Electrical Contracting News (ECN) September 2017 | Page 65

WHOLESALERS & DISTRIBUTORS
SPECIAL
FEATURE
Wholesalers
offer good advice
on purchasing
decisions.
‘Decision
making
becomes
more
flexible and
agile, with
wholesalers
able to
pass on any
insights into
supply issues
or price
volatility.’
As a supplier that has always been
committed to supplying contractors solely
through wholesalers, Niglon believes
wholesalers add value for contractors in
several ways.
The first advantage is the saving in
time, effort and legwork wholesalers offer.
Sourcing and purchasing materials that
meet the specification for a job without
overspending on budget can be arduous,
eating into project delivery time and taking
skilled personnel away from site. By
shopping around with multiple suppliers
to shave a few pence off the price of
commodity items, contractors can reduce
material costs by a nominal amount – the
question is whether those small financial
savings are worth the time and effort. Time
lost here can result in delays on site and
additional expenditure on labour, which
may be crucial since, after all, time is the
contractor’s most precious commodity.
Choice and variety
There’s also the question of choice and
variety. Niglon has a wide product portfolio;
we’ve just launched a new range of wiring
accessories, for example, which includes
600 individual items. Even a supplier with
a portfolio as broad as Niglon’s however,
cannot begin to offer the choice for all
budgets and performance specifications
that an electrical wholesaler can. What’s
more, with the advent of online ordering
from larger distributors and niche providers,
contractors are no longer dependent on the
stock available from their wholesaler, but can
access the whole network with a single click.
Increased choice allows the contractor
to select the right product for their project
against criteria that match their priorities,
whether that be cost, performance, brand
or availability. Furthermore, as a reseller
of multiple product categories across
multiple brands, a wholesaler can pass
on the benefit of their experience and that
of their customers. This means they offer
good advice on purchasing decisions that
meet the contractor’s requirements on
functionality, quality and price.
It’s also worth remembering that a
suppli er can only sell their own products
and will never suggest a potentially better
performing or better value alternative from a
competitor. A wholesaler, however, can share
other contractors’ experiences of easier to
install or more modestly priced products
that meet the contractor’s requirements
while still complying with the specification.
only can they rely on a competitive price
across all their requirements, but they
can also avoid wasting time shopping
around. Decision making becomes more
flexible and agile, with wholesalers able
to pass on any insights into supply issues
or price volatility that could impact on
availability or cost-certainty over the
course of the programme.
Ultimately, hours spent shopping
around for cost savings on materials are
not billable and time wasted in delays
due to unforeseen issues with availability
could carry a high price when it comes
to delivering within programme.
Purchasing electrical components
and accessories is much more than
a transaction; when it’s critical to
the success of your project and your
business, purchasing needs to be part of
a relationship that will add value to your
operations and your bottom line.
Increased choice
allows the
contractor to select
the right product
for their project.
Closer relationships
with wholesalers can
help ease the strain
for contractors.
Trust is everything
Developing long-term relationships with
a wholesaler enables a contractor to
deal direct with a single, independent
point of contact that they can trust. Not
September 2017 | 65