Mastering the advantage of a unique position
To stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market, wholesale and distribution companies need to leverage their unique position to meet their customers’ needs with precision and efficiency. The traditional role of wholesalers, bridging the gap between suppliers and customers, is no longer sufficient as new technological developments allow customers and suppliers to grow closer. Maintaining a competitive edge in the changing landscape requires wholesalers to take on a multidisciplinary approach that includes servitization and other strategies.
Unlocking wholesale excellence
Wholesalers and distributors must outperform producers, retailers, and competitors in buying and selling. They need to excel in market forecasting and consumer behavior to procure items in bulk, ensuring cost efficiency and allowing them to sell in smaller units to benefit their customers.
With in-depth knowledge of local markets, wholesalers and distributors are trusted and exclusive resellers, understanding regional preferences and demands, and making them the go-to source for a variety of products.
An extensive product range makes wholesalers a one-stop shop for both professional and end-customers. Whether seeking everyday essentials or specialized items, customers find everything under one roof, saving time and effort.
To stay ahead and meet rising customer expectations, an adaptive business model beyond distribution is needed to continuously evolve.
Wholesalers must add new and optimized value at every step with services such as:
- Expert advice: knowledgeable staff offers tailored advice.
- Training programs: provide training to maximize product understanding and use.
- Customer support: service teams re-invent their processes and added value according to customer demand.
Cost efficiency is the hallmark of all wholesale operations. From procurement to distribution, wholesalers must focus on minimizing costs without compromising on quality. This commitment to cost efficiency allows them to offer competitive prices and ensure maximum value for their customers.
Today’s challenges for wholesalers
(and how to overcome them)
- Right-time logistics
Ensuring timely delivery is crucial for wholesalers to maintain customer satisfaction and trust. Implementing advanced logistics solutions can help optimize routes and reduce delivery times, meeting customer expectations while lowering operational costs.
- Customer experience
Providing exceptional customer experience means personalized service, prompt responses, and understanding customer needs. Investing in customer relationship management (CRM) systems can enhance interactions and build loyalty, leading to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
- Competitive margins & cash flow
Maintaining competitive margins while managing cash flow is vital for wholesalers’ financial health. Effective pricing strategies and cost control measures can help preserve margins. Additionally, robust cash flow management ensures your business can meet its obligations and invest in growth.
- Multi-echelon inventory
planning Multi-echelon inventory planning allows wholesalers to optimize inventory levels across different stages of the supply chain. This approach improves inventory turnover and reduces carrying costs. By balancing stock levels, wholesalers can ensure product availability and minimize stockouts.
How Global Expert can help
In business for over 20 years, and with more than 150 consultants working on over 50 projects in various industries, we are in the best position to understand the complexities and opportunities of wholesalers and distributors of different sizes. We’ve tackled challenges in the technical, food and beverage, baking, garden, flowers and plants, household, and medical wholesale sectors. Together, we deliver operational excellence by focusing on customers and employees alike, crafting strategies, implementing projects, deploying technologies, and turning data into winning actions.
Our solutions for wholesalers
You might also be interested in the solutions in our Global Expert store:
- FAST CX FOOD For Food companies who really care about the customer and need to deliver a consistently great experience at every touchpoint, channel & device.
- Sales Order Automation For organizations who want to take the next step in digitizing and automating incoming sales order processing, which is often still paper-based or unstructured.
- FAST-RETAIL For ambitious mid-market companies in the discrete retail industry looking for process excellence to sustain their growth.
