December 4, 2023 How to Accelerate Manufacturing Sales in 2024

Seamless integration coupled with operational and digital transform key for manufacturers to sell more, more efficiently, everywhere.

by Alex Sayyah, CEO of Aleran Software

You know it well. The competition is fierce. Market trends are ever evolving. Supply chain issues are regularly throwing a wrench into well-laid plans.

Adding to the complexity is that your customers often don’t want to talk to a sales rep, and they expect the type of online “Amazon-like” buying experience they have in their personal life for everyday purchases.

As a result, the ability to drive sales growth requires a fully integrated and comprehensive approach that aligns industry demands with customer expectations and one that also doesn’t risk your critical channel partner relationships.

And did I mention doesn’t break the bank and integrates with your full tech stack, including ERP, CRM, WMS and more?

It is possible.

But it will require manufacturers to dig deep into the organizational triangle: people, process, tools.

Future-proof manufacturing sales with digitization, integration, and automation

The shift to leveraging e-commerce for B2B has the potential to change manufacturing business and operating models, including the ability to protect sales in the event of another pandemic-like crisis.

With it, manufacturers can cost-effectively reach new customers, get better data to shape strategies, and overall lower the cost-to-serve customers and length of time to post revenue.

They can also use the opportunity to get rid of the hurdles slowing their growth. Things like:

• Managing email sales orders that get lost or delayed
• Manually entering sales orders into an ERP
• Lacking a clear view of product inventory when negotiating sales
• Working from print sales catalogs that are outdated by the time they hit your customer’s hands

Smart integration married with operational and digital transformation is key. Link: Report: Integration Investments Boost Revenue by $3M+ – Industry Today – Leader in Manufacturing & Industry News

The roadmap to accelerate sales

• Put your customers first: Always remember you are offering your customers a product, a service, and an experience. Put yourself in their shoes as you create an online experience and digital catalogs, transforming from print catalogs for a more direct ability to click and buy.
• Be prepared to scale: The right eCommerce platform will support your growth with tools and technology to connect with your buyers, reps, agents, and channel partners. Organize the process for tracking and documenting all your product information to lay the groundwork for your Product Inventory Management (PIM) foundation.
• Lay the groundwork with seamless integration: You need a platform that seamlessly integrates across all your systems – especially your critical business and sales platforms like the ERP, CRM, and WMS. And where your Sales and Marketing teams are in the driver’s seat with minimal IT resources needed to launch and maintain.
• Make the technology do the heavy lifting: After your eCommerce is et up and customized, harness its automation and integration processes to save time and process orders more efficiently. In addition to using the software to manage products, orders, payments, and more, put the site to work by integrating a clickable, easy to use shoppable catalogue with custom pricing and promotions.

Don’t wait for your growth to slow before you act

Manufacturers will limit their ability to scale and grow unless they accelerate selling directly to customers through e-commerce, adopting consumer-driven digital buying experiences and multi-channel sales strategies.

In today’s landscape, there isn’t always the right time. Competing priorities, competitive threats, production issues, etc.

But if manufacturers don’t prioritize taking stock of what it means to actually do not just talk about growth, it will require them putting Sales and Marketing teams in the driver’s seat, including on technology, operations and process needs.

By working across teams and eliminating silos, manufacturers will be poised for sales success in 2024 with more scalable, more predictable revenue in better alignment with product inventory and forecasting needs.

About the Author
Alex Sayyah, CEO of Minneapolis-based Aleran Software, brings more than 20 years of experience leading eCommerce, digital innovation, and revenue teams for global B2B and B2C brands. As a strategic, data-driven, and growth-focused executive, Sayyah works closely with leading world-wide manufacturing brands on their digital transformation and sales efforts to scale growth efficiently, easily, and economically through smart integration, infrastructure, and strategy.

Subscribe to Industry Today