How to Turn Big Data Into Big Profits!
Bruce Merrifield, President
Merrifield Consulting
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
•Amazon Supply •competitive strategy •profit analytics •big data •expert interview •management strategies •industry perspective •AmazonSupply.com •Quantum Profit Management (QPM) •distribution industry trends •new opportunities for distribution industry •business math for distribution •business model
Top companies like Amazon can leverage big data to predict consumer buying habits while other companies may feel overwhelmed by big data. How does your company use its data?
In this interview, Bruce Merrifield discusses how big data can be used to identify inefficiencies within your company and how distributors can use this information to improve their overall profitability.
For more information about Bruce Merrifield, visit: www.merrifieldact2.com
How and Why Amazon Drives Change for Catalog Operators
Bruce Merrifield, President
Merrifield Consulting
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
•Amazon Supply •pricing strategies •AmazonSupply.com •distribution industry trends •eCommerce
This 9-minute video is a discussion of Amazon's unparalleled insight into customer buying habits. Amazon is an excellent model for the changing reality of catalog operators. Understanding your customers, their buying habits and the profit or loss on every item will help distributors adapt to the new and effective models for e-commerce.
For more information about Bruce Merrifield, visit: www.merrifieldact2.com
Capturing New Customers in Amazon's Marketplace
Bruce Merrifield, President
Merrifield Consulting
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
•Amazon Supply •market intelligence •AmazonSupply.com •distribution industry trends •business model •eCommerce
Before you completely dismiss Amazon, watch this 9-minute video to learn how Amazon can be a great source for customers and sales. If used strategically, Amazon can give you a broader reach, a deeper market, and a greater opportunity for your products to be seen.
For more information about Bruce Merrifield, visit: www.merrifieldact2.com
Defending Your Distribution Business Against Amazon
Bruce Merrifield, President
Merrifield Consulting
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
•Amazon Supply •customer service •sales practices •AmazonSupply.com •distribution industry trends
In the distribution world, Amazon casts a long shadow. In this 15-minute video featuring Bruce Merrifield you will learn five key elements that will keep your company from losing business to Amazon. Focusing on what matters most to your customers, and doing these things better than anyone, including Amazon, is the best way to defend your company against competitors.
For more information about Bruce Merrifield, visit: www.merrifieldact2.com
The Element of Pricing
Randy MacLean, President
WayPoint Analytics
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
•Amazon Supply •competitive strategy •fill rates •customer service •distribution management best practices •opinion / commentary •management strategies •pricing strategies •AmazonSupply.com •how to compete with AmazonSupply •distribution industry intelligent pricing
When it comes to distribution company's staying competitive with AmazonSupply, if you've got the first four "Elements" down, which are the elements of Ordering, Delivery, Fill Rates and Customer Service, then the element of Pricing proceeds into the background. People make their decisions based more on the first four elements than they do on the price of the product.
It's pretty much expected in a mature business that your pricing is reasonable for your marketplace and is acceptable. If you've got the other elements right first, the pressure you'll have on pricing will be much lower, helping to solve or ameliorate the pricing pressure you have if you're the first choice for the customer.
For more information about Randy MacLean, visit: www.waypointanalytics.net
The Element of Fill Rates
Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert, President
Hurlbert Consulting Group
Monday, August 3, 2015
•Amazon Supply •competitive strategy •fill rates •customer service •order fullfilment •market intelligence •distribution management best practices •big data •product Line •profit strategy •opinion / commentary •expert interview •management strategies •industry perspective •Wholesale Distribution Industry •how to compete with AmazonSupply •new opportunities for distribution industry
Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert and Randy MacLean discuss the element of high fill rates and high accuracy in customer service, which affects a company's ability to efficiently give customers what they want.
Being able to pin-point gaps, places where companies currently aren't capturing information, helps allow a company to know where theyt should be working to improve things.
Knowing when a demand exists is important — capturing that data in your system is extremely critical to a company's success.
Having the wrong system often causes or creates problems because if customers are substituting B for A, the system thinks that B is getting more popular so you should order more of it, and that A is getting less popular which means you should order less of it. This exacerbates the problem for clients who really want A, but simply cannot get it because a faulty system would deprive you of your ability to fulfill their first choice. It's one more reason why it's really important for companies to be on top of what's going on with customer relationships.
For more information about Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert, visit: www.hurlbertconsulting.com