Can modern e-commerce platforms really transform the way industrial manufacturers operate?
We unpack the revolutionary impact of e-commerce account management within the industrial sector. You'll discover how these platforms have evolved to meet the multifaceted needs of purchasing, engineering, logistics, and installation. From real-time pricing and quote requests aiding purchasing agents to advanced data integration helping users make informed decisions, we promise a wealth of insights that can keep your business one step ahead of the competition.
Learn how maximizing account management solutions can benefit multiple departments within your organization. Purchasing agents will find invaluable tools for budgeting and cost control, thanks to real-time pricing and negotiated rates. Meanwhile, detailed order histories and shipment tracking can streamline inventory management, ensuring timely deliveries. Engineers will appreciate the access to technical specifications, CAD drawings, and product comparisons, all essential for making informed decisions and gaining a competitive edge. Additionally, we'll highlight how logistics can be optimized with these systems, ensuring smooth project execution and efficient operational planning.
We also spotlight cutting-edge technologies revolutionizing industrial manufacturing and e-commerce. This episode is a treasure trove of information designed to help you embrace these innovations, enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure your business remains competitive. Join us, stay curious, and explore the resources in our show notes for further insights.
Remember to keep asking why...
Digitalization Resources:
Account Management Article
Video Explanation of Registering for an Account
Register for an Account
Other Resources to help with your journey:
Installed Asset Analysis Support
EECO Smart Manufacturing Guide
System Planning Support
Schedule your Visit to a Lab in North or South Carolina
Schedule your Visit to a Lab in Virginia
Submit your questions and feedback to: podcast@eecoaskwhy.com
Follow EECO on LinkedIn
Host: Chris Grainger
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Eco Ask why a podcast that dives into
industrial manufacturing topicsand spotlights the heroes that
keep America running.
I'm your host, chris Granger,and on this podcast we do not
cover the latest features andbenefits on products that come
to market.
Instead, we focus on advice andinsight from the top minds of
industry, because people andideas will be how America
(00:24):
remains number one inmanufacturing in the world.
Welcome to Ecosy.
I'm your host, chris Granger,and looking forward to hanging
out with everyone.
Today we're going to beunpacking the idea of how
account management inside of ane-commerce solution can really
(00:45):
unlock some really incrediblethings for you.
So we've been talking a lot onEcosY for the last few months
around e-commerce and how youcould be utilizing that to make
better buying decisions, how youcan enable the people inside
your facilities to ultimatelyget the resources they need when
they need it, and we're goingto look today about account
management what that can do forus, down to the very minute
(01:09):
details of moving forward.
Now we just need to firstrealize that e-commerce
solutions have really evolvedfar beyond just simple online
purchasing platforms.
That's really a fundamentalitem we need to take into
consideration because in today'sdistributor world advanced
(01:30):
account management features.
They give you a huge array offunctionalities that go to a lot
of diverse needs out there.
We're going to be talking todayspecifically about purchasing,
engineering, logistics andinstallation, and we're going to
have a lot of tools,particularly tools within an
electrical equipment company,that you can utilize to optimize
(01:52):
your operations and startstreamlining some workflows and
ultimately, it's going toenhance your efficiency.
So, if we want to think aboutthis from a high-level
standpoint, account managementin an e-commerce solution or
platform, if you will gives youinsight to tools that you need
(02:13):
to understand your interactions,your transactions and the data
that you have available to you.
You're an end user, you're acustomer, so you have the data.
You're an end user, you're thecustomer, so you have the data.
Do you have access to it toutilize it in a way that you
ultimately could leverage andlearn from.
And there's lots of things withplatforms out there
(02:33):
particularly the platforms thatwe use in an electric equipment
company that can integratedifferent functionalities that
help you to not only getpurchasing information so far as
purchasing products, but allowsyou to tie much deeper into
your history things that you'vedone in the past, as well as
some things you should considerfor the future.
So this is a comprehensiveapproach.
(02:55):
So when you think about accountmanagement, think big picture,
and it's going to help you stayorganized, it's going to help
you stay informed andcompetitive, and we know all
those areas are super importantin the heavy industrial world
that we live in.
So we're going to get into sometopics today.
We're going to really kind ofunpack this area by area as we
(03:15):
think about inside the plant,inside the functions of an
operating industrialmanufacturing facility, and how
you can utilize this movingforward.
So the first area we're goingto look at is purchasing.
So now we know streamliningpurchasing procurement processes
is such a big deal.
You know, we've talked to somany experts on the show, from
Kurt Anderson to Amanda Pachaska, to really just understand how
(03:38):
procurement is changing insideindustrial manufacturing, how
procurement is changing insideindustrial manufacturing, and to
achieve the ultimateefficiencies that the
procurement departments arelooking for, they need to have
tools, they need to have theseresources available at their
fingertips, and an e-commerceaccount management platform
(03:59):
provides that.
So let's think about a coupleof things that would be very
advantageous for you that are inprocurement.
How about finding and sourcingproducts If you have a solution
that you can log into or thatintegrates with your system.
We're really big on punch-outat ECO, so if you have questions
on punch-out solutions, let'shave a conversation there.
(04:20):
You can easily search forproducts, you can compare prices
, you can check availabilitywithout having to pick up the
phone and call anyone.
You can do this and really pickout some efficiencies.
It's going to save you a lot oftime and it's going to help you
make sure that the purchasingdecisions that you're making in
the moment are informed andthey're efficient.
There's nothing worse thantrying to source a project and
(04:42):
that you're going to buy theseproducts, only to find out that
you know what the pricing youhave for a project is completely
wrong.
Not only that, they're notavailable for two months.
You need to know this.
You need to have that advancedknowledge, and these account
management solutions give youthat.
Now also pricing in quotes.
This allows you to viewreal-time pricing real-time in
(05:04):
the moment.
It also allows you to requestreal-time pricing real-time in
the moment.
