The History and Downfall of a German Wholesale Company "Wollschläger" - Part 2
It continues with part 2 of the story and the downfall of the wholesale company "Wollschläger". What can wholesale companies learn from this? If you have not read part 1 yet, click here.
If acquiring an entire company (Essener Arbeitsschutz GmbH in 2007) was not a complex project already, the introduction of SAP (ERP, EWM, PI and BI) followed in 2009. In the same year, Haberstock left Hamburg for the headquarters in Bochum to work in controlling and in the e-procurement business area, under the name of fuxx4trade.
The Wollschläger Group now had 12 branches throughout Germany and employed over 600 people, including 130 sales field experts.
Establishing Private Labels in the Wholesale sector: This is What Matters
The development of a private label can mean additional sales potential for wholesalers. But before this can happen, a few basic considerations are needed to ensure that the private label brand does not remain a slow seller.
When wholesalers decide to develop their own brand and include it in their product portfolio, they do so to differentiate themselves from the manufacturing industry. Their own brand or private label is then generally a product or a product range that the wholesaler offers under its own brand name and thus competes with branded products.
These private label products are usually cheaper than branded products because third-party products are more expensive to buy due to the manufacturers' additional sales and marketing costs.
How To Achieve Acceptance of New Technologies in Sales?
Joachim Meyn worked in sales for many years and reports here on his experiences and learnings about the introduction and acceptance of new technologies in this area.
From the title, one could now deduce that sales has a problem with the acceptance of new technologies. But, new technologies and innovations are not accepted differently in sales than in other areas of the company.
In general, however, it must be considered here that Germany - like Austria - generally belongs to the so-called "late adopters.” In other words, new ideas and/or technologies/innovation are generally adopted more slowly and later than, for example, in the Anglo-Saxon countries. One can also say "when the whole thing has matured".
Read more
![Rembrandt_Abduction_of_Europa[1]](https://import.qymatix.wp-star.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2048px-Rembrandt_Abduction_of_Europa1.jpg)
Interesting facts and statistics about B2B wholesale and manufacturing in Europe
Facts and statistics about B2B wholesale, distribution and manufacturing in Europe & Germany
Distribution in Europe is a significant job provider – 10 million employees. It works at the centre of the continent’s economy, covering almost all goods and services.
Most of the general public probably ignores the role of distribution on the European landscape, although it plays an essential role as the interface between importers, manufacturers, retailers and service providers.
Predictive Analytics to Understand Customer Behavior in the B2B Sector
For some B2B companies, predicting customer behavior is like guesswork. Managers sit together and try to make predictions about upcoming sales, future pricing or appropriate customer loyalty measures.
Often these forecasts are based on sales reports, sales representative’s own gut feeling and, Excel analyses created with a lot of frustration. Don't get us wrong, the gut feeling of an experienced sales team can very often be right, especially when it comes to customers they have had a lot of contact with. But what about all the other customers?
Continuity versus Change - The "Rope Effect" in B2B Sales
Many talk about a change or even a transformation of business-to-business sales, but some things will remain the same in the future.
In this article, I would like to look at both sides and find an answer to the question: What remains better as it is and what was not better in the past?
I, too, got my information for this post from articles with names like "The Turbo Transformation" or "The Next Level: B2B Sales 4.0" because, of course, it is more exciting to write about what is radically changing than about what is staying the way it was decades ago. But especially in times of such substantial change, we should also think about what will probably remain as it is right now in ten or even 50 years.
The food for thought on this topic came from the successful German podcast "Gemischtes Hack". In one of the more recent episodes, the two hosts, Felix Lobrecht and Tommi Schmitt, talk about what they call the "rope effect." This paraphrase refers to objects, methods or practices, such as the rope, which has been used for thousands of years and is unlikely to find a dangerous substitute for decades to come.
In the following chapters, we will look at which sales areas are undergoing radical change and what these enduring ropes of sales will be.
B2B Dynamic Pricing - What Is It and How Can You Implement It In Your Company using Software
All prices in Business-to-Business are dynamic. Some are just more dynamic than others.
Successful companies in B2B tend to adjust their prices based on factors such as production costs, competitor pricing, supply and demand. Dynamic pricing is a pricing strategy in which businesses adjust their prices for products or services based on current market situations.
Practitioners in B2B also refer to dynamic pricing as surge pricing, demand pricing, or time-based pricing. It relies on advanced B2B pricing analytics.
Artificial Intelligence in a Construction Machinery Company
Artificial intelligence technology can be used in a wide variety of areas. In this article, you will learn how AI was used in a mechanical engineering company.
I've already written a few posts on this blog about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in sales. Simply a fascinating topic for an old sales hand like me who has worked with several different CRM systems as well as sold AI systems.
For someone in sales, the area of predictive analytics is particularly interesting - an AI is able to predict sales opportunities. That's why I report on a specific case study below.
Read more
Forecasting Individual Customer Lifetime Value: Why You Should Not Use External Data
There are two types of historical data to use for predictive analytics and sales forecasting: internal and external data. How to know which one to choose?
Making a forecast always requires planning under conditions of uncertainty. Successful sales executives plan and execute an accurate sales forecast using data. For an aggregated, precise sales plan, it is necessary to consider forecasting the individual customer lifetime of the client base.
There are different data sources that executives can use to forecast sales. Some of them count for internal factors while others count for external factors.
Predictive Sales Forecasting: Answers to 5 Questions of Salespeople
Why should we use predictive sales forecasts in sales? This article is aimed at anyone thinking of using AI for more efficient sales planning and sales management.
Every Saturday morning, Mr. Meier visits the magazine store around the corner to buy the weekend edition of his favourite newspaper. This has been going on for half a year now. The saleswoman knows Mr. Meier by now, and because he stops by every Saturday, she always addresses him with the same question as soon as he enters her store: "Good afternoon, Mr. Meier! The weekend edition, as usual?"
For Mr. Meier, buying his newspaper on the weekend has become a ritual. It's a pattern that repeats itself every week. The saleswoman has recognized this pattern and addresses Mr. Meier about it, almost automatically.