E-commerce pricing for distributors
by Scott Benfield
E-Commerce sales, for the wholesale distribution sector, are estimated at 25% of all orders. However, this differs significantly by industry as some industries have 10% or less of their purchases processed by e-commerce. Most wholesalers, however, believe the distribution industry will make significant moves toward e-commerce in the next five years, as 75% of wholesale C Level executives disagreed with the statement “E-Commerce is not a part of future solutions for growth.”
E-Commerce capabilities will need integration with existing ERP platforms, and the overall functionality will require new management and new techniques to prosper in a digital marketplace. Research shows that the majority (88%) of B2B buyers would be willing to conduct purchasing online if their suppliers had adequate e-commerce capabilities.
This white paper focuses on the pricing function and ability of wholesalers to deliver coherent and profitable pricing through the internet. Pricing has been well-explored as a discipline in the past decade with numerous books, articles and seminars to the wholesale trade on the subject. However, we believe pricing for the distribution sector will change immensely and especially with e-commerce. We outline these changes and give insight into new services and dynamic data analytics that are custom made for high-transaction volume industries.
Click here to read the white paper.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The November/December issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Kimball Midwest. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and Mike Marks, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