It also allows you to requestquotes and access negotiated
rates, because if you, as apurchasing agent working in
industrial manufacturing, havenegotiated some special rates
for your purchases, for yourproducts that you're purchasing
for your projects, you needaccess to that data, not list
price.
You need that data because thistransparency, this ability for
(05:25):
you to see, within accountmanagement platform, what you
have available to you, that'sgoing to help you tremendously
when it comes time to budgetingand, ultimately, cost control
and also for purchasing.
Think about your order historyand tracking.
That order history is huge intracking as well, because you
can detail.
If you have an accountmanagement platform and solution
, you can get access to detailedorder histories.
(05:48):
You can track those shipments.
You can monitor your orderstatuses.
So if you have people who areconstantly coming to your office
, what's my stuff coming in?
What's my stuff coming in?
You can go straight to youraccount management solution, see
directly, okay, what thecurrent status is and update
them without having to pick up aphone or call on anyone.
Because this is really, ifyou're thinking about managing
(06:11):
your inventory levels and tryingto maintain those timely
deliveries, this is a hugefunctionality.
These are just a couple tools.
Just a couple tools that helpyou in the purchasing department
, enhance your sourcing strategy.
That help you in the purchasingdepartment, enhance your
sourcing strategy, and we knowyou have so many stresses
against you and that's workingagainst you in purchasing as
well.
Right now, what is the optimalstock level I got to ultimately
(06:35):
reduce my procurement costs?
Well, all these things arepretty big, hairy, audacious
goals.
We get it.
So finding tools like accountmanagement solutions to help you
get the data that you need toget to move your needle.
And again, your electricalpurchasing for you as a
procurement manager may besomewhat small, but it's part of
your overall number that you'remanaging and if you can get a
(06:58):
better handle on that, it'sgoing to give you so much more
sense of control and freedom.
Okay, so now we've talked aboutpurchasing and how they can
utilize account managementsolutions.
Now let's talk aboutengineering, because engineering
also needs support designingand getting the correct
specifications when they need it.
Okay, so engineering teamsthey're relying on very precise
(07:24):
data and documentation thatreally is going to support their
design.
So if you have an e-commerceaccount management system
available to you as an engineer,this is a big deal, because
let's think about a few thingsthat you have available to you
right now.
You have technicalspecifications and documentation
(07:46):
.
Right here, you have access todetailed product specs.
You need a data sheet Guesswhat Account management system
is going to give that to you.
You need a manual.
Guess what it's right there aswell.
Do you need to have theinformation to make the most
informed decision?
I guarantee you, if it's arobust account management system
, that information is going tobe there.
(08:08):
How about design?
For you engineers who get downto the design level of a project
, you need some CAD drawings,you need some 3D models, you
need other planning tools.
All this, if available from amanufacturer, are typically
available within accountmanagement solutions.
And then we all know howengineers I'm one myself at
heart and I know how I like todo things I like to compare.
(08:31):
I want to understand what am Ibuying?
Is this going to give me what Iwant?
I also want to compare it todifferent products out there to
see is there a better solutionavailable?
Within a proper accountmanagement solution, you can
compare products directly.
You could compare those veryproducts and components, see, do
they meet the specs that youneed for your project or am I
(08:51):
getting stuff that would be niceto have but is not necessary?
You need to know that.
So these options for yourprojects, this is all available
within Account ManagementSolutions, because we know a lot
of engineers.
You guys are out there andgirls are out there and you're
trying to figure out.
What do you need to put intoyour process to give you that
advantage, right, to give youthat next level up so that you
(09:14):
can be able to beat yourcompetitors and bring the most
robust product to the market.
Well, having access to the datathat you need, from an
electrical standpoint, is huge.
Okay, inside account managementsolutions such a big deal, all
right.
Now we've talked aboutprocurement and purchasing.
We've talked about engineering.
Now let's talk about logisticsfor a.
(09:34):
Because logistics is such a bigdeal inside manufacturing?
Because if you want to enhanceyour order fulfillment and
shipping management, you got toget your hands around this
logistics deal.
Okay, because it's such acritical role.
You may be looking for aproject and trying to move
forward, but if you don't havethe parts, you don't know how to
get the parts and you'reunderstanding where the parts
are.
You're just going to befrustrated.
(09:56):
So logistic support within yourindustrial manufacturing
facility is huge, and e-commerceaccount management systems do
this for you.
So you can check out with this.
Within the platforms, you haveorder expectations so you can
check out detailed order status,updates, delivery times.
You can help logistic teamsplan their operations and manage
(10:16):
the customer expectations.
You go straight to yourlogistics manager and they can
log into an account managementsystem looking specifically not
for designing systems orchecking pricing.
They want to know how theyshould plan stuff out to make
sure that the equipment hasarrived and it's on site.
It's where it needs to be forwhen the project begins, right.
(10:38):
So this is such a big area foraccount management that often
gets overlooked.
It gets lumped in withpurchasing often.
That's fine, but sometimes it'sgood to peel that capability
out and give access to people inlogistics so that they can
understand that they can get abetter feel for when the product
is going to arrive, because ittakes resources, particularly
(11:00):
for large projects.
Maybe you have a big line ofmotor control centers or switch
gear or tons of breakers comingin.
It's going to take someresources just to simply unload
that.
You need to have thatunderstanding of when you can
expect it If you have it at yourfingertips as a logistics
manager.
Big deal Now also for logistics, shipping costs and options,
(11:22):
because if you're a user insideaccount management, you have an
idea of what the shipping costswere, so in shipping methods and
freight expectations andexpenses and things like that.
So if you're expectingsomething on FedEx, you'll be
able to go check out your FedExshipping.
If you want UPS or differenttypes of you maybe it's a
special LTD type truckingarrival you'll have to have all
of that right there available.
(11:43):
And ultimately, with logistics,it will help you with inventory
management because it's goingto give you that real-time
inventory data.
So if you want to go see yourorder history where your stuff
was, hey, as a logistics team,you want to be able to track
that.
