What did the Romans ever do for us?

Digital Marketing Group Roundtable13th July 2015

Remember this brand?

Ever heard of this brand?

What has the internet ever done for us...?

Speed to market• Catalogue/flyer cycles less and less relevant• Product lifecycle management less relevant, but more challenging

Data / content • NO HIDING PLACE for poor data!

• Have you ever seen “E & O.E” on a web page?

• Vendors gradually taking more ownership

Virtualisation• “Endless Aisle” a reality• Competition opened up• No place for specialists?• Highlights the lack of product sales focus in our market?

Which online retailer is this?

What has the internet ever done for us...?

Efficiency• Order pad a thing of the past?• Self-serve the norm...• Lower sales costs...

Price Transparency• Distinct pricing models in place• Conflicting channel price models• The end of the traditional “core/non-core” B2B pricing matrix?

Channel Disintermediation• What is a supplier’s best channel to market now?• Threat to our traditional long supplychain?

Channel Map – Value Chain....

OEMs

Wholesale & Distribution

End Customers

60%75%

5%

20% 10% 30% 10%

Specialist resellers

Major Resellers

Regional resellersE-tailers

30%

Super-markets Specialist

Stockists

50%

5%

-5%

Dealer groups

10%

0%5%

5%

40%

20%

What has the internet ever done for us...?

New competitors• Anybody can be an OP reseller• Amazon, Grocers B2B focus, Online/High St. Brands

• Is VERY a fashion or Consumer Electronics retailer??

Confusion• Many have been diverted from their core business competencies• What does “online presence” mean

• Static website?• Trading platform?• Social media?• B2B/B2C focus?

What has the internet ever done for us...?

Transport• HIGHER cost to serve!• Outbound & Reverse logistics (often forgotten!)

Confidence & Investment • “I don’t understand it.....”• Subject matter experts can be expensive• No instant Return on Investment

Demographics• Meet Steve Haworth, 45......

• Ran his first account base on blue record cards...• Was a “pioneer” of remote dial-up in 1998...• A luddite today...

Reddit, Snapchat, Instagram...... Gen Y search preferences......

• Genuine challenge of how to address Industry leadership/relevance

Summary...What did the Romans ever do for us?• The Benefits and Drawbacks are here to stay

Keep it simple...• It’s replaced catalogues & order pads• It’s replaced phone and “coffee” field calls• It’s part of a business strategy rather than THE business strategy

There are some fundamentals...• Data/content• Expertise (internal or 3rd party)• We all need an E-commerce plan• The traditional market/channels remain robust.....• Supplier strategy is key.....

Who’d open a Retail stationery store in this environment?

You decide......?

The UK and Ireland’s largest multichannel distributor of business supplies and services

EVO Group Sales and Marketing Director

steve.haworth@evo-group.co.uk@steveh_evogroup