Marty McFly had it right. Just take a hot, built, radioactive DeLorean back into the past and then fix, enhance, and change things that would ultimately benefit him in the future. Don’t worry, I got you. Just send me your deposits for your flux capacitors now, and I’ll get them right out.
Although it seems far-fetched, the concept isn’t totally unreal. As a matter of fact, most of you are probably working on your own version of a flux capacitor or DeLorean as we speak—trying to change what was done in the past to prepare for the future. You’re probably thinking, “Wow, is this guy profound or what? Using a movie from 1985 to explain how to strategize and plan my business? Tony Zakula, give this guy a raise!”
All kidding aside, is what I described above not what the overplayed word of “transformation” is? Case in point: You are a 20-location JanSan distributor located in the southwest part of the country. The company was founded years ago and was innovative as all get out (see what I did there? “Southwest”:“All get out”). The logistics were state of the art (at the time), the systems and processes evolved somewhat over time as did your business model. Product and application expertise coupled with a large inventory position could go a long, long way. However, the late 90s rolled around. New kids started showing up and changed the landscape on many fronts. Leap forward to the present day—the new kids are still coming, the neighborhood has changed, and they are bringing the hover boards with them.
Getting back to our JanSan distributor. They could be running their business largely on what worked for them then. Sure, there have been improvements and some degree of evolution, but can that very same distributor, if they were to launch their business today, operate EXACTLY as they do today? My guess is not. I’m thinking the CEO would define their business model and then figure out what is the optimal way, leveraging EVERYTHING that exists today (tech, logistics, etc.) to bring that business forward.
I’m not wrong here. The challenge, as it sits today, is that a good majority of distributors are just like our JanSan friends and are inundated with the next great thing that is going to solve all of their problems. Truth be told, and most of you know, it is NOT just one thing, but rather a process and/or sequence of events. Think of it as a reimagination or reinvention.
The biggest hurdle here, as I see it, is that most tech companies struggle to continue to stay up to date using the latest technology, let alone distributors whose core business is not technology. If that CEO were to say look at my inside sales/customer service function (which I am betting is a pretty significant chunk of the overall operating expenses) and throw everything at it that exists today, what would that look like? What could it look like? What benefits would I see? What benefits would my customers see? What about my suppliers? Can I significantly reduce my Total Cost to Serve (acronym alert TCS = Total Cost to Serve) yet still keep or even increase my level of customer satisfaction? You get my point.
One of the benefits in working across so many different industries with so many customers and leveraging the latest in tech, is that we see the “what could be’s” first hand. We see what our platform provider (AWS) is building (AWS pumped gazillions of $ into AI research and tooling last year, not to mention the investments they made into BI/Analytics as well), and we are able to leverage what they are doing as part of what we are building into our product.
For example, look at logistics. What can’t you get the next day right now? (And same day, at scale, is not far behind). Couple the changes in logistics with the increase in drop ship programs, which are now a standard offering for many distributors, and now we are looking at significant opportunities to better serve your customers while optimizing your inventory position.
But back to my original point—if you were to launch your business today…
As mentioned in previous articles, I am now 2+ months in this new role here at Kodaris, and as I have been preaching all along, they approach things way differently than what I am used to. They have little interest in customizing, enhancing (or whatever you want to call it) one-off features that will barely move the needle. Instead, and what I witness on a daily basis is process reimagination and reinvention [insert the overplayed “transformation” buzzword here]. It is ALL about giving that inside sales/customer services process the hard look, asking the tough questions, and having some very awkward c-suite conversations in challenging them to think differently. This collaboration between us, a solution provider, and our customers has to be witnessed to be fully appreciated. Think about that concept where a group of customers create a best-in-class, optimized OE workflow while another group works on optimizing procure to pay, and then *boom*. Upon release, ALL customers get these amazing, state-of-the-art process changes, features, and configs pushed out to them.
The big consulting firms will throw fancy acronyms at you and charge boat loads under something called BPO (Business Process Optimization). You know what we call it? Customer service.
In parting, one last quote from Marty McFly: “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.” So, take charge of your business and your destiny. Join our community of customers building the future and innovating together.
As always, here to help.
Brian
