With the accelerating speed of business, today's material handling customers are demanding the convenience of a one-stop distributor. More than just keeping warehouses stocked with the right inventory, today's distributors need to go beyond traditional commodity distribution. The expectation is that they must now provide value-added services such as installation and startup.

By providing an extensive product line, maintaining a thorough knowledge of the products and by offering specialized services like engineering and design and advanced software capabilities, a supplier can become the single resource for all of a customer's needs. These services can be provided either through cooperative arrangements with specialized service suppliers or by bringing them in-house. Making the transition to include all of these areas requires incorporating the use of a systems approach to serving customer's needs, utilizing state-of-the-art technology and enhancing the training of the sales staff.

Through a systems approach, the provider must conduct a customer analysis. By meeting with the customer for the intent of discerning their workplace needs and by drawing on a comprehensive understanding of their field, the supplier is better able to gauge the customer's underlying concerns. The appropriate value-added measure can then be taken, not simply to provide a short-term answer, but to ensure the customer's long term satisfaction.

The truly savvy one-stop distributor should supply its sales force with the proper technology for every facet of the sales process. The use of laptop computers to collect data from the field and interface with the home office is advised. The laptop can be used as an information source on products and services and also to demonstrate customer presentations using PowerPoint.

The use of e-mail is an ideal way to transmit data and keep track of the status of an order. Many distributors are upgrading their web sites to allow customers access to status reports. By the same token, distributors will soon be granted the same access to their manufacturers and be able to monitor order processing and shipping information by logging on to the manufacturer's site. One-stop distributors also have the option of using accounting software to prepare quotations, orders to vendors, change orders, delivery information and customer invoices. In addition, software platforms like Oracle and PeopleSoft can now provide companies with hour-by-hour status reports, keeping tabs on all aspects of the distribution process from warehouse management and inventory control to sales tracking.

Finally, because a knowledgeable sales staff is the greatest tool in providing customer satisfaction, the salespeople employed by the one- stop provider need the very best training available. This includes hands-on experience with factory representatives as well as increased exposure to the new technology resources they need to sell effectively. With an updated approach to customer satisfaction, and the proper technology to implement it, a well-trained sales staff can place their company firmly into the role of successful one-stop distributor.

By striving to encompass all of these areas the industrial distributor may feel some growing pains. But for all the aches and pains the potential for profit increases as well.

Source: Embracing Change and Technology For Success
Ron Rechenbach
MHEDA Journal Online, Fall, 2000
http://www.datakey.org/mhedajournal/4q00_articles/rechenbach.php3