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THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
NELSON VALDERRAMA OUTDATED SALES PROCESSING AND MANUAL PRICING COST MORE THAN YOU THINK from page 134
They provide decision-makers in sales, inventory,
purchasing, and delivery departments with real-time
ready access to the same information accessible to
c-suite executives. Everyone can work from the same
page. Several of our clients feel this capability alone
makes the investment worthwhile.
By delving into your transaction history, these
groundbreaking technologies have the power to build
sales and pricing recommendations based on accurate
and relevant historical records:
¤ what items were ordered when,
¤ the supplier’s charge for the quantity ordered and
¤ the price the customer paid at that time.
The technology thus avoids human error and
replaces the “tribal” knowledge that made decisions
with written notes, personal memory, and gut feelings.
AI/ML simplifies and optimizes complex workflows with
strategic advice on:
¤ Reducing inventory carrying costs that tie up cash
¤ Improving supplier negotiations for better
payment terms and upfront discounts.
¤ Ensuring sufficient ready inventory to avoid
stockouts and disappointed customers.
¤ Forecasting customer demand accurately despite
changing market factors and competitor strategies.
¤ Tracking inventory turnover to identify slowmoving
SKUs, promote discounts, and trigger
replenishment orders.
¤ Liquidating obsolete and excess inventory to
generate cash.
AI/ML tools allow all decision makers and affected
functions to share the information, reducing tedious
administrative tasks and democratizing the work. Through
advanced analysis of your business’s transactional data, AI/
ML empowers your organization to achieve meaningful goals.
Distributors can say “goodbye” to manual sales
administration and tribal guesswork and “hello” to a
more effective and data-driven inventory and pricing
strategies.
What Hard Times Teach!
As fluctuating demand, high production costs,
and inflation impact the distribution sector, CEOs,
Controllers, and Sales and Inventory Managers must
optimize operations with real-time data. Wholesale
distributors must embrace the strategies, tools,
and technologies that allocate cash to productive
uses, fuel growth, and weather financial challenges
effectively. The distributors that survived the pandemic
impact didn’t do it by hunkering down and covering
their heads. They made their own opportunities.
Distributors did well if they quickly adapted
to change with flexibility. They looked at markets
differently, finding opportunities in market gaps and
unmet customer needs. They lead their teams to
streamline operations and reduce costs without
compromising quality. Instead of laying people off,
they trained and developed them in networking,
collaboration, and mentoring.
Distributors saw value added in customer
feedback. The inputs revealed changing needs and
preferences. The information encouraged distributors
to pursue innovative solutions. And it drove them to
examine their operations for large and small gaps they
could close with cost-effective and efficient practices.
Wholesale Distributors Beware: It’s Time
For Decisiveness!
Optimized management orchestrates a wholesale
distributor’s complex array of products to maximize
cost-effectiveness. Maintaining readiness requires
accurate demand forecasting. Wholesale distribution
can longer rely on spreadsheets or tribal knowledge.
Businesses must leverage the advanced analytics
of AI/ML technologies to predict consumer trends and
prompt the necessary pricing strategies. It’s time for
distributors to invest in a holistic approach, integrating
technology, data-driven insights, and collaborative
relationships.
NELSON VALDERRAMA