With a $6051.5 billion revenue, the wholesale distribution business is becoming quite profitable in the USA. If you want to increase your wholesale distribution profits and expand, you need to implement the following techniques:
- Automate inventory management
- Ensure quick and secured order fulfillment
- Implement vendor-managed inventory
- Improve customer experience
- Offer promotional discounts
- Shift your business online
- Use a digital marketing approach
Automate inventory management
Poor inventory management can lead to inefficient productivity and loss. According to the US Small Business Administration, 46 percent of small businesses do not have a system to track their goods.
They have to use manual processes to count goods and compile their list and invoices on spreadsheets. It consumes time and also leads to errors. And rectifying errors is not easy.
Your wholesale distribution can improve if you automate your inventory management. Good inventory management tools like Zoho Inventory or Orderhive reduce your tasks by:
- Forecasting sales and outcomes
- Improving your cash flow
- Managing purchase and sales orders
- Monitoring distribution in the supply chain and warehouse activities
- Providing analytics of sales progress of products
- Providing complete transaction history
- Tracking accurate amounts of inventory
Shift your business online
The travel restrictions imposed in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced vendors to move their businesses online. eCommerce experienced a boom. eCommerce is now the trend of the day. If you want to improve your business operations, the best thing to do is to move your wholesale distribution business online.
B2B eCommerce has a 14% share of total B2B sales in the US as reported by Statista. With B2B eCommerce sales growing to $1.63 trillion in 2021, wholesalers have begun running their businesses online.
If you are able to invest time and resources then you need to set up your own website for a large profit. But if you want the easy way around, begin selling on marketplaces like SeeBiz. It requires less investment. Marketplaces do all the tasks for you including:
- Automated payment
- Marketing
- Shipping
Use a Digital Marketing Approach
The advancement of B2B eCommerce has seen a steady rise of buyers using online mediums during their buying process. Google says that 89% of B2B buyers surf the internet to conduct research before buying a product.
Evolve your marketing techniques by using online mediums to promote your business. With lead generation tools, you can generate fresh leads and promote your business to leads. These tools:
- Analyze customer insights
- Identify accurate leads
- Build attractive landing pages
Once you have found your leads, you have to approach them. You have to spend money by using different tools or outsourcing your marketing to an agency. According to Statista, B2B marketers spent a cumulative amount of $14.96 billion in marketing last year.
Just use maximum resources.
- Send emails
- Promote via different social media platforms
- Use pay-per-click advertising on search engines
- Optimize your website and content on search engines
- Design eye-catching marketing posters and share them on image-sharing platforms
- Create marketing content in different formats and share it on different platforms
Content marketing
Content marketing generates good ROI for B2B marketers. The marketing team should be good content creators. They should produce content in their marketing efforts for desirable results. You can run video marketing campaigns. Use videos via YouTube which has registered 2.6 billion users according to Statista’s 2021 survey.
If your channel is monetized it not only promotes your business but also generates money on viewership. The other popular way is to write appealing blogs based on research, trends and insights.
Podcasts are also a common trend today. So you can also use audio and video podcasts. While it has not been effective in B2B marketing yet, you can be a trendsetter if you succeed in it.
Email marketing
Send emails to your generated leads with automated email marketing tools such as Mailchimp and Mailmunch. Email marketing has the highest return on investment (ROI) with 45 dollars per one dollar spent as per Statista.
Pay-per-click advertising
The pay-per-click advertising model is very effective in marketing. PPC search ads appear on top of a search engine results page (SERP) where you pay an amount if a customer clicks on your link.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is a powerful tool to convey your message in the twenty-first century. Social media has enormous power and impact on people. With over 4.70 billion social media users around the world, it is very effective in marketing and generating revenue.
You can promote your business through social media advertising services. B2B marketers gain 80% of their social media leads from LinkedIn. Facebook and Instagram are also very effective. Design attractive marketing posters and upload them on Instagram.
Implement vendor-managed inventory
eCommerce platforms are trying to eliminate the number of intermediaries in a supply chain. Retailers can directly contact manufacturers and buy goods in bulk. What will happen to a wholesaler?
Simply implement a vendor management inventory system. In a VMI system, you as the vendor or distributor stay relevant in the supply chain. You control the retailer’s inventory and place an order to the manufacturer based on the available inventory data.
Improve customer experience
It takes months to find a single customer, and seconds to lose one. The best way to retain your customers is to provide them with a great experience. Excellent customer service improves the chances of customers coming back to you for more purchases.
What do customers want? Quick responses and effective solutions. eCommerce facilitates buying and purchasing 24/7. So, it also means that customer service agents working in different shifts should be there all the time. Buyers expect you to respond to them on an immediate basis. AI-powered chatbots don’t cut it.
Since your buyers invest in your products or services, they also expect you to assist them with issues. You can provide satisfactory customer service to your buyers with several helpful software. These tools help to:
- Communicate with customers through multiple channels
- Provide real-time communication
- View various metrics of customers such as behavior and history
Offer promotional discounts
Back in 2020, about 88% of the consumers used coupons for shopping in the United States. Your wholesale distribution business can also flourish if you use promotional offers on your products to increase customer engagement. It not only promotes brand loyalty but also attracts new buyers.
Ensure quick and secured order fulfillment
Order fulfillment is the key component of the distribution process. Wholesale buyers expect you to fulfill their orders as quickly as possible. According to The Future of Commerce, delivery on the next day is very important for 78% of the B2B buyers.
Make sure to use reliable shipping options so that the products reach customers quickly and securely. ShipBob, UPS, and DHL are some of the best order fulfillment facilities to provide high-quality logistics services.
Conclusion
Adapting to the latest trends is crucial when it comes to being relevant and successful in the wholesale industry. B2B eCommerce is the future of B2B. So use digital means to promote your business and experience tremendous growth.
We hope you found this blog post How to Improve Your Wholesale Distribution Business useful. Be sure to check out our post Four Benefits of Using Online Shipping Platforms for more great tips!
Have Experience in the Moving Industry? Want an Additional Income Stream? Work With All Around Moving!
Team Up with us! There are no recurring expenses, except purchasing your own leads. We share profits 50-50 with you from all jobs you book with us. Click here to learn more.