You want to understand whatyour stock levels were.
You need to anticipate someshortages.
If you're in logistics and yousee there's a potential shortage
coming up, you probably want tomake some people aware of that,
(12:04):
and this is available withinaccount management system, okay,
all the way down to order andreplenishment.
So you have a lot of toolsavailable for you that your
logistics teams could ultimatelytake advantage of.
The first step is getting themaccess.
Getting them access to this sothat they can understand how
they potentially could help withthat order fulfillment process,
(12:25):
how they can reduce someshipping costs, how they can
improve your customersatisfaction, because, at the
end of the day, all these teamswork together in one cohesive
unit.
Now, when it comes down to theend of the road, you have the
orders that you've placed,designed by the engineers who
are making sure that theequipment is correct.
(12:45):
Logistically, we've got to getthe stuff there.
But then, once the stuff getsthere, once the product arrives
on site, we want to take care ofour installation teams as well.
This is an area that often getsoverlooked, so having access to
accurate and detailedinformation is crucial for
successful equipment setup andconfiguration.
Let's just be real, and thesee-commerce account management
(13:07):
systems they offer you this.
They help you with wiring andinstallation guides.
So if I'm a technician, an ENItechnician, and this brand new
PLC has come in and maybe thisis my first or second time
wearing one, it's been somewhatnew for me and I'm not real sure
on the best way to do it I wantto have some access to some
comprehensive guides.
I want to know for a fact howto wire this up to make sure
(13:33):
that I do it correctly.
Hey, we have all this availablewithin account management
systems.
How about troubleshootingresources?
Because there aretroubleshooting resources that
are available and withindifferent manufacturers you have
these resources, but if youhave the installers actually
having access to accountmanagement, they set their
(13:53):
fingertip and, at the end of theday, it's all about product
support, because installers needto know who they can reach out
to for technical support.
So, if you have an accountmanagement system, you often
have who your account managersare, so far as numbers and
emails for contact resources, aswell as the more advanced
product management level.
So if you want to get specificon hey, I got a technical
(14:14):
question I need to dive a littlebit deeper than a traditional
sales salesperson knowledge on aproduct.
You need to get to accountmanager, to a product manager,
rather inside account managementsystems.
You'll see all that.
You have all the information onwho you need to talk to.
Ok, so again, great ways righthere with account management
(14:35):
that really enhance your, youroverall experience as an end
user.
And I want you to think about acouple of other potential case
studies for e-commerce solutionsthat that we haven't covered.
Now we've.
We've gone through purchasing,we've gone through engineering,
logistics and installation.
They're all very big areas.
But how about customer service?
How about?
Just if you have a traditionalcustomer service team, because
(14:56):
they need?
You have a traditional customerservice team Because they need
to have information on tracking,they need to have information
on service requests.
They need to have ability toimpact your overall customer
satisfaction.
Customer service teams need tohave access to this.
Sales and marketing teams theyneed to understand what
marketing types of campaigns andinformation is out there for
those products so they canpotentially utilize them for
(15:17):
upcoming projects that they'retrying to sell, and they need to
track sales performance.
How about your finance teams?
If they need to have invoicingand payment processing,
financial reporting all thatstuff available to them?
You want to make sure, withthese e-commerce account
management solutions, this isavailable.
So, yeah, as we think aboutthings in the future, we're very
future-oriented at a largeequipment company, lots of
(15:40):
investments going in to makesure we have robust systems and
the best of the best people inplace.
To answer your questions,there's lots of future trends
which are pretty interestingwhen you start thinking about
how the whole industrialprocurement world is changing,
and we're going to talk about afew of those.
I just want to unpack just acouple of them for you, because
(16:02):
this rapid technologicaladvancements is really changing
a lot of expectations out thereand we see a couple of trends
that are somewhat rising, and wewant to be on the front end of
this to share it with you,because we know business has
changed, operations changed andthere's all about being
competitive, interacting withyour customers, having that
right competitive advantage.
(16:22):
So a couple of things that wesee potentially coming that
could be impacting things in thevery near future are artificial
intelligence and machinelearning.
So just think about for asecond, like predictive
analytics, ai.
This is giving you lots of datato predict future needs and
trends that you have.
So it can help you anticipatepotential customer needs as well
(16:46):
as your personal needs, andhelp you optimize those
inventory levels and reallystart getting specific so they
can forecast demand based off ofmaybe seasonal history or
historical data, off of currentmarket trends.
All this stuff is available.
When you start introducing theconcept of AI into your
analytics Such a big deal.
(17:07):
You can also potentially, withsome of this stuff, you can
start automating some of yourcustomer service items.
If you're an industrialmanufacturer and you're trying
to cut your cost, you're tryingto reduce costs as best you can.
There are certain things likechatbots and virtual assistants.
They're very sophisticated andwhen you tie that into direct
support of product and resources, that can really enhance some
(17:31):
things for you.
How about for you guys outthere who are thinking about
smart contracts Because contracttechnology is changing, are
thinking about smart contractsbecause contract technology is
changing.
So you have these smartcontracts now that are
self-executing, with terms andconditions directly written into
them, and they can automate alot of these processes in
e-commerce, such as paymentrelease and delivery
(17:52):
confirmation.
It kind of can eliminate someof those middle areas where it
just holds us up and speed upthe transactions.
Well, we know that's such a bigdeal.
Or we know the IoT, theindustrial, the IIoT, rather the
Industrial Internet of Things.
It's all about real-timeinventory management.
So you have items out thereright now, such as smart shells
(18:16):
and RFID tags that can give youreal-time data on your current
inventory levels.
It's really cool how so much ofthis technology is just
absolutely coming down.
It's impacting.
It's hitting directly insidethe plant storerooms, the plant
floor, wherever the product isstored, directly, and it makes
such a big deal.
(18:36):
It's all about reducing thatstock out, because I don't bet
you, but there's nothing worsethan getting that phone call
when they need a product.
