Going Digital: 6 Ways To Embrace Digital In Your Electrical Wholesale Business

Published: September 14, 2020

Every industry is increasingly embracing ‘digital transformation’ – but what does that actually mean? We dive in to various digital platforms and how they can help you…

• Drive efficiency
• Reduce costs
• Improve service

…and ultimately stay relevant by becoming a ‘digital wholesaler’.

Understand Industry 4.0

According to Wikipedia, Industry 4.0 or The Fourth Industrial Revolution is “the ongoing transformation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices combined with the latest smart technology.” But it doesn’t end there. In fact, all business sectors are going through this change as the benefits of using digital platforms – particularly reducing costs – are clear. Ultimately, as manufacturing and industry undergoes digital transformation (we’re going through this ourselves as we launch our Metpro Online website), and customers demand products and services to be available online, any electrical wholesaler who neglects change will be left behind. By embracing digital platforms that your customers can interact with, you become more than just a supplier – you become a resource, providing access to live updates, technical information, and product support. Read more about Industry 4.0 here

Make The Move to eCommerce

According to a study conducted by Channel Marketing Group, in 2018 Almost 50% of electrical wholesale and construction customers purchased electrical supplies online. Further to this, 80% said that “e-commerce is part of their future and they foresee increased usage.” This was two years ago before anyone even knew what Coronavirus was and how it would affect buying habits. Due to coronavirus, in April 2020 Online shopping surged by 129% across UK and Europe, as reported by internet retailing. People are looking for products, but also support, services and information online. We at Metpro recognized this change and mobilised to launch our Metpro Online Digital Platform to ensure we could offer electrical wholesalers the efficiencies of ordering online.

Manage Product Data

With the trend of switching to online comes the challenges of managing data – particularly for some of the complex product specifications in the electrical wholesale sector. Multiple ‘Product Data Pools’ – have now been established throughout Europe, and in the UK the EDA have launched ‘EDATA’ as a repository for product information. This includes specific technical data – known has ETIM – which enables and ensures consistency and accuracy. It ultimately translates to clear and understandable information for the electrical wholesaler, eliminates any ambiguity, and in turn offers clear choice to end-users who would use a digital platform to do business. EDATA can be the glue the binds the customer and the supplier – as customers can rely on availability of the information and support they need, when they need it.

Embrace BIM

The use of BIM (Building Information Modelling) has grown steadily over the past several years, but as standards from BSI are adhered to more and more, the demand of this is continue to grow, and potentially at an increased rate. We certainly felt even back in March 2017 that Metpro should be BIM ready, making files accessible on demand across our full standard product range. Honeywell’s Logan Colbeck stated that, for electrical wholesalers, BIM will enable them to be a “One stop shop for Product and BIM data: Act as a gateway to your supplier’s BIM data, Increase hit rate on your websites, [and be a] Differentiator between competitors” Read more about BIM on the BSI website or download their ‘Little Book of BIM’ here

Communicate Digitally

COVID-19 has changed the world. Individuals are working from home or in separate spaces around your building, and many have stated for some time that email is becoming the slowest method of communication. “What about good old phone conversations?” Unfortunately the importance of documented communication and group discussion remains a challenge. That’s where platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Slack have grown in popularity. With ‘rooms’ for chat within and between departments, and video calls fired up at the click of a button, its been clear to us that this is a digital platform to embrace. As Metpro have moved to Microsoft Teams, our business can communicate efficiently internally – and with our customers using the web based interface so they don’t even need the software, all they need is an app or a computer. We even have employee WhatsApp groups for internal updates and off topic conversation!

Digitise Your Warehouse

Efficient storage and order picking is critical to your business. It hugely affects the performance and reputation of our businesses in serving the electrical wholesaler. Bringing in a digital platform in warehousing can eliminate manual logging of pallet spaces – enabling efficient and immediate storage and no wandering around looking for space. It benefits health and safety and reduces cost of accidents also. Knowing at-a-glance where stock is located in Metpro’s warehouse has also reduced picking, packing, and despatching time. What was a process that could take up to one hour is now just an average of three minutes while still maintaining our high levels of accuracy

Conclusion

The key takeaway of digital transformation is that all of the digital platforms tend to interlink and go handin-hand, and these have been just 6 examples. Information from the product data pools such as EDATA can populate an ecommerce platform. Customers that order through the platform can be given much clearer indication of when to expect their orders. And sales teams can be automatically notified and can communicate efficiently with colleagues and customers through communication tools.