are more appealing to would-be buyers, writes Kevin McGirl, president and co-founder of sales-i. "Until relatively recently, IT could often be viewed as a cost to be managed and controlled whenever two organizations came together, but now IT and digital capabilities can be a driving force behind a transaction," McGirl writes.
Headless e-commerce solutions can improve flexibility and customer experience compared with full-stack solutions, but it's possible to have too many functions and not be able to use them, industry experts say. Still, headless solutions are often the better long-term investment, says Vincent Mugavero of Carrier Enterprise, a joint venture between Carrier and Watsco.
Over half of almost 300 US supply chain and warehouse executives surveyed by Longbow Advantage have seen efficiency increase by 5% to 10% thanks to warehouse visibility technologies, while just under half have saved an additional 5% to 10% in operational costs. "[S]upply chain executives realize that the warehouse is central to the entire supply chain operation, and they need better visibility into what their data is telling them so they can make faster decisions in real-time," Longbow CEO Alex Wakefield says.
Smart business-to-business pricing strategies begin with clear objectives, such as increasing market share, entering new markets or maximizing profits and revenue, writes Christopher Ryan. Sales leaders can also use strategic pricing to reduce time wasted on customers who are unlikely to buy, Ryan adds.
Salespeople are more successful when they focus on why the customer should make a purchase instead of the features and benefits of their products and services, writes David Brock. The distinction may seem minor, but the wrong approach leads to "confusion and disconnect in the customer buying journey," Brock writes.
People rarely put up resistance for the sake of it, so it's up to a leader to be curious when encountering opposition to a new idea or a change, writes Justin Hale. "Help him see how the change benefits him and how it can help him achieve what he cares about," he writes.
The pandemic is nearly over and it's time for distributors to apply the lessons from the last 14 months so they can grow their businesses faster in the future. Join NAW and Distribution Strategy Group for our free webinar on May 19 at 2 p.m. ET. We surveyed distributors and we'll share what they told us about their sales in the pandemic and what they're forecasting for 2021, their work-from-home policy, how their website and digital tools performed, which digital capabilities they'll invest in, and much more. Register here.
David Bauders, CEO of SPARXiQ, writes in his guest blog post for NAW, "For distributors in many industries, receiving special cost support from their vendors is critical to winning price-sensitive, end-customer or project business while maintaining profitability. In industries such as electrical, plumbing/HVAC, automation, power transmission, vendors commonly provide distributors with lower costs than their everyday, standard into-stock (SIS) costs. These special lower cost levels are commonly delivered via Special Price Agreements or rebates." Read his post.
How have distributors been innovating their business during the pandemic? Find that out and much more from 10 distributors who tell their stories and share ideas for both surviving and thriving in a drastically changed business environment. Author Mark Dancer shares up-to-the-minute ideas and insights from distributor leaders based on their experiences and lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic. Order this just-released e-chapter, "Distribution Leans In: Stories of Resiliency and Innovation During the COVID-19 Pandemic."
