The Internet of Things is bringing new business models to the wholesale industry

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Today, we live in a highly connected world, and the digital economy is quietly changing the operating models of almost all industries.

The digital revolution is bringing huge opportunities to the wholesale industry. As a wholesaler, a better understanding of the Internet will enable you to seize the opportunity in the evolution of the business model and find new business opportunities and partners.

Wholesale Industry and the Internet of Things

As a wholesaler, you need to correctly understand the driving force of the new economy. In the past few years, the following changes have driven the development of the new economy:

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the high degree of interconnection of products. The Internet of Things enables various products equipped with sensors, wireless connections and software to communicate with each other. Products can collect, store and send data through communication. It is predicted that by 2020, the number of IoT devices will reach 75 billion.

The second is the rise of supercomputing and cloud computing. The rise of these technologies has a great driving effect on the Internet of Things. Cloud computing enables enterprises to store massive amounts of data at a lower cost, allowing enterprises to establish a collaborative platform for employees, suppliers, wholesalers and retailers.

Then there is big data. Big data analysis software and platforms are gradually showing their value to enterprises. These tools can make the storage, access, reporting and analysis of massive data more convenient, especially supporting real-time access and analysis.

For corporate employees, access to and analysis of massive amounts of data can enable them to make decisions faster and better, and a deeper understanding of data also means more in-depth and effective interactions with partners and customers.

Smart products: new business models

More and more companies are beginning to embed sensors in their products. The collaboration between manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers makes it possible to access data in real time at different stages.

As the amount of information increases, distributors can better serve customers. For example, they can obtain product after-sales, service, and maintenance needs in real time.

Data-driven business model

Wholesalers have a vast amount of internal data. This data enables them to gain a deep understanding of their customers’ real profit margins. This enables them to predict and analyze their customers’ future demand patterns. This allows them to prepare with their major suppliers. At the same time, this data can also better help corporate employees make decisions.

Technology-driven marketing

In the wholesale industry, marketing is becoming more and more important. Customers want to have the same convenience and targeted marketing services in business transactions as in personal e-commerce transactions.

For distributors, the analysis of customer data can help them better understand what customers need and when they need this information, thereby helping them to better market. Distributors can even predict their needs before customers realize their needs.

New cooperation model

In the era of the Internet of Things, new business models that focus on seamless collaboration are emerging, many of which were unthinkable in the past.

For example, in the past, different distributors were competitors, but now, these distributors form a distribution network to better serve customers. Such a distributor network can emerge because the distributor members in the network realize that in certain regions or product lines, other distributors can better provide products or services to customers.

in conclusion

Wholesalers have great potential to leverage the Internet of Things. If they can fully understand and leverage their data and form the right partnerships, wholesalers will have the potential to discover new business opportunities and build better customer relationships.