They're supposed to have aproduct on the shelf.
They go to get the product andguess what?
There's none there Becausethere was a step missed
somewhere in the process wheresomething was most likely
grabbed, and usually it's notmalicious.
Most of the time the stuff istaken because the machine is
(18:59):
down and we got to get it backup.
We'll take care of thepaperwork later.
And guess what?
We get it back up and thensomething else happens.
And then something else happensAfter those two or three,
something else's.
You forgot about reorderingthat product.
It just happens.
So if you have real-timeinventory management that's part
of your process using IOTdevices, you can eliminate some
(19:19):
of that.
This stuff is out there, okay.
Then you have enhancedlogistics and tracking and when
you have that stuff these IOTsensors they can monitor the
condition and location ofproducts during transit.
I mean it's really cool howsome of this stuff is
revolutionizing the way stuff isbeing bought and so far is
serving you.
Another area to think about isaugmented reality and virtual
(19:43):
reality.
I've played with some of thistechnology already out here in
industrial manufacturing andit's such a cool.
But this is such a cooltechnology because this is going
to allow you to visualizeproducts in your environment
before you start making apurchase.
So for you engineers out therewho are thinking through
products and how products aregoing to work inside your
facility.
This can help you see how apiece of equipment would fit on
(20:06):
your plant floor, just like apiece of furniture would fit in
your living room.
Right, this is going to helpyou enhance that.
Also, there's lots of thingsout there from virtual showrooms
that can give you a 3Dexperience of what product is,
of how the product is changing,how the product would work.
It really takes thattraditional e-commerce
experience to a whole new level.
(20:27):
And then, when it gets down toit, there's so much about
advanced data analytics.
If you can get customerinsights and get performance
metrics on the data that mattersout of your system without
having to pick up the phone callanyone, just at your fingertips
, that's going to give you sucha competitive advantage over all
your competitors.
And when we start thinkingabout this, if you want to
(20:48):
understand what your purchasingpatterns are, what the
preferences are, what thecustomer behaviors are, all this
stuff you can get that insightdirectly based off your system.
And then you can start gettingsome KPIs that you want to
matter and make data-drivendecisions.
Okay, so maybe you want to lookat some sales trends or
customer engagements or websitetraffic and you can understand,
okay, based off of this.
(21:08):
Maybe we need to be stocking upon inventory here Now.
Some of this stuff may soundlike science fiction and it's
way far out there.
I'm telling you so much of thisstuff is going to be hit in
manufacturing.
It's already has hit it in manyplaces, but it's coming, and
our team at our electrical womencompany we're committed to
walking with you on this journey, because we know that you want
(21:30):
a more connected, more robustsourcing experience, and that's
why we're taking the time toreally unpack this idea.
And that's why we're taking thetime to really unpack this idea
because we recognize there's somany advantages out there of
account management.
When you're thinking about youre-commerce solution because
it's not just about onlinepurchasing that is somewhat of a
given.
You got to have onlinepurchasing right.
(21:52):
You need to have that.
Take it to the next level.
What can you do outside of justhaving an account?
That's going to give you value,and this is what we were trying
to unpack here today for you.
Hopefully, some aha moments werehappening, because if you have
comprehensive tools andresources tailored to your
purchasing the engineering, thelogistics, the installation
(22:14):
teams and all more that wetalked about then you'll be able
to make better and moreinformed decisions and
streamline those processes,ultimately knock some costs out
and improve that efficiency andhopefully beat your competitors.
But you have to embrace thesetechnologies.
You have to lean in and startasking questions.
Ask for demonstrations, ask forokay, I want to see ECO.
(22:37):
I want to see how your accountmanagement system, how that
could help our engineering teamand I guarantee you we're going
to be on the spot, ready to showyou, to give you that
experience.
For you customers out there whowould like to have a more robust
experience with a punch-outsolution where you have your
(22:58):
entire system that you utilizeinside your plant, yet you'd
like to have it connecteddirectly to us, but you don't
want to change that interfacefor the way the people inside
your organization work.
You want them to stay on theirsystem.
That's what punch-out's allabout, and we have experts in
place ready to help you in thisarea.
So I'm telling you lots andlots of things here.
(23:19):
We'll actually put a link outhere on this podcast to go check
out a blog that's associatedwith this, as well as what we
call our Eco Knowledge Base.
This is an area we have lots ofvideos where we put together
the advantages of an accountmanagement solution, what they
can do for you, particularly ouraccount management solution to
(23:39):
give can do for you,particularly our account
management solution, to give youa little bit of insight to what
this would look like for youdirectly.
So if you have questions or ifyou're a little bit inquisitive
about this, like to see more foryourself, highly, highly,
highly encourage you to go checkthat out and see if this could
be something that could serveyou well.
So, anyway, give us a ratingand review.
Hopefully you're enjoyingEco-Ask-Why.
We know the format's changed.
(24:19):
We're still plugging away andtrying to just bring you value
in everything that we do eachand every week, each.
If you're out there inindustrial manufacturing or one
of our customers that are notutilizing some of our e-commerce
solutions, we'd love to have aconversation.
We'd love to chat with you.
We'd love just to see,potentially, how some of the
things that we have built andare building could help.
You could give you that leg up.
So if you have questions, if youhave or would like to see
(24:41):
directly what this would looklike for you, let's have a
conversation.
So head over to Eco Online.
Connect with us.
Connect with your accountmanagement Account with a
product manager.
Call the branch directly.
Whatever works for you, we'llset up a time we can come out.
We can even do virtual type ofopportunities or engagements to
show you what this would looklike from a system standpoint.
So there's lots of resources inplace.
(25:03):
So if you're in the SoutheastUnited States and you're
listening to the ECO Asks whyand you're and you are not
utilizing some of our e-commerceplatforms and solutions, we
would love to have aconversation, okay.
So anyway, keep having a greatday.
Thank you so much.
