If wholesalers have to innovate and digitise, the link with e-commerce is made quickly. Doing business digitally is therefore the new norm, although it does not seem to have penetrated sufficiently in the Netherlands. Simple processes are still too often accompanied by paperwork and manual actions. Extremely time-consuming and error-prone.

E-commerce should equal more convenience, more service and lower costs. The location of the wholesaler is then no longer the primary factor for generating sales. Wholesalers…

• who can count on reliable suppliers,
• who are able to let customers order easily,
• and be able to offer an excellent service,

… are a lot more attractive than parties that cannot.

Wholesalers that are digitally at the forefront and have their customer journey perfectly organised can compete with any other wholesaler. Wholesalers that do not go along with this will eventually be pushed out of the market.

AliBaba, Amazon or Bol.com have long understood the challenges in the industry. They are perfect examples of online platforms with an ultimate focus on the customer journey and an effortless order-to-cash process. The infrastructure within these platforms is rock solid. Initially aimed at the consumer market, the B2B segment also offers them interesting opportunities today. It means that wholesalers have gained formidable competitors. Wholesalers therefore have no choice but to automate and optimise their processes as much as possible.

A smooth and seamlessly integrated order-to-cash process delivers many benefits:

• Incorrect or empty fields are a source of frustration for wholesalers, as it can seriously delay deliveries. Frustrating for the customer, yet irritation can easily be avoided if as many fields as possible are filled in automatically. It means fewer errors, fewer employees you need to manually type in data, and faster customer service .
• Automated credit management also makes your debtor management a lot clearer. After all, you have all relevant (financial) information at hand so that you are able to react proactively, instead of reactively.
• The entire process from purchase to invoice provides you with a great deal of relevant and objective information, which you in turn can use within your own business operations. In short, information that helps you to conduct data-driven business and shifts sentiment to the background.

In addition to an optimal order-to-cash process, sustainable relationships with customers and suppliers are also an important aspect of the customer journey. It is not a good idea to bet on the lowest price.

Your relationship with your suppliers

As a wholesaler, make sure that you work with parties that are reliable. Both financially and in terms of service. This way you will never receive negative surprises and you will never have to disappoint your customers.

Your relationship with your customers

Distinguish yourself as a wholesaler with a wide range of high-quality products, but above all with an excellent service. Make sure you always know which products your customers want and when. It will also bring you many benefits in terms of inventory management.

Banks are increasingly requiring wholesalers to draw up a Know Your Customer (KYC) or a Customer Due Diligence (CDD) policy. The CDD obligations are intended to promote 'clean' business and are seen by the government as an important tool in the fight against organised crime. We are also increasingly seeing banks requiring insight into the relationships of the wholesaler in order to exclude indirect connections with fraudulent, criminal or even terrorist organisations.

In practice, this means that the wholesaler must conduct a thorough customer check in which the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) is tested for compliance. Failure to do so may result in hefty fines and reputational damage. However, it is in the interest of your company and wider society, that you avoid any involvement with rogue companies.

Make your wholesale future proof

Your competitors are no longer just other wholesalers. Major online platforms such as AliBaba, Amazon and Bol.com also focus on the B2B segment. It makes e-commerce even more important. To compete with these established brands, you will have to focus on an optimal customer journey and a flawless order-to-cash process.

Please note, this webinar is only available in Dutch.

Graydon has all the information in-house to analyse your customers or suppliers and check their creditworthiness and reliability, so that you know exactly who you are doing business with. We also have all the tools to automate these checks so that you can optimise your customer journey and your order-to-cash process. For example, if you link your customer registration forms with Graydon's database using our Graydon API, all relevant customer data will immediately be filled in completely and correctly. This process can also be linked to a financial audit and further follow-up. In addition, Graydon helps and advises companies with the implementation of their CDD policy and the UBO checks.

There is a wide variety of possibilities. Remember, an optimal customer journey, creditworthiness and reliability of your suppliers are the keys to a worry-free future for your wholesale company.