HSO.COM The #1 rule merchant distributors Page 1 of 4 should follow to prosper in an uncertain market We live in a time of increased uncertainty. Brexit looms over all UK businesses regardless of industry, and the recent election managed to further divide the Government. This uncertainty has sent shockwaves across the UK economy and the value of the Pound against the Euro has plummeted to 111 1 – as of writing this in August 2017. A lack of clarity over future immigration policy means industries reliant on non-UK workers, such as the construction industry, are hesitant to commit to growth. Although there may be uncertainty, there are those savvy enough to be able to capitalise on such periods of difficulty. So, what’s their secret? It’s actually quite simple: they put the customer at the heart of everything they do. Instead of trying to compete by undercutting competitors’ prices, skimping on costs or rushing orders, those merchant distributors continuing to thrive are giving customers a compelling experience. In this whitepaper, we discuss how a customer- focused approach to day-to-day challenges like efficient stock management and customer delivery, can help maintain business success during times of uncertainty. INDUSTRY 4.0 AND THE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC APPROACH Over the last five years there has been a lot of buzz over Industry 4.0 and the opportunities created by the coming together of several emerging technologies including Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, Big Data and AI. Whilst many businesses are using these technologies to improve business processes, what they often fail to do is put the customer at the centre of the changes they make. For example, offering twenty new styles of brick isn’t going to add anything to your customers’ experience if you know 95% of your brick sales have been the most well-known brand. So, whether you’re reviewing processes, planning changes or implementing them, you need to ask yourself one question – “How does this meet my customers’ needs better?” merchant distributors that can answer this question every time, will establish a significant advantage over their competitors. WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS AND WHAT DO THEY WANT? The first step in developing a plan to put your customers at the centre of your business processes is working out who your customers are and what they want. For this you need to make the most of data and analytics.
Transcript
HSO.COM
The #1 rule merchant distributors
Page 1 of 4
should follow to prosper in an
uncertain market
We live in a time of increased uncertainty. Brexit looms over all UK businesses regardless of industry, and the recent election managed to further divide the Government.
This uncertainty has sent shockwaves across the UK economy and the value of the Pound against the Euro has plummeted to 1111 – as of writing this in August 2017. A lack of clarity over future immigration policy means industries reliant on non-UK workers, such as the construction industry, are hesitant to commit to growth.
Although there may be uncertainty, there are those savvy enough to be able to capitalise on such periods of difficulty.
So, what’s their secret?
It’s actually quite simple: they put the customer at the heart of everything they do.
Instead of trying to compete by undercutting competitors’ prices, skimping on costs or rushing orders, those merchant distributors continuing to thrive are giving customers a compelling experience.
In this whitepaper, we discuss how a customer-focused approach to day-to-day challenges like efficient stock management and customer delivery, can help maintain business success during times of uncertainty.
INDUSTRY 4.0 AND THE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC APPROACHOver the last five years there has been a lot of buzz over Industry 4.0 and the opportunities created by the coming together of several emerging technologies including Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, Big Data and AI.
Whilst many businesses are using these technologies to improve business processes, what they often fail to
do is put the customer at the centre of the changes they make. For example, offering twenty new styles of brick isn’t going to add anything to your customers’ experience if you know 95% of your brick sales have been the most well-known brand.
So, whether you’re reviewing processes, planning changes or implementing them, you need to ask yourself one question – “How does this meet my customers’ needs better?” merchant distributors that can answer this question every time, will establish a significant advantage over their competitors.
WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS AND WHAT DO THEY WANT?The first step in developing a plan to put your customers at the centre of your business processes is working out who your customers are and what they want. For this you need to make the most of data and analytics.
Article The #1 rule merchant distributors should follow to prosper in an uncertain market
Page 2 of 4
Using software like Microsoft Dynamics 365 you can collect and analyse information from millions of data-points across your business in milliseconds. Built-in Business Intelligence tools help you analyse the data to discover insights and visualise them graphically.
Using these insights, you can discover who your customers are, what they’re shopping for, how they’re paying for it and when they’re visiting your store, as well as hundreds of other insights that can be used to develop your new customer-centric business plan.
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED LOGISTICSLogistics is a problem for all trade businesses, but as a distributor to trade you’re often dealing with heavy goods that are more difficult to transport – whether it’s you making a delivery or the customer collecting.
