If you read the latest news from our industry, you might believe that the industrial supply business is rapidly changing. No doubt, the largest competitors such as Amazon Business are transforming the way our industry looks. But are these advancements changing everything as quickly as the headlines would have us believe, or is it just that the organizations driving the changes are providing information to the media more often then traditional distributors?
I believe in these challenging times, it's important to consider the source of the information before we decide everything is changing in the industrial supply business. That’s not to say that things aren’t changing. But distributors can still compete by leveraging their traditional strengths with the right technology to deliver the value they have in the past, at the same time strategically planning their future.
To that end, here are two ways the industrial supply business hasn’t changed:
1. Success depends on customer relationships.
Traditional distributors have had decades of success because they have built strong relationships with customers. Those relationships are based on service, product availability, on-time delivery, technical assistance, value-added services and fairness. Product knowledge in particular provides value to loyal customers and is where our strength lies.
2. Distributors and suppliers rely on each other.
Consider that all suppliers are charged with growth goals, and the representatives that call on distributors seldom receive credit for non-traditional sales. So if distributors help suppliers achieve their goals, supplier relationships, loyalty and support will reflect that combined success.
NetPlus Alliance’s distributor members and supplier partners are well-positioned to strengthen their positions in the supply chain by delivering value now and in the future. Read more about how NetPlus Alliance helps distributors and suppliers thrive in a changing market.
