Manufacturers tackle complexities of online, indirect sales

It's easy to get lost in the world of online shopping. There are so many paths to take as you try to find the exact product you need, often passing through links to manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and comparison-shopping sites.

An e-commerce system from Channel Intelligence not only makes the buying process more efficient and productive for the user, but improves the relationship between manufacturers and retailers. It also serves as a marketing tool: generating leads, driving online sales, and maximizing selling opportunities.

“Manufacturers' Web sites have become the primary source for research and purchasing,” says Vik Murty, a company VP for Channel Intelligence. “Consumers used to come to a manufacturing site to address a specific problem or file a complaint, but that's no longer the case. Many manufacturers must determine how to handle increased visitors to their sites.”

Channel Intelligence's Sellpath Manufacturers solution allows users to manage channels and brands, and offers online merchandising services, such as connecting a manufacturer's product pages directly to the retailer's point-of-sale.

“If users find a television they are interested in buying, they click on a specific retail icon and it will take them directly to that product page, not just the retailer's home page,” says Murty. “They can look to see if the product is in inventory, and where it's available.”

Another benefit of directly linking manufacturer and retail sites is it eliminates the confusion when dealing with different product numbers and descriptions.

“Manufacturers house a lot of product data, model names, and numbers,” says Murty. “Retailers may refer to these things differently, using other names or numbers.”

Sellpath's analytical tools allow manufacturers to track which products have sold at which retailers, and at what price. Users can view conversion rates and see the success of leads as well as online advertising. “Manufacturers can see how many leads were pushed from each product page, which retailer visitors went to, and which one won the business,” explains Murty.

Retailers that supply data feeds to Sellpath benefit as well since Sellpath supplies them with frequent information updates.

“The solution is unique in that there is no third party involved,” says Sucharita Mulpuru, principal analyst with Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research. “Information is only shared between manufacturers and retailers, and both agree to the relationship.”

"Manufacturers’ Web sites have become the primary source for research and purchasing." —Vik Murty, VP, Channel Intelligence

“We wanted to drive brand awareness and gain control of our Web site,” says Sheri Stewart, director of Internet business for WMH Tool Group, which offers the Powermatic and Wilton brands. “We advertise in a lot in magazines and hold numerous product launches, so we want to be able to direct visitors to [the point on the Web site that] actually carries the products.”

Most WMH Tool Group distributors using Sellpath are multichannel marketers with physical stores, catalogs, and Web sites. “We can see which products users are looking for the most, and which distributors are getting the most business,” says Stewart.

Sellpath also allows WMH to see who is violating the minimum advertised price policy—or MAP.

“We have found some violators of the policy,” says Stewart. “It is typically those companies that are not aware of price changes or are not diligent about updating their prices.”

MAP violators are listed in a daily exception-based report emailed to Stewart. The system allows users to define their own parameters, by product or customer, and can be sent to email distribution groups. “Before using Sellpath, we didn't have a way to track MAP,” says Stewart.

The system is proving very successful in lead generation, as WMH Tool Group's leads have doubled over a 90-day period.

“By increasing traffic to our Web site, our sales and leads increased,” says Stewart. “Plus, the system is easy to maintain and does not require many resources.”