The wholesale ordering process has yet to move to computers, while every other industry is racing into the cloud. Why is that?
From what I have witnessed firsthand, most of the decision-makers are sticking with paper, faxes, and phone call orders because they can’t see the benefit of switching.
In fact, they see only the opposite. They have older employees who are not really that comfortable sending an email, much less an e-purchase order. They believe the status quo system works “well enough,” and introducing anything else would be disruptive.
Well, the right type of disruption can actually save you a lot of money.
Here are only a few ways that switching from faxes and phone calls to a new digital central wholesale ordering portal can fix decade-old problems.
Centralized Information Means Instant Answers
Let’s imagine your business had instantly accessible data at everyone’s fingertips. What would that look like?
A customer comes in and they’re looking for green shingles. You don't stock green shingles, but you can log onto a central platform, search for green shingles, and get the current cost. You can give them an accurate price, and then place their order on the spot!
This is better than the old analog way of doing things where you don’t have this information. The customer leaves your store and you have to follow up 24 to 48 hours later. By then, they may have bought green shingles at another store or found them online.
You couldn’t solve their problem on the spot, so they went to someone who could.
But, with OrderEase, any given product’s images, description, and attributes are instantly accessible to your entire staff. A customer asks, "How much does this pump weigh?" You have that answer because it's readily available and it's accurate because your supplier provided it to you.
A Streamlined Web Store
Independent retailers are constantly trying to figure out how to compete against Amazon and other large online retailers like Costco and Walmart. There's a lot of effort to bring their products online.
OrderEase can connect your web store through Shopify or Weebly. You can bring the suppliers' product information, images, description, and attributes onto your web store without any effort. Now you have a fully functioning web store that's directly connected to your vendors.
Information Isn’t “Trapped” With One Person
Let's say you have one person who does your ordering. This person knows the various processes you have to follow with each individual system and supplier. This could be 8-10 different specific processes to follow to do things correctly.
Now, let’s say you lose that person suddenly. Maybe they quit or get fired. Or maybe they have to go on sick leave for a while. All of your ordering information goes with them!
Knowledge transfer is a huge problem for these businesses. Even if the person that currently “owns” your ordering procedures is documenting and recording what needs to be done, they may not be there to train the next employee in person. This is how mistakes are made and information gets lost.
But, if you have one central system, you don't have all this knowledge and these processes trapped inside somebody's head. It's all there.
Everything they need is right there, all of your order history, who your suppliers are, and how to place the order. You train this employee and they can repeat the same steps for every supplier.
All of Your Suppliers and Orders. One Place.
OrderEase is a technology solution that connects industry supply chains to make wholesale buying and selling fast and easy.
Want to see how it can help your company? Click here to try it out!