Getting Ahead and Staying Ahead in Distribution
Changes Occurring in Wholesale Distribution
The wholesale distribution industry is clearly facing a period of intense digital disruption. While many of the concepts related to the "digital age" have been decades in the making, it is widely acknowledged that the wholesale distribution industry has been slower than others to adapt during this period. Large distributors have invested heavily in digitization, and they are winning. Smaller distributors must have a relevant strategy for digital transformation to control their own destiny.
Digital Disruption
B2B commerce is facing new challenges and new opportunities associated with increasingly intense digital disruption. It is difficult, if not impossible, to overlook or overstate. The wholesale distribution industry has historically been slower than others to adapt. This is risky.
Rate of Change
Based on the speed with which this is happening, it is more important now than ever before for wholesale distributors to understand the changes that are happening and to act in a manner that leverages the possibilities of innovation and mitigates the risk of decline.
Opportunities and Consequences
How individual businesses act is likely to lead to a broadening gap between "leaders" and "laggards". Leaders will likely forge ahead whereas laggards may very well risk failure and/or obsolescence.
Where will your company be? Does your company have a transformative plan?
Megatrends in the B2B World
Paradigm Shifts Over the Past Decades
At a macro level, Business-to-business (B2B) relationships moved from a heavy Transactional focus in the 80's, to a Relationship focus in the 90's, to a Loyalty focus in the early 2000's. More recently, the focus has been squarely on Customer Experience (CEX). Loyalty is often only as good as the last buying experience. To make things even more interesting, CEX is now influenced by e-commerce and easy/accurate self-service as much, if not more, than being driven by distributor sales and customer service agents. CEX is driven by company touch points in situations that may literally include no personal interaction. So, how important does that make technology now? Does your company offer e-commerce? Does the offering generate positive CEX? Are you investing in ongoing enhancements to the technology? Is your e-commerce platform fully integrated with overall company operations/systems?
FROM:
- Relationship/Loyalty
- Baby Boomers
- Phone/Fax/In-person
- Brick and mortar
- Service provided
- Local stock Incremental change
- Pre-Amazon
- In-person or phone interaction/support
- Scripted auto-attendants
TO:
- Customer Experience
- Millenials
- Digital/Multi-platform/Mobile
- Online/e-commerce
- Self-service
- Leveraged logistics
- Rapid change/agility
- Amazon
- Online interaction/support
- NLU and dynamic/learning virtual agents
The Age of Digital Disruption is impacting the wholesale distribution industry in major ways already, and the transformation will continue to accelerate in the years ahead.
What's New in 2022?
Virtual Agents and Artificial Intelligence
Most people who shop online are familiar with Virtual Agents and/or ChatBots. Most of these are scripted to handle, or direct, simple transactions, similar to auto-attendants and phone prompts - if x, then y. For anything beyond the routine, users are typically quick to seek the help of a live agent or to abandon the online shopping and pick up a phone.
Qubidex is defining a new frontier. Namely, filling the space between scripted Agent/ChatBot dialogue and Live Agent support. The result is a highly-personalized online search experience for the User emulating the assistance of a veteran sales and/or customer service person. The benefits to the company offering this online option are unlimited: advantages over hiring/training, 24/7 support, multiple languages, etc.
The sophistication behind the scenes translates to a simple, professional, and warm interface for guided search and application-based buying & selling.
From Mark Cuban, "Artificial Intelligence is already beginning to take over the business world. Soon, it'll become as essential to businesses as personal laptops and smartphones."
Why Your Business Should Plan for Digital Transformation
Benefits for Customers
Benefits for Distributors
Benefits for Distributors
This is where it all starts. As stated on the previous page, Customer Experience (CEX) counts for more today than ever before. Relationships and loyalty are as strong as the last transaction/experience. There are simply too many choices for customers if your company doesn't perform at a high level. Customers want easy shopping, easy ordering, self-service, and a high level of communication. Customers also expect seamless transition from one service channel to another (e.g. e-commerce, live chat, email, phone, etc.) When customers realize that YOUR company excels in providing positive CEX, that is when they will return for more. Now start thinking about Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
Benefits for Distributors
Benefits for Distributors
Benefits for Distributors
For distributors, the benefits are summed up in a word......profit. Most distributors share the experience that the most profitable business they have is from repeat customers. The cost of acquiring new customers is high. And the opportunity cost of losing a profitable customer is also high. In short, distributors can generally categorize customers into one of four strategy buckets - Retention, Growth, Maintenance, and Inconsequential. Those in the Retention category are the bread and butter. They should be held in very high regard and given no reason to leave the relationship. The customers/prospects in the growth category represent high potential and low penetration. They should be the recipients of a distributors attention to earn their business - with CEX at the forefront of the discussion.