Tag Archives: service
Wholesale Distributors Meeting 21st Century Challenges
Expanding Services Margin Upside
Product margins vary for Wholesale Distributors, based on products, territories, and their own efficiencies. But clearly, service margins are usually much higher. Along with outsourcing, manufacturers are also closing branch offices and service depots. Businesses don’t want the head count or the challenges associated with the resource management of diverse and remote facilities, logistics, and people.
That represents the upside for the wholesale distributor! Local market knowledge, the strength and weakness of the product catalog, and insight can be provided into the types of services that customers need. Today, many brand companies clearly know that their channel partners are the ‘sales and service arms’ of their companies. And many have put large investments in place, from sales training to product installation, repair training and certification.
For call centre management, this capability can also be leveraged to support clients’ businesses. Again, instead of making the WD just a cost centre to manage customer interactions, it can become another service and a source of revenue.
Manufacturing services are playing a great part in the distributor’s business model. From light ‘kitting’ and assembly to custom value-added-reseller (VAR) services, the proximity to customer markets, again, allows the WD to open discussion on these higher margin activities. Once the WD is in the ‘manufacturing game,’ customer-specific services such as configuration management, pre-loaded software and installation can all be done.
Diversity and Multi-channel
A big challenge for the WD is managing diverse methods for customer sales and self-service options, often called multi-channel. This is the ability to provide a ‘single face to the customer’ regardless of their preferred shopping methoddirect sales, web, catalog, phone or showroom. Often, established customers use multiple channels. This is a huge issue if the processes, system and business tools can’t identify this customer and assure that all the appropriate services and agreements are instantly known. Does the sales person in the showroom know that this customer is entitled to a 30% discount? Does the system know that this customer, when ordering on-line, has higher priority when allocating scarce product? Can the 3rdparty warehouse have access to all the proper labeling and shipping information?
Foundationally, today’s WDs should be old pros at this type of challenge. Right?
Added to this are the complexity and diversity of the services, priorities, pricing, and ‘deals’ unique to each customer. In addition to providing transparency in sales and fulfillment, the WD’s business accounting software and billing system has to be precise, productive and transparent to the customer. Too often WDs are filled with paper tracking down pricing complaints, dealing with charge-back and settlements with customers, with no audit trail of transactions and service add-ons. Making the sale, only to lose margins in poor paperwork and ‘give backs’ to customers, who clearly did not really earn those discounts, is an all too familiar story. Diversity can cost. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Wholesale Distributors Meeting 21st Century Challenges
Expanding Services Margin Upside
Product margins vary for Wholesale Distributors, based on products, territories, and their own efficiencies. But clearly, service margins are usually much higher. Along with outsourcing, manufacturers are also closing branch offices and service depots. Businesses don’t want the head count or the challenges associated with the resource management of diverse and remote facilities, logistics, and people.
That represents the upside for the wholesale distributor! Local market knowledge, the strength and weakness of the product catalog, and insight can be provided into the types of services that customers need. Today, many brand companies clearly know that their channel partners are the ‘sales and service arms’ of their companies. And many have put large investments in place, from sales training to product installation, repair training and certification.
For call centre management, this capability can also be leveraged to support clients’ businesses. Again, instead of making the WD just a cost centre to manage customer interactions, it can become another service and a source of revenue.
Manufacturing services are playing a great part in the distributor’s business model. From light ‘kitting’ and assembly to custom value-added-reseller (VAR) services, the proximity to customer markets, again, allows the WD to open discussion on these higher margin activities. Once the WD is in the ‘manufacturing game,’ customer-specific services such as configuration management, pre-loaded software and installation can all be done.
Diversity and Multi-channel
A big challenge for the WD is managing diverse methods for customer sales and self-service options, often called multi-channel. This is the ability to provide a ‘single face to the customer’ regardless of their preferred shopping methoddirect sales, web, catalog, phone or showroom. Often, established customers use multiple channels. This is a huge issue if the processes, system and business tools can’t identify this customer and assure that all the appropriate services and agreements are instantly known. Does the sales person in the showroom know that this customer is entitled to a 30% discount? Does the system know that this customer, when ordering on-line, has higher priority when allocating scarce product? Can the 3rdparty warehouse have access to all the proper labeling and shipping information?
Foundationally, today’s WDs should be old pros at this type of challenge. Right?
Added to this are the complexity and diversity of the services, priorities, pricing, and ‘deals’ unique to each customer. In addition to providing transparency in sales and fulfillment, the WD’s business accounting software and billing system has to be precise, productive and transparent to the customer. Too often WDs are filled with paper tracking down pricing complaints, dealing with charge-back and settlements with customers, with no audit trail of transactions and service add-ons. Making the sale, only to lose margins in poor paperwork and ‘give backs’ to customers, who clearly did not really earn those discounts, is an all too familiar story. Diversity can cost. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Hosted PBX fulfilling SMBs communication demand
When looking for a phone system it wont take long to notice that there are an overwhelming amount of options. Smaller businesses are often looking for an affordable solution that will provide many of the features that larger companies use. Business phones have gone extremely high-tech which is why Hosted PBX systems were created. While most businesses are in need of the intelligence that PBX systems offer, they are often prohibitively expensive and most businesses do not have the hardware or know-how to implement these systemsbut they do have the need for the business intelligence that they offer.
Hosted PBX provided from the premises of the service provider, so the small business can now enjoy numerous benefits without installing all the hardware or software typically needed with a new phone system.
With Hosted PBX system, company will be provided with a special router or switch that attaches to the network and is then connected to the external world. The router or switch communicates directly with the hosting service that provides the Hosted PBX. A Hosted PBX system is an IP phone system. Most of the hardware is hosted by a service provider on a monthly or annual basis, so that all connection to or from your website or sites go via the service provider.
There are several reasons why businesses are switching to a hosted PBX solution:
To reduce hardware costs.
To eliminate maintenance costs
To free up IT resources.
Easier management, tracking and reporting through online consoles than non-virtual PBX systems.
Versatile services that adapt to your changing needswithout need for hardware upgrades.
One of the biggest selling points of hosted PBX systems is the wide variety of features and add-ons that they make available to businesses. Features that were once reserved only for extremely large companies are now available with most hosted PBX systems. Popular features include Find-Me-Follow-Me technology, Outlook integration, extension dialing, call forwarding, and music on hold. The Follow-Me feature allows calls to be easily forwarded to cell phones or other alternate locations. This allows for the possibility of a completely virtual office and reducing office overhead expenses. Also, many of these systems also have an auto-attendant which allows calls to be directed during business both and off-business hours.
Another reason businesses are moving to hosted PBX services is that the business has gone nationwide or even global. Small-to-medium sized businesses can have offices and customers around the globe and a hosted PBX system can offer cost saving features plus long distance numbers and plans. The cost of can be just fractions of the cost when using a hosted PBX system versus standard phone line systems.