One or more of your customers has told you they’re implementing an e-procurement solution.  If you join their preferred e-marketplace, they’ll continue to do business with you – if not…

And you think to yourself: “That’s blackmail.”

You believe the only reason your customer/s is doing this to you is to squeeze your already fragile margins.  After all, they’ve stated that their e-procurement solution will reduce their costs. What about your costs ?

And you vow that you’ll never join an e-marketplace

But wait.  You also remember reading that a supplier initiated the idea for Covisint, the giant US automotive industry e-marketplace to which Ford, GM, Chrysler, Nissan, Renault and Peugeot belong – not the manufacturers.

So perhaps there is something for suppliers in the

e-marketplace concept.

Here are 10 potential benefits to consider:

1. the cost to service a customer will decrease because fewer sales visits are required for your sales reps;

2. your reps can spend more time getting closer to your customers, assisting them with more value adding activities like inventory planning and forecasting – thereby allowing you to manage your working capital requirements more efficiently. They can function more as account managers rather than as order takers;

3. electronic orders provide an improved ability to plan your production around demand;

4. electronically processed orders are less likely to contain errors;

5. you will be able to integrate the electronically received purchase orders into your sales order entry system, further reducing the potential for human error;

6. electonically received purchase orders can be rapidly and accurately processed, thereby improving response times and customer service levels;

7. small orders can be easily aggregated – so you get efficient quantities to pack and ship in bulk;

8. e-marketplaces enable you to better understand your customers and their buying behaviour, making it easier for you to offer a more personalised purchasing experience and it is more cost-effective for you to create tailored promotions for individual customers thereby reducing your marketing costs;

9. you can update your price lists electronically in real time, allowing you to quickly accommodate price and product changes;

10. the availability of online auctions will allow you to offload excess inventory
 

And I haven’t even mentioned the potential of
e-marketplaces to provide a direct sales channel to a host of potential new customers.

So if your customers are turning to e-marketplaces in an effort to reduce their costs, you stand to benefit as well because e-marketplaces offer a win-win option for both buyers and sellers.

Miraculum is proud to welcome new members to the community.

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