ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Is e-commerce a threat or an opportunity for cleaning products distributors? Anna Garbagna reports from Italy for ECJ.

The future is fast approaching and new methodologies for production and sale are coming with it. This is also true in the cleaning sector which is facing a new distribution channel: e-commerce. But is it really an opportunity or is it a threat for distributors? This was discussed during a seminar organised by AfidampCOM recently.

In his introduction Roberto Galli, in his dual role as moderator and also member of AfidampCOM’s management board, explained the characteristics of the cleaning products distribution sector in Italy. This highlighted the presence of about 1,000 companies which mainly operate in two regions and use the internet very little because human relationships are still considered the most effective means to do business.

In such a scenario, how can a tool like e-commerce be integrated? And above all, with what prospects? As the e-commerce expert and owner of Studio Gabrielli Davide Gabrielli explained, diversifying and interpreting customer’s real needs is fundamental.

In order to penetrate the virtual market it is necessary to start with a project which is sustainable at economic and organisational level, being able to use the tool which has been created and understand clearly who is the receiver. Today, in fact, the problem for a cleaning company is not purchasing but solving problems - for precisely this reason, it is vital to be smarter than competitors and foresee the real needs of customers.

It is true that when operating online, a large selection of countless offers considerably increases competitiveness and, in such a contest the winner will be whoever is in the position of going beyond product sales, by offering innovative solutions that give added value.

From the point of view of planning, the marketing expert Andrea Cima, from Made in Cima, highlighted that a virtual shop also has its rules. The advantage of being on the web is surely represented by keeping the costs down compared to traditional shops, but it calls for a great effort to run the organisational apparatus: in fact an online shop is always open, so users can make purchases at night as well as during the day, and one can sell globally.

The main problem that newcomers have is that they often don’t know what they want: the web is not the arrival point, it is the starting point. It is necessary to invest money, time and marketing. A priority is traceability, ie to be easily found, to devise the structure of the information presented, because an e-commerce website must have some content to guide visitors; publishing an on line catalogue is not sufficient.

Online selling is growing in every sector, but only multinational companies throw their weight about: for small and medium sized companies it is difficult to compete as far as logistics and support are concerned. So it is important to understand who you want to sell to and who you’re talking to. Only then can targets be met.