Customer service is a vital part of any business. It is especially essential for companies that deal in wholesale trade, knowing how crucial they are for many industries. As such, they provide an efficient way to move goods from the producer to the customer, but there can also be issues in their customer service that they need to address.
One fundamental problem with wholesale trade business is that it can be hard to give customers individual attention since they must serve many customers at once. This means that customers might get a lower level of service than they expect and deserve, leading to dissatisfaction and negative reviews of the business. Additionally, communication between buyers and sellers can sometimes become muddled due to language barriers or misunderstandings over terms of sale. This often leads to confusion about pricing, delivery times, and product quality, damaging customer relationships.
Wholesale trade businesses should work hard to resolve these issues if they want to maintain a positive reputation with their clientele. After all, research on customer retention, as featured in HuffPost validates the importance of customer experience wherein 66% of consumers switched brands due to poor service. And that’s why having a quality customer service team is a must to succeed. However, it can be difficult to staff and maintain a customer service team in-house. As a result, an increasing number of wholesale trade corporations are now opting to outsource their customer service operations to ensure that they have access to the best possible resources.
Delegating your customer service needs to a business process outsourcing (BPO) company has many advantages. It can provide a range of benefits, including improved efficiency and responsiveness, reduced operational costs without sacrificing quality or customer satisfaction, a broader array of services from a dedicated team of experts, and many more. Outsourcing your customer service can also be an incredibly effective way to ensure that customers have a positive experience with your wholesale business.
Suppose you own or manage a wholesale trade business. In that case, the following blog post will discuss why outsourcing your customer service needs could be beneficial and a worthwhile investment for your company. But before that, we will also explore necessary details about the wholesale trade business.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
What is the Wholesale Trade Industry all about?
The wholesale trade industry is one of the most important sectors of today’s economy. As its name implies, it refers to buying and selling goods in large quantities and at a discounted price. It plays an imperative role in facilitating the exchange of goods between businesses while allowing retailers to acquire goods at lower prices than they would if they purchased them directly from manufacturers or suppliers.
Wholesalers are typically required to have a licence before purchasing bulk products from the manufacturer or supplier. This is often referred to as “bulk buying” since it allows them to buy large quantities of goods simultaneously. The wholesaler then resells these products to retailers for resale, usually at a higher price than initially paid. As a result, wholesalers often make their profits by selling merchandise in smaller increments than what they originally purchased from the manufacturer or distributor.
The 4 Common Types of Wholesale
Retail Wholesalers
Retail wholesale business suppliers are those who, besides providing products to the merchants, also deal directly with the final consumers. In this way, they can institute direct contact with the clients.
Natural Wholesale Suppliers
Pure wholesale business suppliers concentrate on purchasing from their distributors or manufacturers and rendering just to your retailers. They do not practise purchase or production that is direct to the customers.
Wholesale Maker Suppliers
These wholesalers generate goods along with their specific circulation directly to the retailers. Typically, they do not deal in products created by various other companies.
Representatives and Agents
These intermediaries function as a link between the makers and retailers. They usually work on behalf of the company to find purchasers for the items associated with the maker.
The Difference Between Wholesalers, Retailers and Distributors
Ever wondered what the difference between a wholesaler, retailer, and distributor is? We’ve got the answer here.
Wholesalers
They often purchase volume that is absolutely straight or big from distributors. High-volume buy orders commonly improve a buying power; this is precisely a wholesaler’s. Many wholesale business suppliers render discounts for a vast array of things purchased or even the total quantity of merchandise. Wholesale suppliers get products such as computers, clothes, bicycles, telephones, furniture and TVs. Items are usually meant for merchants.
Retailers
They involve small and big corporations that tend to be for-profit and sell items directly to customers. To comprehend revenue, shops search for products that go along using their company targets and find manufacturers most sufficient in competitive pricing. Most of the time, a shop can buy trim levels of an item from the wholesaler or distributor. For instance, a retail company that wishes to purchase a dozen lamps could contact illumination suppliers to inquire about prices.
Distributors
Wholesale business suppliers usually have a continuous business model with the manufacturers they represent. Many distributors keep exclusive buying agreements that allow distributors to cover a particular territory or minimise a vast array of members. As a result, the distributor becomes the manufacturer’s direct point for possible purchasers of certain products and services. Even so, suppliers rarely provide a manufacturer’s items straight to consumers. Instead, wholesale representatives and retailers find vendors to buy products and services for resale.
What is Wholesale Trade Outsourcing?
It is the process of hiring a BPO external provider to manage all or part of your wholesale trade operations by a team of remote experts located anywhere in the world. This can include tasks such as order fulfilment, inventory management, customer service, and shipping.
Why is the Wholesale Trade Industry suited to Offshoring?
- Most of your processes use cloud-based software on which accessing it is possible from anywhere in the world. Again, BPO companies (especially the good ones) have comprehensive privacy protections, cybersecurity, and infrastructure set-up, enabling them to efficiently and safely work remotely with your business-specific systems.
- The industry requires skills in IT support, omnichannel platform development, customer service, maintenance, and data management. These are areas that are well-catered explicitly for by external outsourcing providers, who can get from an existing, large pool of highly qualified and educated candidates looking for precisely that kind of job. This is in addition to conventional business processes like finance, document management, etc.