As a customer-centric organisation, you understand it’s your responsibility to meet the customer’s logistic wants and needs. Instead of seeing delivery as an inconvenient extra, you should view it as a way of adding value to the customer experience.
If customers are placing orders to pick up in-store, you should make sure that they’re packaged conveniently and on time. If customers are waiting for you to make a delivery, you should always keep them informed of any delays.
And if you aren’t convinced about the importance of logistics keep in mind that for the customer, convenience is everything nowadays. CUSTOMER-FOCUSED INVENTORYStock-control is another problem all retail and trade businesses face and merchant distributors’ main worry is over-ordering, rather than running out of stock.
This is a valid concern, especially for SMBs who will struggle to pay for inventory that isn’t sold the following month.
However, this is the opposite point of view to that which your customers will have. They might understand that you can’t store infinite amounts of stock but if you can’t supply them with the materials they need, they’ll simply go elsewhere – possibly forever.
In fact, two of the top issues regarding supply chains across the world are “increasing availability without increasing stock holding” and “reducing stock holding without impacting sales”. This shows the struggle to find the right stock holding between too much and too little4.
Top 3 issues regarding supply chain planning by country:
Upgrading to a more modern digital inventory system can help you better manage your inventory, providing a real-time view of your inventory that’s updated as soon as a sale is made. You can even set it to automatically remind you to purchase more of an item once it reaches a pre-set level.
Another customer-centric way of approaching stock control is looking at the products you offer.
ALL
62%
47%
44%
Increasing availablity without increasing stock holding
Reducing stock holding without impacting sales
Automating key processes
Analysing your purchase history will provide insights into what products are most popular and which products you can stop selling. You should also keep an eye on new “green” legislations that might affect the products local builders are required to use.
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED TRADEFor years, many merchant distributors ignored the advance of technology like the plague. After all, they were serving the construction industry and their customers were builders or plumber, not scientists – so why do they need computers?
Nowadays though nearly everyone is smartphone-savvy and we walk around with computers powerful enough to send a man to the moon in our pockets. This means that you need to take a customer-centric approach to how people make purchases from you.
And customers really appreciate this, for example “Click & Collect” services have proved to be extremely popular - in fact, 73% of UK consumers have taken advantage5.
If they’re on-site and they have an urgent need for something, your customer needs to be able to check you’ve got that product stocked and be able to place an order from their mobile phone, which requires a mobile-optimised website.
It’s just as important that you cater to C-level executives who are overseeing plans for a whole development but might not be working locally or during your opening times. They should be able to find all the information needed on your website, check that you have everything they need in stock and place an order knowing when it’ll be delivered.
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED BRAND LOYALTYSadly, brand loyalty can be far more difficult to achieve for merchants and suppliers to the merchandising industries than other businesses.
You’re literally offering bricks and mortar, there are very little bells and whistles that can be attached to that.
So, what can you do?
Well, you do exactly what we’ve been talking about through this whole article. You ask yourself, “What does the client want?”
The best way of nurturing brand loyalty, especially in times of economic uncertainty, is to be the merchant that customers want to do business with, rather than just a company they do business with.
All the suggestions in this whitepaper can help you start to build a customer-centred business but to truly embrace it you need to look closely at your own business. Diving deep into your data will reveal insights about your customers that will let you know what you can do to put their needs first.
MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365. CUSTOMER-FOCUSED SOFTWAREMicrosoft Dynamics 365 combines Enterprise Resource Planning software and Customer Relationship Management software to form a unique product that provides everything you need to operate with the customer at the centre of all your processes.
Microsoft Dynamics makes it easy to operate across multiple locations and countries by standardising processes, providing visibility across the organisation, and helping to simplify compliance.
HSO has the specialist expertise to deliver industry-focused Microsoft Dynamics implementations for customers in retail, distribution, and manufacturing – including merchant distribution.
Page 3 of 4
Article The #1 rule merchant distributors should follow to prosper in an uncertain market
HSO is a Microsoft Gold Partner with over 25 years of experience in implementing Microsoft Dynamics solutions. We’ve been named a member of the Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics partners for eleven consecutive years.
We specialise in implementing, integrating, optimising and maintaining ERP and CRM solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Office 365.
