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Source: HARDI eCoolBLAST Newsletter - June 2003

When you hear the words "Web" or "Internet," what do you think of first? Do you see the Web as a place to check tonight's television schedule and sports scores? Or, do you envision it as a highly sophisticated yet easy-to-use communication network - as well as a place in which you can develop a very real market presence?

Though Web usage has increased dramatically over the past several years in businesses both large and small, many distributors are still not taking full advantage of the benefits the Internet can offer. Often, this is simply because business leaders don't know about the World Wide Web's wide range of capabilities and benefits. Incorporating the Web into your business processes can save you time, save you money, and give you a competitive edge.

Using the Web to Sell and Manage Stock

Everyone remembers the dot-com bubble - and the dot-com bust. As a result, many distributors are still hesitant to invest in a Web-based storefront, seeing it only as a passing fad.

This couldn't be further from the truth. Increasingly, end-users want to manage accounts, enter orders, check order status and inventory availability, and pay bills online. Storefronts are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Increasingly, PDA's and Web-capable phones can be used to access storefronts. It's simple: Distributors who don't offer these conveniences will lose customers. Distributors who do will gain ground in an increasingly competitive industry.

Plus, Web-based storefronts aren't just convenient for customers. When customers enter their own orders into a Web site that's fully integrated into a business' back-end enterprise software solution, re-keying errors are drastically reduced, saving distributors manpower and money. Also, since customers can check account information and inventory availability online, service representatives spend much less time fielding phone calls and routine questions - and much more time growing market share.

Using a Web-based storefront can also shorten the sales cycle dramatically. Buying and selling electronically speeds order processing and ensures that inventory levels are kept in check. And, since orders are taken and processed much more quickly, a distributor can reduce the amount of safety stock he keeps on his shelves. Additionally, many suppliers offer financial incentives to distributors that buy electronically.

Communicating Via the Web

According to A Nation Online: How Americans are Expanding Their Use of the Internet, a report based on the government's September 2001 U.S. Census Bureau Population Survey, about 48 million of the 115 million employed adults over age 25 use the Internet at work - a number that is steadily increasing.

Not surprisingly, most of the people who use the Internet at work use it for e-mail and other business communications. E-mail is revolutionizing the way distributors communicate with their employees, their customers, and their suppliers. Many distributors, tired of playing phone-tag, have realized that e-mail streamlines communication processes and provides a clear channel over which they can dispense timely, important information - and retain a written record of it.

Now, in addition to e-mail, some technology providers offer instant messaging that's built for business. With instant messaging, a group of people can carry on a conversation as they would during a conference call. Unlike e-mail, there's no waiting for a response - but, like e-mail, business leaders can print a record of the conversation after it's finished - and use it to follow up on ideas and plans that were discussed.

Many distributors are also rethinking the way they operate their telephone networks, and are investing in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. VoIP enables business to use a TCP/IP network for phone connections - instead of the standard POTS (Plan Old Telephone System). In many cases, VoIP proves to be less expensive than traditional telephone connections, and because of improved bandwidth, better for transmitting faxes and other data.

Internet, Intranet, Extranet Equals Network

To improve internal company communications, some distributors have developed Intranets, Web-based portals in which employees can share news, information, reports, and other important business resources. Executives with laptops, PDA's, or Web phones can check key business information while on the road. Intranets have proven to be a time and money-saving alternative to other, more traditional, paper-based forms of inter-company communications, like newsletters, office memos, and countless HR forms. Using an Intranet, any or all of a company's files and information can be posted - and accessed - by internal employees only, ensuring secure, yet efficient, communications.

Many distributors also offer extranets, which serve as a type of extended Intranet. Using Extranets, distributors can share product and pricing information with a network of employees, customers, and suppliers. Extranets are usually password- and firewall-protected, and provide distributors with the security they need to keep corporate information secure from competitors.

The most progressive distributors have entered into Internet trading networks, in which distributors communicate, and buy and sell, over the Web. Internet trading networks streamline the commerce process between distributors, manufacturers, and end-users, enabling distributors to increase sales and improve customer service while reducing operating costs.

Through Internet trading networks, distributors can access millions of manufacturers' and other distributors' items, enabling them to compete on a larger scale, over a greater geographic area, and improve customer service. When a customer calls for an item which you're currently out of, a sophisticated network always you to broadcast an electronic request to several trading partners. Their responses quickly appear on your screen, so you can service the customer while he is still on the phone. Many have found that trading networks actually provide an excellent means by which they can offer customers integrated supply - a service that increases customer satisfaction while it increases sales.

Used correctly and carefully, the Web is much more than a search engine and a place to check personal e-mail. It is a powerful business tool, waiting to be exploited, that can be used to streamline operations, reduce costs, and increase sales.

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