The Future of the Electrical Channel Is in the Clouds
September 13, 2016
“What is the future of the electrical channel?” This question was addressed by one of the lead speakers at this year’s EFC Conference this past June. His reply stated: “the future is already here…it’s just not evenly distributed.”
Think about it. We have humans flying around the world dozens of times a year, speaking several languages, surrounded by controlled environments and eating perfectly grown organic meat and vegetables. Contrast that with the rest of humanity, many of whom understand one language, and are unable to read or do math, have no central heating or air-conditioning, are growing their own produce — some are even living in huge cities with no access to public washrooms.
The same principle could be applied to the electrical channel. Perhaps the future of the channel is already here… If we take a look at the various ways products go to market now, can we see the path of future growth?
Consider how some distributors are building fulfilment centres and branches without warehouses, while others are increasing their services and getting reimbursed for their time and effort. We could also look at the Internet and how end customers are adapting to it. Are there solutions in our industry that allow project purchasing over the net? Are customers more comfortable connecting with their suppliers over the net now than they were four years ago, when EFC published its e-commerce study?
If customers are using the Internet, what is keeping them from by-passing the distribution channel? What is going to keep them from going right to the source? Based on findings from our recent study on the future of the electrical contractor, we must consider end users’ frame of mind: what will prevent them from bypassing our channel and purchasing direct?
With everything moving to the cloud — data, contacts, product information, virtually everyone has access to everything. That is something that our world has never experienced before. It is a part of the future and it will dramatically shape our future.
If the future is already here surrounding us, we can determine which path will be most successful by studying our present, not just in our industry, but in related — and even some unrelated — channels.
Like the past, or even our present, we need to do an analysis of our channel so we can determine a host of opportunities, and not consider just one clean method to market. One thing is for sure: the future will be just as complicated as the present.
Rick McCarten is VP, Operations, Electro-Federation Canada.
