D2C Challenges
- Going D2C creates perceived channel conflict and a sense of competition with the dealer network. They fear D2C is ‘cutting out the middle man’.
- Good relationships with resellers will likely be based on many years of hard work. Most manufacturers in an indirect sales setup consider the reseller rather than the user as their customers. Consequently, businesses don’t want to do anything to jeopardize these corporations.
- While going D2C will open up a new sales channel, businesses still need to rely heavily on their dealer network to provide essential services and to increase reach.
- Businesses must therefore not alienate their dealer network in the process of establishing a D2C route.
Increased Revenue through New Digital Sales Opportunities
- Increase revenue by gaining access to more customers in new locations and adjacent industries.
- Access more distributors and resellers with complementary inventory to increase product offering and spread inventory risk.
- Digitization benefits resellers as the sophisticated marketplace technology will streamline their own processes and sales. A Merchant or Whitelabel store can even allow them to create their own digital storefront.
- Resellers can create an extended aisle, offering products that they wouldn’t normally stock because they can utilize drop-shipping via the manufacturer.
- They can leverage manufacturers’ brand reputation to extend their reach via the manufacturer’s platform, accessing a greater pool of potential customers.
- Increase customer lifetime value by providing the maintenance and warranty services that they need in the long term.
Customer Stickiness through Improved Experience
- Maintain, curate, and enforce a consistent brand experience and quality standards by controlling your entire catalog and product information.
- Customers benefit from having the choice between multiple resellers while experiencing the simplicity of using a single site.
- Customers gain site search across a full catalog and numerous inventory sources.
- Manufacturers can enforce quality standards and capitalize access to extended catalogs from their resellers.
- Increase customer convenience by allowing customers to purchase online and see, test and pick up the product in-store.
Direct Communication & Insights From Customers
- Increase access to customer and product insights, including specific buyer needs, how exactly products are used, and which products are bought together.
- Customers will still be able to benefit from specialized advice from the reseller network.
- Attract more customers by promoting additional service offerings delivered through the resellers on your platform.
- Opportunity to develop traffic, build relationships with customers, and control the company’s messaging.
- Opportunity to develop a world-class customer service experience for customers.
Improved Service of Complex B2B Needs
- By including a dealer network in your commerce platform, you can sell a full “solution” rather than individual parts, by utilizing the adjacent products and connected services sold via resellers as merchants.
- Offset fluctuations in existing channels, such as localized store closures or limited on-site inventory by offering alternative channels.
- Merchandised rebuying, resulting in fewer out-of-stock situations.
Grimme
Delivering a full online experience to their customers and their distribution network by digitizing their distribution channel for machine spare parts.
Supported by Spryker's Marketplace Capabilities, Grimme offers an account for customers to log their machines in an online garage, which allows them to search spare part lists for their machines, as well as different ways of ordering. This 360 online experience means more convenience and satisfaction for both their customers and their international distribution network.