Please share this out withothers, particularly for others
in industrial manufacturing whothink may would benefit from
(25:26):
solutions like this, and we'dlove to connect with you.
So again, there's all sorts oflinks in the show notes for the
resources we have available foryou from Electric Equipment
Company.
So we'd love to hear from youand just looking forward to
seeing you next time.
So thank you again for hangingout with us today and remember
just to keep asking why.
Thank you for listening to EECOAsks why.
(25:47):
This show is supported ad-freeby Electrical Equipment Company.
Eeco is redefining theexpectations of an electrical
distributor by placing peopleand ideas before products.
Please subscribe and share withyour colleagues and friends.
Also leave comments, feedbackand any new topics that you
would like to hear.
To learn more or to share yourinsights, visit EECOASYcom.
(26:10):
That's E-E-C-O-A-S-K-S-W-H-Ydot com KSKSWHYcom.
Welcome to Eco Ask why a podcast that dives into
industrial manufacturing topicsand spotlights the heroes that
keep America running.
I'm your host, chris Granger,and on this podcast we do not
cover the latest features andbenefits on products that come
to market.
Instead, we focus on advice andinsight from the top minds of
industry, because people andideas will be how America
(00:24):
remains number one inmanufacturing in the world.
Welcome to Ecosy.
I'm your host, chris Granger,and looking forward to hanging
out with everyone.
Today we're going to beunpacking the idea of how
account management inside of ane-commerce solution can really
(00:45):
unlock some really incrediblethings for you.
So we've been talking a lot onEcosY for the last few months
around e-commerce and how youcould be utilizing that to make
better buying decisions, how youcan enable the people inside
your facilities to ultimatelyget the resources they need when
they need it, and we're goingto look today about account
management what that can do forus, down to the very minute
(01:09):
details of moving forward.
Now we just need to firstrealize that e-commerce
solutions have really evolvedfar beyond just simple online
purchasing platforms.
That's really a fundamentalitem we need to take into
consideration because in today'sdistributor world advanced
(01:30):
account management features.
They give you a huge array offunctionalities that go to a lot
of diverse needs out there.
We're going to be talking todayspecifically about purchasing,
engineering, logistics andinstallation, and we're going to
have a lot of tools,particularly tools within an
electrical equipment company,that you can utilize to optimize
(01:52):
your operations and startstreamlining some workflows and
ultimately, it's going toenhance your efficiency.
So, if we want to think aboutthis from a high-level
standpoint, account managementin an e-commerce solution or
platform, if you will gives youinsight to tools that you need
(02:13):
to understand your interactions,your transactions and the data
that you have available to you.
You're an end user, you're acustomer, so you have the data.
You're an end user, you're thecustomer, so you have the data.
Do you have access to it toutilize it in a way that you
ultimately could leverage andlearn from.
And there's lots of things withplatforms out there
(02:33):
particularly the platforms thatwe use in an electric equipment
company that can integratedifferent functionalities that
help you to not only getpurchasing information so far as
purchasing products, but allowsyou to tie much deeper into
your history things that you'vedone in the past, as well as
some things you should considerfor the future.
So this is a comprehensiveapproach.
(02:55):
So when you think about accountmanagement, think big picture,
and it's going to help you stayorganized, it's going to help
you stay informed andcompetitive, and we know all
those areas are super importantin the heavy industrial world
that we live in.
So we're going to get into sometopics today.
We're going to really kind ofunpack this area by area as we
(03:15):
think about inside the plant,inside the functions of an
operating industrialmanufacturing facility, and how
you can utilize this movingforward.
So the first area we're goingto look at is purchasing.
So now we know streamliningpurchasing procurement processes
is such a big deal.
You know, we've talked to somany experts on the show, from
Kurt Anderson to Amanda Pachaska, to really just understand how
(03:38):
procurement is changing insideindustrial manufacturing, how
procurement is changing insideindustrial manufacturing, and to
achieve the ultimateefficiencies that the
procurement departments arelooking for, they need to have
tools, they need to have theseresources available at their
fingertips, and an e-commerceaccount management platform
(03:59):
provides that.
So let's think about a coupleof things that would be very
advantageous for you that are inprocurement.
How about finding and sourcingproducts If you have a solution
that you can log into or thatintegrates with your system.
We're really big on punch-outat ECO, so if you have questions
on punch-out solutions, let'shave a conversation there.
(04:20):
You can easily search forproducts, you can compare prices
, you can check availabilitywithout having to pick up the
phone and call anyone.
You can do this and really pickout some efficiencies.
It's going to save you a lot oftime and it's going to help you
make sure that the purchasingdecisions that you're making in
the moment are informed andthey're efficient.
There's nothing worse thantrying to source a project and
(04:42):
that you're going to buy theseproducts, only to find out that
you know what the pricing youhave for a project is completely
wrong.
Not only that, they're notavailable for two months.
You need to know this.
You need to have that advancedknowledge, and these account
management solutions give youthat.
Now also pricing in quotes.
This allows you to viewreal-time pricing real-time in
(05:04):
the moment.
It also allows you to requestreal-time pricing real-time in
the moment.
It also allows you to requestquotes and access negotiated
rates, because if you, as apurchasing agent working in
industrial manufacturing, havenegotiated some special rates
for your purchases, for yourproducts that you're purchasing
for your projects, you needaccess to that data, not list
price.
You need that data because thistransparency, this ability for
(05:25):
you to see, within accountmanagement platform, what you
have available to you, that'sgoing to help you tremendously
when it comes time to budgetingand, ultimately, cost control
and also for purchasing.
Think about your order historyand tracking.
That order history is huge intracking as well, because you
can detail.
If you have an accountmanagement platform and solution
, you can get access to detailedorder histories.
(05:48):
You can track those shipments.
You can monitor your orderstatuses.
So if you have people who areconstantly coming to your office
, what's my stuff coming in?
What's my stuff coming in?
You can go straight to youraccount management solution, see
directly, okay, what thecurrent status is and update
them without having to pick up aphone or call on anyone.