- You can perform much of the work at any time, which means it is not limited to business hours, although a good BPO partner will give you access to people who can work your hours if you want to. Overall, outsourcing improves your ability to render out-of-hours service, so you can be available for clients when they want you to be in any timezone.
The Commonly Outsourced Wholesale Trade Roles
Of course, you can customise your outsourced wholesale trade according to the structure you require, and the following are some of the common outsourced roles:
- Customer Service
- Trade Marketing Specialist
- Trade Finance Manager
- Trade Marketing Specialist
- Wholesale Buyer
- Wholesale/ Trade Coordinator
- General Manager
- Account Manager
- Accountant
- Marketing Coordinator
- Advertising Manager
- eCommerce Manager
- Shipping and Receiving Clerk
- Purchasing and Supply Logistics Clerk
- Operation Manager
- B2B (Business to Business) Sales Representative/ Consultant
- Derivatives Trader
- Commodities Trader
- Sales Manager
- First-line Supervisor of Non-retail Sales Workers
- Website Developer
- Auctioneer
- Contract Specialist
- Procurement/Sourcing Specialist
- Customer Care/ Client Services Spec
- Stock Clerk
- Administrative Assistant
5 Reasons Why You Should Outsource Customer Service to Your Wholesale Trade Business
Outsourced customer service teams can be a great way to improve your wholesale trade business operations. Here are the following reasons why:
Enhanced Customer Service Levels
You can expect improved customer service levels when you outsource customer service to a BPO company. This is because the third-party provider you outsource will have experienced and dedicated customer service representatives. They will be able to handle enquiries quickly and efficiently, providing your customers with a positive experience.
Cost Savings
Outsourcing customer service can also help you to save money. This is because you will no longer need to employ customer service staff in-house. As a result, you will save on other associated costs such as recruitment, training, salary, employee benefits, development, and office space. Moreover, when you outsource, you only pay for the services you need when you need them. This can be a huge advantage for small and medium businesses needing more money to support a full-time customer service team.
Access to Expertise and Cutting-Edge Technology
You will have access to experts in the field and advanced technology when you outsource your customer service needs. This means that your customers will receive the best possible advice and support, as well as hi-tech customer-related operations . The BPO service provider you outsource to will also be able to keep up with the latest industry trends, ensuring that your business is always up-to-date.
Flexibility
Outsourcing customer service can also offer you greater flexibility. This is because you will have the ability to scale up or down the number of customer service representatives you use, depending on your needs. This can be especially beneficial during peak periods like the holiday season.
Increased Customer Satisfaction
When you delegate your customer service needs to an outsourcing company, you can be sure that your customers will receive a high level of service. This is because the company you use will focus on delivering excellent customer service to maintain its good reputation. As a result, your customers will be more likely to have a positive experience with your business, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty.
The Current Trends in Wholesale Trade Outsourcing
- The number of businesses outsourcing their wholesale trade operations increases as more and more of them recognise the benefits of outsourcing.
- Many companies are outsourcing wholesale trade operations to countries with lower labour costs, such as China, India and the Philippines, to save on costs.
- A growing focus on quality control and ensuring that products meet all necessary standards before they reach customers.
- A shift towards using cloud-based solutions for wholesale trade operations.
- The use of technology to automate various aspects of the wholesale trade process. For instance, utilising artificial intelligence (AI) for order processing and inventory management tasks.
- The rise of e-commerce has made it easier for businesses to connect with potential suppliers and customers worldwide, making outsourcing even more attractive.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, we all know how important good customer service is to the success of any business, including companies in the wholesale trade industry. It can often be the deciding factor between a satisfied customer who keeps coming back and an unhappy one who takes their business elsewhere.
Good customer service is especially significant for businesses in the wholesale trade industry since your customers are also your suppliers. If they’re happy with how you treat them, they’re more likely to continue doing business with you and provide you with better terms and conditions.
However, providing excellent customer service can be challenging, especially for small and medium businesses that may need more resources to dedicate their full attention to each client since they must tend to many customers at once. Likewise, due to language barriers or misunderstandings over terms of sale, the communication between buyers and sellers could be more coherent. As you can see, all of these can lead to customer dissatisfaction and confusion about pricing, delivery times, and product quality, eventually damaging relationships with clients. This is where outsourcing comes in.
Outsourcing your customer service needs to a reliable and experienced provider can be an excellent way to ensure your B2B customers are always happy without breaking the bank. Fortunately, The Lead Enquiry has a reliable and safe means to connect you to vetted BPO companies. It is the best option to maximise resources and increase customer satisfaction. It can help you better manage your customer service operations while reducing costs, allowing you to concentrate on other more profit-generating areas of your business. Furthermore, it can provide customers faster response times and more personalised service. Ultimately, outsourcing customer service offers numerous advantages that benefit both companies and their customers.
Customer service is the bread and butter of the wholesale trade industry. So outsource your customer service needs with The Lead Enquiry and connect with state-of-the-art BPO provider partners composed of a team that specialises in managing wholesale trade-related queries so that you can concentrate on maximising profit. Contact us today.
