Direct to Consumer: How distributors can innovate and win

The direct-to-consumer disruption

As disintermediation of supply chains and direct-to-consumer (DTC) selling appears to close in on distributor territory, we argue that it’s possible for distributors to thrive in a direct-to-consumer landscape by re-imagining their services and business model.

Direct-to-consumer strategizing for distributors

Technology is the answer for responding to rapid changes in demand. But with painfully tight margins, distributors need to be strategic with where they invest resources. It’s necessary to make sure that investments made in hardware and software show return on investment.

A successful DTC strategy requires distributors achieve improvement in the customer experience across all departments. Technology isn’t one size fits all—each business needs to find a way to make sure digital transformation results in positive customer outcomes, which the key metric at stake.

Choose the right tools for the job

A direct to consumer strategy relies on key metrics like customer satisfaction and value delivery. There needs to be measurement where every part of the business can see its role reflected in the value chain.

Distributors must find ways to plot organizational maturity, which highlight where to elevate digital capabilities. This means finding ways to drive a digital culture, organizing the resources to do so, and discovering how to invest and leverage customer-driven insights to steer into the future.

Distributors should build new, digital transformation systems in parallel with legacy systems, taking advantage of historic data that could be extremely valuable going forward.

Demystifying DTC

Our guide takes the guesswork out of a successful DTC strategy, and sets out the tools needed for execution. Inside, we share:

• The areas of focus and opportunity for distributors
• The many advantages distributors have over encroaching competitors
• Technology requirements for scale, operations, and measurement
• Perspective from industry experts and DTC strategy consultants
• Best practices for continuous optimization

Improving the sophistication of data and analytics will result in the intelligence necessary to differentiate products and services and strengthen customer pull.

Download the guide to start mapping your journey today.