Because this is really, ifyou're thinking about managing
(06:11):
your inventory levels and tryingto maintain those timely
deliveries, this is a hugefunctionality.
These are just a couple tools.
Just a couple tools that helpyou in the purchasing department
, enhance your sourcing strategy.
That help you in the purchasingdepartment, enhance your
sourcing strategy, and we knowyou have so many stresses
against you and that's workingagainst you in purchasing as
well.
Right now, what is the optimalstock level I got to ultimately
(06:35):
reduce my procurement costs?
Well, all these things arepretty big, hairy, audacious
goals.
We get it.
So finding tools like accountmanagement solutions to help you
get the data that you need toget to move your needle.
And again, your electricalpurchasing for you as a
procurement manager may besomewhat small, but it's part of
your overall number that you'remanaging and if you can get a
(06:58):
better handle on that, it'sgoing to give you so much more
sense of control and freedom.
Okay, so now we've talked aboutpurchasing and how they can
utilize account managementsolutions.
Now let's talk aboutengineering, because engineering
also needs support designingand getting the correct
specifications when they need it.
Okay, so engineering teamsthey're relying on very precise
(07:24):
data and documentation thatreally is going to support their
design.
So if you have an e-commerceaccount management system
available to you as an engineer,this is a big deal, because
let's think about a few thingsthat you have available to you
right now.
You have technicalspecifications and documentation
(07:46):
.
Right here, you have access todetailed product specs.
You need a data sheet Guesswhat Account management system
is going to give that to you.
You need a manual.
Guess what it's right there aswell.
Do you need to have theinformation to make the most
informed decision?
I guarantee you, if it's arobust account management system
, that information is going tobe there.
(08:08):
How about design?
For you engineers who get downto the design level of a project
, you need some CAD drawings,you need some 3D models, you
need other planning tools.
All this, if available from amanufacturer, are typically
available within accountmanagement solutions.
And then we all know howengineers I'm one myself at
heart and I know how I like todo things I like to compare.
(08:31):
I want to understand what am Ibuying?
Is this going to give me what Iwant?
I also want to compare it todifferent products out there to
see is there a better solutionavailable?
Within a proper accountmanagement solution, you can
compare products directly.
You could compare those veryproducts and components, see, do
they meet the specs that youneed for your project or am I
(08:51):
getting stuff that would be niceto have but is not necessary?
You need to know that.
So these options for yourprojects, this is all available
within Account ManagementSolutions, because we know a lot
of engineers.
You guys are out there andgirls are out there and you're
trying to figure out.
What do you need to put intoyour process to give you that
advantage, right, to give youthat next level up so that you
(09:14):
can be able to beat yourcompetitors and bring the most
robust product to the market.
Well, having access to the datathat you need, from an
electrical standpoint, is huge.
Okay, inside account managementsolutions such a big deal, all
right.
Now we've talked aboutprocurement and purchasing.
We've talked about engineering.
Now let's talk about logisticsfor a.
(09:34):
Because logistics is such a bigdeal inside manufacturing?
Because if you want to enhanceyour order fulfillment and
shipping management, you got toget your hands around this
logistics deal.
Okay, because it's such acritical role.
You may be looking for aproject and trying to move
forward, but if you don't havethe parts, you don't know how to
get the parts and you'reunderstanding where the parts
are.
You're just going to befrustrated.
(09:56):
So logistic support within yourindustrial manufacturing
facility is huge, and e-commerceaccount management systems do
this for you.
So you can check out with this.
Within the platforms, you haveorder expectations so you can
check out detailed order status,updates, delivery times.
You can help logistic teamsplan their operations and manage
(10:16):
the customer expectations.
You go straight to yourlogistics manager and they can
log into an account managementsystem looking specifically not
for designing systems orchecking pricing.
They want to know how theyshould plan stuff out to make
sure that the equipment hasarrived and it's on site.
It's where it needs to be forwhen the project begins, right.
(10:38):
So this is such a big area foraccount management that often
gets overlooked.
It gets lumped in withpurchasing often.
That's fine, but sometimes it'sgood to peel that capability
out and give access to people inlogistics so that they can
understand that they can get abetter feel for when the product
is going to arrive, because ittakes resources, particularly
(11:00):
for large projects.
Maybe you have a big line ofmotor control centers or switch
gear or tons of breakers comingin.
It's going to take someresources just to simply unload
that.
You need to have thatunderstanding of when you can
expect it If you have it at yourfingertips as a logistics
manager.
Big deal Now also for logistics, shipping costs and options,
(11:22):
because if you're a user insideaccount management, you have an
idea of what the shipping costswere, so in shipping methods and
freight expectations andexpenses and things like that.
So if you're expectingsomething on FedEx, you'll be
able to go check out your FedExshipping.
If you want UPS or differenttypes of you maybe it's a
special LTD type truckingarrival you'll have to have all
of that right there available.
(11:43):
And ultimately, with logistics,it will help you with inventory
management because it's goingto give you that real-time
inventory data.
So if you want to go see yourorder history where your stuff
was, hey, as a logistics team,you want to be able to track
that.
You want to understand whatyour stock levels were.
You need to anticipate someshortages.
If you're in logistics and yousee there's a potential shortage
coming up, you probably want tomake some people aware of that,
(12:04):
and this is available withinaccount management system, okay,
all the way down to order andreplenishment.
So you have a lot of toolsavailable for you that your
logistics teams could ultimatelytake advantage of.
The first step is getting themaccess.
Getting them access to this sothat they can understand how
they potentially could help withthat order fulfillment process,
(12:25):
how they can reduce someshipping costs, how they can
improve your customersatisfaction, because, at the
end of the day, all these teamswork together in one cohesive
unit.
Now, when it comes down to theend of the road, you have the
orders that you've placed,designed by the engineers who
are making sure that theequipment is correct.
(12:45):
Logistically, we've got to getthe stuff there.
