This blog originally appeared on the GreatAmerica Financial Services website. Click here to read more articles of interest to the industry.
As the U.S. economy struggles to recover after the impact of the pandemic, disruptions in the supply chain are creating new problems, and the office technology world is certainly not immune.
In my eight years with GreatAmerica, I have worked with many of our customers on asset management programs and negotiated hundreds of individual end of term/asset ownership transactions. Many of our customers are facing some of the most challenging business obstacles I’ve ever seen, from soaring prices to a shortage of goods. I hear about it from my customers, and we see it firsthand; in fact, recently a GreatAmerica sales rep who just arrived home after a trip to California showed me a picture they took of barges lined up in the port waiting to be unloaded as far as the eye could see. Many have seen pictures on social media, but knowing someone who saw it first-hand made it even more real for me.
How Do You Sell When You Have No Inventory?
There’s no way to predict when things will improve. Some of our partners estimate it could be a year or more before things return to normal. All of this comes at a time when there is so much pressure to perform at pre-pandemic levels. But how do you sell goods when there are no goods to sell? Without inventory being consistently available, how can your sales team hit quarterly numbers to continue making your business profitable? How long until your commission-driven sales representatives choose another company offering better solutions to customers? How long will your customer stay if another company can offer a device, and yours can’t?
With limited inventory levels, technology providers are forced to make difficult trade-off decisions:
- Which customers get equipment?
- Should we fill partial customer orders?
- Should we fill a limited number of full orders?
Technology manufacturers and independent providers alike face these struggles, putting greater emphasis on finding a temporary equipment solution to solve customer needs.
These tradeoffs directly impact monthly and quarterly numbers, overall business profitability, and most importantly your business’ ability to retain and service your customers.
Differentiate by Thinking Outside of The Box
Our mission is to help our customers achieve greater success and during these difficult times, that means collaborating on ways we can help our customers minimize the impact felt on margins and cash flow. Our ability to be flexible allows us to get creative in finding solutions to help secure opportunities in our customers’ funnels, even amidst the supply chain challenges.
