News

Sanitary Maintenance, April 2008

Once upon a time, distributors could remain comfortably in their niche markets. Customers would go to a jan/san distributor for their cleaning products, industrial distributors for their toolboxes, office supply distributors for their adding machine tape, and so on.

Then along came one-stop shopping experiences and customers began demanding the same convenience and service for their businesses that they enjoyed in their personal lives. This trend puts distributors in a difficult position. The cost to carry all that stock in their warehouses is prohibitive, yet providing good service is the most basic rule of creating loyal and returning customers.

Fortunately, Internet trading networks allow jansan distributors to create partnerships with other distributors to streamline sourcing and allow everyone to maintain their area of expertise.

Forming Partnerships

By forming trading relationship with other distributors, jansan distributors can increase their sales without expanding their warehouses or adding staff.

For instance, a partnership between an industrial distributor and a janitorial distributor could result in increased sales for both partners. The industrial distributor can offer his customers cleaning supplies without the worry of storing chemicals; and the janitorial distributor could benefit from offering his customers toolboxes that could be kitted by the industrial distributor.

Advanced Internet trading networks allow distributors to determine who can see their inventory, how much inventory they want to show, and at what price -- and vary the parameters from trading partner to trading partner. This way a distributor can block a competitor from accessing of his or her information while allowing someone else limited use.

Communication Made Easy

Prior to the advent of Internet trading networks, the only way distributors could achieve this type of synergy was to pick up the phone and call each other. Not only was this time consuming, but it also got confusing with everyone using different item codes for the same product.

Advanced Internet trading networks use a synchronized catalogue to allow distributors to maintain their own item codes.

For example, two distributors sell the same floor-polishing machine by Manufacturer X. Distributor A uses item code polisherX, while Distributor B calls it X-floor_buffer-123. Rather than change their item codes, and the rationale behind them, when joining an Internet trading network, both distributors can have their inventory names matched against the network's database. Now if Distributor A types in a search for polisherX, the network will know that it is the same product as X-floor_buffer-A from Distributor B and neither distributor will ever know the other's item code.

Tied Together with a Bow

The reason Internet trading networks work so well is that they enable groups of distributors to source product from one another with minimal disruption to their daily routine and at speeds customers can appreciate. In order to do this, the entire process is automated and tied to each member's back-end enterprise software solution. From the convenience of their order entry screen, distributors can check price and availability and even place and ship orders, all in a matter of seconds.

Thanks to Internet trading networks, you can service your customers the way they want, while still remaining true to your core competency.

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