But then, once the stuff getsthere, once the product arrives
on site, we want to take care ofour installation teams as well.
This is an area that often getsoverlooked, so having access to
accurate and detailedinformation is crucial for
successful equipment setup andconfiguration.
Let's just be real, and thesee-commerce account management
(13:07):
systems they offer you this.
They help you with wiring andinstallation guides.
So if I'm a technician, an ENItechnician, and this brand new
PLC has come in and maybe thisis my first or second time
wearing one, it's been somewhatnew for me and I'm not real sure
on the best way to do it I wantto have some access to some
comprehensive guides.
I want to know for a fact howto wire this up to make sure
(13:33):
that I do it correctly.
Hey, we have all this availablewithin account management
systems.
How about troubleshootingresources?
Because there aretroubleshooting resources that
are available and withindifferent manufacturers you have
these resources, but if youhave the installers actually
having access to accountmanagement, they set their
(13:53):
fingertip and, at the end of theday, it's all about product
support, because installers needto know who they can reach out
to for technical support.
So, if you have an accountmanagement system, you often
have who your account managersare, so far as numbers and
emails for contact resources, aswell as the more advanced
product management level.
So if you want to get specificon hey, I got a technical
(14:14):
question I need to dive a littlebit deeper than a traditional
sales salesperson knowledge on aproduct.
You need to get to accountmanager, to a product manager,
rather inside account managementsystems.
You'll see all that.
You have all the information onwho you need to talk to.
Ok, so again, great ways righthere with account management
(14:35):
that really enhance your, youroverall experience as an end
user.
And I want you to think about acouple of other potential case
studies for e-commerce solutionsthat that we haven't covered.
Now we've.
We've gone through purchasing,we've gone through engineering,
logistics and installation.
They're all very big areas.
But how about customer service?
How about?
Just if you have a traditionalcustomer service team, because
(14:56):
they need?
You have a traditional customerservice team Because they need
to have information on tracking,they need to have information
on service requests.
They need to have ability toimpact your overall customer
satisfaction.
Customer service teams need tohave access to this.
Sales and marketing teams theyneed to understand what
marketing types of campaigns andinformation is out there for
those products so they canpotentially utilize them for
(15:17):
upcoming projects that they'retrying to sell, and they need to
track sales performance.
How about your finance teams?
If they need to have invoicingand payment processing,
financial reporting all thatstuff available to them?
You want to make sure, withthese e-commerce account
management solutions, this isavailable.
So, yeah, as we think aboutthings in the future, we're very
future-oriented at a largeequipment company, lots of
(15:40):
investments going in to makesure we have robust systems and
the best of the best people inplace.
To answer your questions,there's lots of future trends
which are pretty interestingwhen you start thinking about
how the whole industrialprocurement world is changing,
and we're going to talk about afew of those.
I just want to unpack just acouple of them for you, because
(16:02):
this rapid technologicaladvancements is really changing
a lot of expectations out thereand we see a couple of trends
that are somewhat rising, and wewant to be on the front end of
this to share it with you,because we know business has
changed, operations changed andthere's all about being
competitive, interacting withyour customers, having that
right competitive advantage.
(16:22):
So a couple of things that wesee potentially coming that
could be impacting things in thevery near future are artificial
intelligence and machinelearning.
So just think about for asecond, like predictive
analytics, ai.
This is giving you lots of datato predict future needs and
trends that you have.
So it can help you anticipatepotential customer needs as well
(16:46):
as your personal needs, andhelp you optimize those
inventory levels and reallystart getting specific so they
can forecast demand based off ofmaybe seasonal history or
historical data, off of currentmarket trends.
All this stuff is available.
When you start introducing theconcept of AI into your
analytics Such a big deal.
(17:07):
You can also potentially, withsome of this stuff, you can
start automating some of yourcustomer service items.
If you're an industrialmanufacturer and you're trying
to cut your cost, you're tryingto reduce costs as best you can.
There are certain things likechatbots and virtual assistants.
They're very sophisticated andwhen you tie that into direct
support of product and resources, that can really enhance some
(17:31):
things for you.
How about for you guys outthere who are thinking about
smart contracts Because contracttechnology is changing, are
thinking about smart contractsbecause contract technology is
changing.
So you have these smartcontracts now that are
self-executing, with terms andconditions directly written into
them, and they can automate alot of these processes in
e-commerce, such as paymentrelease and delivery
(17:52):
confirmation.
It kind of can eliminate someof those middle areas where it
just holds us up and speed upthe transactions.
Well, we know that's such a bigdeal.
Or we know the IoT, theindustrial, the IIoT, rather the
Industrial Internet of Things.
It's all about real-timeinventory management.
So you have items out thereright now, such as smart shells
(18:16):
and RFID tags that can give youreal-time data on your current
inventory levels.
It's really cool how so much ofthis technology is just
absolutely coming down.
It's impacting.
It's hitting directly insidethe plant storerooms, the plant
floor, wherever the product isstored, directly, and it makes
such a big deal.
(18:36):
It's all about reducing thatstock out, because I don't bet
you, but there's nothing worsethan getting that phone call
when they need a product.
They're supposed to have aproduct on the shelf.
They go to get the product andguess what?
There's none there Becausethere was a step missed
somewhere in the process wheresomething was most likely
grabbed, and usually it's notmalicious.
Most of the time the stuff istaken because the machine is
(18:59):
down and we got to get it backup.
We'll take care of thepaperwork later.
And guess what?
We get it back up and thensomething else happens.
And then something else happensAfter those two or three,
something else's.
You forgot about reorderingthat product.
It just happens.
So if you have real-timeinventory management that's part
of your process using IOTdevices, you can eliminate some
(19:19):
of that.
This stuff is out there, okay.
Then you have enhancedlogistics and tracking and when
you have that stuff these IOTsensors they can monitor the
condition and location ofproducts during transit.
I mean it's really cool howsome of this stuff is
revolutionizing the way stuff isbeing bought and so far is
serving you.
