Heads up: Distribution’s big ideas for manufacturers
Can distributors defeat disintermediation by offering suppliers new capabilities that transform the value chain for the distributor age? Can we talk?
I need your help. I am preparing to lead a discussion at MDM’s 6th Annual Sales Transformation Summit in June. My session is about innovating the value chain for the digital age by reinventing the manufacturer/distributor partnership. My premise:
Long-standing value chain partnerships are under stress as manufacturers and distributors adopt digital technologies. Both parties are working to innovate products and services, channel strategies, and business models. Change is accelerating, often without a shared exploration of new possibilities for creating mutual value. This is a mistake.
The partnership works today because it creates financial benefits for both parties, measured in incremental sales, reduced costs, higher market share, and expanded share of wallet. But the partnership is not simply a vehicle for making money. The partnership exists to serve customer needs, and business customer needs are complex, demanding, varied, and changing.
Business partnerships fail for many reasons. Partnerships may die from the inside when visions, passions, and values diverge. Or they may die from the outside as revolutionary technologies, social change, and economic fundamentals wash over markets. But mostly, partnerships die from neglect.
Can we schedule a call to chat? Please click here to do so. Or, let me know what works for you.
In the meantime, please take a look at my edition, Deep Dive: Defeating disintermediation. In it, I offer four big ideas and would love your feedback:
Distributors as the essential partner for unlocking the power of IoT data;
Venturing as a collaborative business process to upgrade or replace channel management;
An industry-to-industry collaboration between distribution and venture-funded digital startups;
And demand centers to unlock the value of shared data.
Your take?
Is disintermediation destiny? Only if distributors give up. I need your help to make my MDM session a game-changer. Can we schedule a call? If you’d prefer, let me know what works for you at mark.dancer@n4bi.com. Or, share your comments below.