To maintain leadership in the office products industry, Yancey Jones (Executive Chairman) and Mike Maggio (President/CEO) of S.P. Richards have prioritized listening to their customers and investing heavily in technology and innovation at their distribution centers.
While their relationships with manufacturers are crucial, the experts at SPR focus relentlessly on helping resellers succeed – innovating aggressively and collaborating with GfK Etilize and others to anticipate customers’ needs. Here are just a few of SPR’s secrets for helping resellers achieve their best results with shoppers.
1. Stock what customers and vendors need wholesale support on
SPR has made significant investments to enable endless aisles, incorporating products that in the past were purchased though different channels. Instead of stocking what SPR wants, they prioritize items their customers and vendors need wholesale support on – enabling horizontal sales within a dealer’s current customer base and appealing to a wider audience of new buyers. Many of these products are drop shipped to allow dealers to increase sales with minimal investment.
2. Invest in more efficient systems
At its 31 nationwide distribution centers – spanning over 5.5 million square feet – SPR has spent $15 million to make processes more efficient, especially focusing on order fill technology. They are moving to heads-up displays (for easier viewing) along with pick-to-voice order fillers. In Atlanta, SPR has new operational items aimed to expedite order fulfillment, such as a three-tier pick module and the Autostore robotic system. And in Dallas, they’ve implemented Packsize, a new technology that creates a box around the item which eliminates void fill and reduces the use of cardboard.
3. Optimize product data and content
S.P. Richards has long recognized that optimizing product data will enable better sales and conversions on their resellers’ sites. In partnership with GfK Etilize, SPR has helped resellers take their content game to the next level by enabling the absolute best, constantly refreshed product content.
They were early adopters of rich media on their product pages, including multiple high-resolution images, videos, and product downloads in the form of PDFs. In fact, rich/A+ content has a direct effect on page conversions and can increase cart values anywhere from 12% to 36%.
4. Leverage the power of search
Search is the backbone of every ecommerce site, and SPR has continually provided tools that are carefully curated for shoppers in the business products categories. SPR has also invested heavily in optimizing search, including search ahead functionality. This includes having the industry's best keyword ranking, indexing, misspelled word alternatives, and synonyms.
5. Getting personal with shoppers
By analyzing customers’ prior purchases and suggesting related products, S.P. Richards will soon be providing personalization services. This new feature promises to further increase conversions for B2B and B2C buyers alike.
All this innovation would not be possible without the strong relations that S.P. Richards has built with its customers and suppliers. Combining all these elements – from support to content to search, and more – creates a package of services and investments designed to help resellers realize maximized sales with a strong wholesaler. At a time when competition is severe and customers are becoming more demanding, SPR is giving its resellers their best opportunity to thrive and grow.
To syndicate your content to S.P. Richards, contact us at https://www.etilize.com/contact.
