Wholesale customers are not new to the world of online buying. According to Digital Commerce 360, in 2019 alone, approximately 40 per cent or $2.373 trillion of B2B sales in the United States alone were done electronically. This number can only rise given the circumstances brought about by the pandemic. The reduction in face-to-face sales due to social distancing will result in consumers accessing online portals to have their inventories stocked. Wholesale companies ready.
Online Marketplaces
The emergence of new online marketplaces is disrupting the wholesale sector. With lower pricing, logistical expertise, and easy access to increasingly tech-savvy customers, online marketplaces are becoming serious competitors to traditional wholesale companies.
The Frozen Seafood Association in Singapore has launched the Seafood Exchange, an online marketplace where member companies can post their products online for local and international customers to order.
Problems Keeping Pace
Digital transformation is now well in progress and places actual demands on wholesale companies. Many wholesalers find that their customers, employees, suppliers, competitors, and service providers are becoming increasingly digitalized. The problem is no longer "what if my wholesale customers are not ready?" The situation today is that wholesalers are having problems keeping pace.
Automate Manual Processes
Today's digital solutions can automate the manual functions from sales personnel developing new wholesale customers to order management and fulfillment in the backend. Wholesale business owners should be concerned with how their manual processes limit the company's growth as they are prone to human lapses that impact customers. Customers will appreciate the efficiency of automated processes, which allows them to place orders any time of the day and track the progress of their deliveries.
Reach More Customers
Singapore's small market is limiting the growth of local wholesalers. The only way to grow is to go regional and the challenge is always about the cost of going regional. With digital solutions, the cost of going regional is significantly reduced as there is no need to set up local stores.
So, the question is not whether wholesale customers are ready. Instead, it is about reaching more customers with an online webstore that is supported by automated backend operations.
Would you like to find out more about Zooloo can help your company achieve this? Get in touch with Zooloo's digital solutions experts immediately for the first step towards digital transformation at sales@zooloo.asia.
- Read about The Digital Transformation Journey
- Learn more about our “Digital Backbones”
- Learn more from our eBook series on Digital Transformation for Wholesale Trade
Tags:#digitaltransformation #B2B #digitaladoption #digitalintegration #covid19 #digitalsolutions #wholesaletradesector #wholesaletrade
