What do Alibaba, eBay, and Amazon have in common? Aside from the being the top 3 largest e-commerce businesses in the world, they also have the best UX designs for online shoppers and some of the on-point courier services today. These are the toughest competitions to beat for the many wholesale distributors. Sadly, though, most of them don’t even have the ability to compete.
If your distribution business is struggling to keep up with the giants in the industry, don’t give up just yet. There is a different way to establish your services’ own identity, which will help elevate your competitiveness and give you a bigger slice of the wholesale market.
E-Commerce Status of Wholesale Distributors
The business model called electronic commerce or e-commerce has only been adopted by wholesale distributors recently, despite its existence and popularity over the last two decades. This is true even with large businesses that have adequate resources to fund an e-commerce website. On the other hand, smaller distributors are just starting to launch an e-commerce platform.
Clearly, the distribution industry as a whole has a lot of catching up to do in implementing this new technology in trading. If we go back five to ten years ago, this wasn’t really a huge problem. Back then, online shopping was still gaining popularity and so many traditional wholesale distributors were still thriving. However, that has no longer been possible during the last few years.
E-commerce isn’t just a distinguishing factor between wholesale distribution companies anymore. It’s already a requirement for businesses of all sizes, even in other industries. And, not even a basic or simple e-commerce website will do. Consumers are keener to spend money on products distributed by reputable companies with a strong e-commerce platform. In short, the bigger investment you put on e-commerce nowadays, the more your business will become successful.
Business Process Integration is the Key
So, what is the best e-Commerce strategy for wholesale distributors to catch up with companies like Amazon and eBay? The first thing to do is building strong relationships with your customers. Most successful businesses do, even outside the distribution industry. Make use of the newest technology in customer relationship and data management to improve your customers’ experience and satisfaction with your services.
To help build strong customer relationships, you need to add more value to your services so that online buyers; like resellers, drop shippers and personal users, will have a reason to patronize your business. Being just solely a distributor is no longer enough. You have to extend your array of services to know the client’s business operation. How so? By implementing business process integration. Providing business process integration as part of your distribution service will give you a better understanding of your customers’ operations. This will enable you to provide better service and to find a way to help them grow, which will produce growth in your sales as well.
One good example of business process integration is linking your customers’ inventory system to your business’ order processing system. Doing so will enable you to fulfill the demand of your customers for materials easily. It will increase your chances to be a long-time supplier instead of doing a one-shot deal.
Implement Business Process Integration with Acumatica
The best e-Commerce strategy for your business is to integrate the customers’ business process or processes to your distribution services. It will build a strong relationship with your customers and help them grow so that your wholesale distribution business will have sales growth and be on par with other large e-commerce websites. With the emergence of cloud-based software, like Acumatica Cloud-based ERP Systems, this business process integration is no longer impossible.
To get to know more about Acumatica cloud-based solutions, call Advanced Solutions and Consulting Co. (ASC) or inquire online through our website. ASC has more extensive experience in Acumatica implementation that can help your wholesale distribution business provide the business process integration with your customers.