Randy MacLean, President — WayPoint Analytics •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 Wednesday, January 4, 2017—When it comes to distribution company's staying competitive with AmazonSupply, I would like to offer the following. 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. This is because 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. This can help solve or ameliorate the pricing pressure you have if you're the first choice for the customer, because you've handled the four elements that are really necessary for good customer service and good customer relations. I encourage you to spend some time investing your energy, logistics, manpower resources, and even money in making sure those elements come together. Then make sure that you survey your customers, make sure that you're hitting the mark, make sure that you're doing what you should be doing, find out what things you're not doing that you should be doing, and make sure that even after you're at the top of your game, now or three months from now, that you're always at the top of the game in a competition that's always playing catch-up. If you do that, pricing is going to become pretty much a non-issue and profitability is assured. For more information about Randy MacLean, visit: www.waypointanalytics.net |
The 6 Attributes of Super-Profit CompaniesThe 2nd of 3 lists defining the markers of Distribution companies outpacing their peers. A Culture of Innovation Starts at the TopSteve Epner and Randy MacLean discuss topics from Steve's book. In this video: How to Innovate. Staying Effective in the Changing World of SalesThe top business know not only how to innovate, but where to spot opportunities where innovation will bring the greatest results. LIPA: Prophet of Customer NeedsSee how implementing LIPA can give you the bandwidth to be more accommodating to your customers with analytics-based service excellence Webinar: Profit-Based Sales Incentives (part 1)Webinar: Quantum Sales Compensation - How to Create a powerful new kind of sales incentive plan Using Profit Analytics to Manage Your Sales ForceUse profit analytics to help drive radical profit gains by balancing volume, margin and service costs for every account, doubling and tripling territory profits Sales Force SpecializationDiscussion of how the most successful companies are adopting specialized sales functions, achieving superior results. Managing Product Line ProfitabilityManaging Product Line Profits shows how operations can have a significant impact on net profit and examines Peak Internal Profit, accumulated profit and more 9 Steps to More Profitable RelationshipsDiscussion about a 9-step process aimed at transforming a transactional relationship with an account into a partnership. The Advantages of SegmentationA discussion of the benefits of segmentation and how this approach can help distributors achieve far greater levels of profitability. How to Turn Big Data Into Big Profits!Top companies like Amazon can leverage big data to predict consumer buying habits. Bruce Merrifield discusses how you can do this too! Gross Margin Percent: A Poor Indicator of ProfitabilityMost distributors have naturally occurring, high gross margin percentage accounts and high gross margin percentage (small dollar pick) SKUs. Protecting Your Core BusinessHow to identify and protect the accounts at the core of profits. Triage Customers & Set Priorities to Increase PerformanceRandy MacLean and Bruce Merrifield sit down for a talk about the issues and opportunities, tactics and strategies for increasing profit performance. Discussing the Enterprise Account Selling Model (#3)Continuance of the Enterprise Account Selling Model video series. Refers to a preceding video. Drawn from Bruce's presentation at APIC on March 1, 2016. Discussing the Enterprise Account Selling Model (#2)A continuation of the discussion between Bruce Merrifield and Randy MacLean over Bruce's Enterprise Account Selling Model (part 2). Discussing the Enterprise Account Selling Model (#1)Bruce Merrifield and Randy MacLean discuss Bruce's Enterprise Account Selling Model, as presented at APIC on March 1, 2016. Getting Your Salespeople to Negotiate SmarterUsing the negotiation process to achieve CTS savings, allowing you to offer your customers lower prices while leaving the table with a larger profit. Looking at a Customer Whale CurveCustomer whale curves are a great opportunity to view the overall picture of your customer profitability and apply appropriate sales models to each Increase Innovation with a Rule and a ToolBruce Merrifield discusses the Wheel of Learning and how this simple tool can catapult you forward with innovative thinking. Cost-to-Serve Math: Why Gross Margin May Fool You Every TimeThis video by Bruce Merrifield and Randy MacLean describes why you can't rely solely on gross margin to determine profitability. The Changing Face of SalesAn in-depth look at some historical limitations to sales compensation, and why those factors no longer apply with the availability of LIPA. Maximizing Account Potential through SegmentationRandy MacLean discusses the value and utility of segmenting your customer accounts. Gross Margin FixationA fixation on gross margin – without looking at cost-to-serve (CTS) – has blinded countless distributors and limited their ability to achieve profitability. A WayPoint Client and Whale Curve Success StoryLearn how this distributor was able to massively ramp up its profitability even as it lost many of its customers. Cost Structures: What Makes for a Good Sale?Learn why distributors can't simply rely on gross margin when determining whether a sale will add to the bottom line. Changing Sales Strategy Using LIPARandy MacLean talks about the emergence of a new sales strategy. Why You Should Sweat the Small DeliveriesA discussion on how little extras can sometimes add up to a lot of infrastructure cost in wholesale distribution companies. How and Why Amazon Drives Change for Catalog OperatorsCatalogs still exist, but they have gone online. In this video, Randy MacLean and Bruce Merrifield outline the changing reality of catalog operators. It's Not Who You Think It IsRandy MacLean discusses key profitability metrics for QPM. Why You Should Be Optimizing InventoryRandy and Bruce explain why it's important to optimize inventory in the same way you optimize personnel and other resources toward the best profit opportunities A Two Step Strategy for Being Number One in DistributionIn this video, Bruce Merrifield turns the tables on Waypoint President Randy MacLean, and asks Randy to strategize on how to beat the competition. Using WayPoint's High Volume Account Report to Increase ProfitRandy discusses the benefits of the extraordinarily valuable High Volume Account Report. How Customer Segmentation Unlocks Hidden ProfitsBruce Merrifield of WayPoint Analytics teaches the importance of customer segmentation and the insights it can offer your distribution company. Quantum Profit ManagementRandy MacLean introduces the core principles of QPM and illustrates how it's the most effective way to run a business. The Benefits of a Cost-to-Serve Math ProgramHave you had trouble conveying the importance of CTS to your team? Learn how this course provides an affordable and convenient educational solution. Why Come to APIC?What is the value of the APIC conference for a business, and why does it stand out above other education programs? Making Money by Giving Away ProductBruce Merrifield and Randy MacLean discuss profit strategies for wholesale distributors that will raise their cost-to-serve and profits. Webinar: How to Create a Sales Compensation Plan (pt 2)Webinar: Quantum Sales Compensation Plan Part 2 Webinar: How to Create a Sales Compensation Plan (pt 3)Webinar: Quantum Sales Compensation: Designing Your Plan Webinar: How to Create a Sales Compensation Plan (pt 4)Webinar: Quantum Sales Compensation for the Wholesale Distribution Industry: Launching Your Plan |