Stock holding

In terms of stock holding , it ’ s important to know what the customer wants , but how can you possibly know ? Does anyone have the time to carry out market research , read all the emails that come in , read magazines widely or browse LinkedIn all day ? Talking to customers is , of course , a valuable exercise , but again timeconsuming and only provides a relatively small representative sample .

Discussing these issues with suppliers can help , but they need to be well-informed and honest , rather than trying to get you to take their stock for their own benefit . There is also the option of trying to guess what the next lighting trend might be , but even if it ’ s a good guess based on market knowledge from other sources , the industry is moving so rapidly , it might not be right .

All in all , the industry is a minefield and it ’ s not unreasonable to look to manufacturers for some help and support in this area . Some manufacturers , for example , are now offering stock cleanses and some will offer sale or return , or consignment stocks .

Service matters

The lighting market has a good , strong wholesale presence and an excellent track record of supporting electrical contractors – but is this all about to change ? Increasingly , non-traditional distributor companies are trying to get an edge over

‘ The electrical distributor still provides the human touch , offering a one-stop source for in depth technical , application , pricing and availability information .’

electrical wholesalers by offering out-ofhours service , late night ordering , next day delivery and competitive pricing .

One of the main benefits that wholesalers have previously offered is providing the service and availability that comes with stocking in depth which , of course , ties up capital that could be used for other purposes . Currently there are several large businesses that essentially operate as super distributors and stock all sorts of items in depth .

Realistically , these companies are a double-edged sword . On the one hand , they can be a daily source of help for wholesalers that don ’ t have the resource to increase stocks . On the other hand , they are a constant frustration to head offices that know they aren ’ t buying well by working this way , but allow it as the sale has been in and out again before anyone can complain .

Expand expertise

So , is this the way we are heading ? Is the country going to be full of large warehouses offering 24 / 7 delivery ? If so , it represents a serious threat to the industry .

The Electrical Distributors Association ( EDA ), for instance , does an excellent job of promoting apprenticeships , but where will this talent go if things change in the ways described above ? Where will the contractor go when they have a tricky job and would normally go to the wholesaler for help ? Faceless websites certainly won ’ t be able

to offer the vital advice that contractors sometimes need quickly .

Nowhere else in the market but at an electrical distributor can a buyer find one source of so much information about such a variety of products . The electrical distributor still provides the human touch , offering a one-stop source for in depth technical , application , pricing and availability information about hundreds of different manufacturers ’ products . An electrical distributor ’ s knowledge works in two ways — what distributors learn from manufacturers they pass along to customers , and what they learn about customers ’ requirements they feed back to manufacturers .

Adding value

Clearly there are some things that wholesalers can do to safeguard their position . Not least is to focus on customer service , which needs to evolve to meet the ever-changing demands of contractors . For the latest generation of contractors , it has become second nature to order online through mobile devices and to access online forums for support .

Wholesalers must think about how best they can serve this new breed of customer and add value in ways that big online companies like Amazon can ’ t . The answer is more training and expertise about the products they sell . Just as technology is changing the face of the lighting market , it may also prove to be the panacea for wholesalers , if applied in the right way .