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1. What if all my distributors
do not buy into the product syndication technology, will
I have to maintain two different data systems?
Answer: No, if you are currently maintaining all your product
information in some kind of database format, you can still
use the same practices you are currently use.
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2. Does the
distributor gets all the benefits, what benefits do I, the
manufacturer receive?
Answer:There are many benefits for the Manufacturer such as;
- Product syndication drastically streamlines data maintenance
efficiencies by having one centralized location for their
data that all distributors can tap into.
- Manufacturers will have greater control being able to offer
an unlimited number of pricing schedules for all their distributors.
- Manufacturer can add, modify and delete pictures, copy
and other information in real-time. This information is passed
to the distributor’s web site, ERP system as well as
the manufacturers.
- Manufacturer can control what products can be sold by which
distributors.
Simply put
"If the distributor is the only one that recieves the
benefit in this entire process then that should make manufacturer
pleased, without the distributors success and the manufacturer
helping the distributor become successful their would be no
manufacturer!"
Bottom line: anything worth doing is worth doing for the
distributor, if the distributor will be successful in growing
that manufacturers product line. Hence, the benefit for the
manufacturer.
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3. What
hardware will I need to get and how much will it cost?
Answer: There is no hardware to buy or install. Everything
is already installed on the internet. Product syndication is
software sold as a service.
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4. What is
our return on investment?
Answer: ROI is something that each manufacturer will gauge
differently. Instant ROI will occur in the reduction in man
hours for maintaining and distributing information to multiple
distributors. In addition, this tool will give the manufacturer
the ability to empower its distribution channel with an easy
and efficient way to increase and improve the distributor’s
product offering. Not to mention, the manufacturer will most
definitely recognize an improved retention rate from their
distributors. A distributor will become reliant on these automated
updates and place an increased value on the relationship, something
the manufacturer always strives to improve.
Also the ability to sell complex products online will give
all of your distributors an edge in the marketplace, allowing
them to sell your complete offering, increasing their sales
and yours. Remember this will also save your distributors a
significant amount of time not having to update all your products.
Lastly, this service can also be a revenue stream for the manufacturer
to charge its distributors.
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5. Will I
have to replace my current internal systems?
Answer: No. Our tools bolt on to your existing e-commerce platforms;
they do not replace them, as well as ERP systems.
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6. Some of
our distributors are set in their ways and do not want to
deviate from the current way they receive data. How will
this new system affect them?
Those distributors can have the data anyway they choose from
the syndication server without it being propagated to their
web sites. The syndication server will be able to address any
data format request from any distributor. It’s obvious
that syndicating the data saves an enormous amount of work
on behalf of the distributor but Red Door has addressed non
syndication data needs.
Our tools were designed to benefit both the manufacturer and
the distributor relationship with more efficient information
sharing. Product syndication provides tremendous cost saving
efficiencies for both manufacturer and distributor.
But the manufacturer can still reap the rewards on their
end while maintaining the flexibility to provide information
to it’s distributors in whatever way is best suited for
them.
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7. How much
training is involved?
Answer: The amount of training varies depending on the level
of implementation your organization needs. Our tools are relatively
easy to use and syndicating products on your distributor’s
web site is as simple as pasting a piece of code on a page.
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8. How long
will it take to adapt our products to this new technology?
Answer: A typical deployment could take anywhere from 2 – 6
months depending on the number and complexity of the manufacturers
product offerings. This is to be viewed as an engineered service
to each specific manufacturer not as a off the shelf package.
Once the platform is in place the ongoing maintenance is minimal
except for the products the manufacturer needs to update.
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9. We have
many distributors and adding new distributors all the time,
how long will it take them to recognize the value and jump
on board?
Answer: Any new initiative takes careful planning and implementation,
especially e-commerce ones. Whether a 100 distributor’s
sign up or just 1, you are laying the foundation for breakthrough
information sharing technologies.
Example: If a manufacturer sales rep called on a new or existing
distributor how would that distributor input the entire manufacturer’s
products on its web site and ERP system?
Typical Answer: Typically the way everyone does it, uploading
data thru spreadsheets or entering all data manually. Then
a web master will need to create product pages on its web site.
Based upon how many product offerings a manufacturer will have,
this could take the web master much time resulting in extensive
labor costs. Not to mention the web master might cut back and
not offer all the manufacturers product line because there
is simply too many product offerings.
Product Syndication Answer: Red Door Product Syndication eliminates
all this labor intensive process and instead of taking days
or weeks to get a manufacturer’s products on line it
would take minutes. The manufacturer sales rep can show the
distributor in a matter of minutes how easy the process will
be by giving them an instant example, making the product come
to life on the distributor web site. Product Syndication also
allows the distributor to sell complex products thru the product
condenser, something a distributor will not be able to duplicate.
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10. What
kind of support do you provide?
Because
our service is sold as a SaaS, customers
do not have any hardware or software to buy and maintain. Customers
upload products into one of our dedicated data repositories,
which are managed by us. We maintain a 24/7 on-call support
staff in our data center to respond to outages and other serious
hardware/software issues. Non-emergency routine technical
support is handled by email with 2-hour turnaround on simple requests
like password changes, account configuration modifications,
etc. For complex issues, we provide limited telephone
support up to 2 hours per month, with additional hours available
per extended tech support contract. Telephone support
is available during business hours Monday through 9:00 AM to
5:00 PM east coast time. Support for training and
professional services is available via contract.
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11. What
do I need to do or have in order to syndicate our product
line?
To fully syndicate its products, your company will need to
have all of its product information in a digital format,
so that it can be uploaded into our data repositories via the
Internet. By 'digital format', we mean in a format storable
on a computer: Excel, Access, Word, etc. Most companies already
have their product information in an electronic format. If
not, we can assist you with converting paper-based product
information into digital formats. Necessary information includes:
product names and descriptions, pricing, column pricing breakdowns,
product variations, weights, availability, etc. All images
associated with products also need to be in digital format,
as well as any documents used to help sell your products: MSDS
sheets, spec sheets, technical diagrams, etc.
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