Another area to think about isaugmented reality and virtual
(19:43):
reality.
I've played with some of thistechnology already out here in
industrial manufacturing andit's such a cool.
But this is such a cooltechnology because this is going
to allow you to visualizeproducts in your environment
before you start making apurchase.
So for you engineers out therewho are thinking through
products and how products aregoing to work inside your
facility.
This can help you see how apiece of equipment would fit on
(20:06):
your plant floor, just like apiece of furniture would fit in
your living room.
Right, this is going to helpyou enhance that.
Also, there's lots of thingsout there from virtual showrooms
that can give you a 3Dexperience of what product is,
of how the product is changing,how the product would work.
It really takes thattraditional e-commerce
experience to a whole new level.
(20:27):
And then, when it gets down toit, there's so much about
advanced data analytics.
If you can get customerinsights and get performance
metrics on the data that mattersout of your system without
having to pick up the phone callanyone, just at your fingertips
, that's going to give you sucha competitive advantage over all
your competitors.
And when we start thinkingabout this, if you want to
(20:48):
understand what your purchasingpatterns are, what the
preferences are, what thecustomer behaviors are, all this
stuff you can get that insightdirectly based off your system.
And then you can start gettingsome KPIs that you want to
matter and make data-drivendecisions.
Okay, so maybe you want to lookat some sales trends or
customer engagements or websitetraffic and you can understand,
okay, based off of this.
(21:08):
Maybe we need to be stocking upon inventory here Now.
Some of this stuff may soundlike science fiction and it's
way far out there.
I'm telling you so much of thisstuff is going to be hit in
manufacturing.
It's already has hit it in manyplaces, but it's coming, and
our team at our electrical womencompany we're committed to
walking with you on this journey, because we know that you want
(21:30):
a more connected, more robustsourcing experience, and that's
why we're taking the time toreally unpack this idea.
And that's why we're taking thetime to really unpack this idea
because we recognize there's somany advantages out there of
account management.
When you're thinking about youre-commerce solution because
it's not just about onlinepurchasing that is somewhat of a
given.
You got to have onlinepurchasing right.
(21:52):
You need to have that.
Take it to the next level.
What can you do outside of justhaving an account?
That's going to give you value,and this is what we were trying
to unpack here today for you.
Hopefully, some aha moments werehappening, because if you have
comprehensive tools andresources tailored to your
purchasing the engineering, thelogistics, the installation
(22:14):
teams and all more that wetalked about then you'll be able
to make better and moreinformed decisions and
streamline those processes,ultimately knock some costs out
and improve that efficiency andhopefully beat your competitors.
But you have to embrace thesetechnologies.
You have to lean in and startasking questions.
Ask for demonstrations, ask forokay, I want to see ECO.
(22:37):
I want to see how your accountmanagement system, how that
could help our engineering teamand I guarantee you we're going
to be on the spot, ready to showyou, to give you that
experience.
For you customers out there whowould like to have a more robust
experience with a punch-outsolution where you have your
(22:58):
entire system that you utilizeinside your plant, yet you'd
like to have it connecteddirectly to us, but you don't
want to change that interfacefor the way the people inside
your organization work.
You want them to stay on theirsystem.
That's what punch-out's allabout, and we have experts in
place ready to help you in thisarea.
So I'm telling you lots andlots of things here.
(23:19):
We'll actually put a link outhere on this podcast to go check
out a blog that's associatedwith this, as well as what we
call our Eco Knowledge Base.
This is an area we have lots ofvideos where we put together
the advantages of an accountmanagement solution, what they
can do for you, particularly ouraccount management solution to
(23:39):
give can do for you,particularly our account
management solution, to give youa little bit of insight to what
this would look like for youdirectly.
So if you have questions or ifyou're a little bit inquisitive
about this, like to see more foryourself, highly, highly,
highly encourage you to go checkthat out and see if this could
be something that could serveyou well.
So, anyway, give us a ratingand review.
Hopefully you're enjoyingEco-Ask-Why.
We know the format's changed.
(24:19):
We're still plugging away andtrying to just bring you value
in everything that we do eachand every week, each.
If you're out there inindustrial manufacturing or one
of our customers that are notutilizing some of our e-commerce
solutions, we'd love to have aconversation.
We'd love to chat with you.
We'd love just to see,potentially, how some of the
things that we have built andare building could help.
You could give you that leg up.
So if you have questions, if youhave or would like to see
(24:41):
directly what this would looklike for you, let's have a
conversation.
So head over to Eco Online.
Connect with us.
Connect with your accountmanagement Account with a
product manager.
Call the branch directly.
Whatever works for you, we'llset up a time we can come out.
We can even do virtual type ofopportunities or engagements to
show you what this would looklike from a system standpoint.
So there's lots of resources inplace.
(25:03):
So if you're in the SoutheastUnited States and you're
listening to the ECO Asks whyand you're and you are not
utilizing some of our e-commerceplatforms and solutions, we
would love to have aconversation, okay.
So anyway, keep having a greatday.
Thank you so much.
Please share this out withothers, particularly for others
in industrial manufacturing whothink may would benefit from
(25:26):
solutions like this, and we'dlove to connect with you.
So again, there's all sorts oflinks in the show notes for the
resources we have available foryou from Electric Equipment
Company.
So we'd love to hear from youand just looking forward to
seeing you next time.
So thank you again for hangingout with us today and remember
just to keep asking why.
Thank you for listening to EECOAsks why.
(25:47):
This show is supported ad-freeby Electrical Equipment Company.
Eeco is redefining theexpectations of an electrical
distributor by placing peopleand ideas before products.
Please subscribe and share withyour colleagues and friends.
Also leave comments, feedbackand any new topics that you
would like to hear.
To learn more or to share yourinsights, visit EECOASYcom.
(26:10):
That's E-E-C-O-A-S-K-S-W-H-Ydot com KSKSWHYcom.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.