How is the NBN going to help SMEs?

There has been a lot of talk about the National Broadband Network, Stephen Conroy’s plans for it, the roll out and all the many and varied players involved.

To date, most of the dialogue has been around ‘cables and hard hats’, not much has been said about the impact on and benefits to businesses. So, I thought I’d offer up a practical example of how the NBN might impact a typical SME.

Consider a business that sells a range of commercial cleaning products. They stock 2,000 different products and employ eight sales staff across Queensland.

Each salesperson is given a seven-ton truck stocked with a range of the products. The sales staff drive around their area meeting with new and existing customers, and demonstrating and selling the products.

Products can be supplied there and then from the truck; however, around 60% of the orders are actually distributed from the central store and shipped. It is difficult to keep track of the inventory levels in the trucks, their shelf life and whether or not the truck stocks the products that are commonly sold in that salesman’s area – out of the 2,000 or so products around 150 would be the most popular.

Where an urgent order is placed and the product is not available from the truck, the salesman collects stock from the depot and drives it to the client. The salesman is, on average, going back and forwards to the depot three times a day, adversely affecting selling ability and incurring travelling costs.

How can online play a role here?

• Create a public online website to view and sell products, supporting the sales team and, in the process, providing a broader reach to state and national markets, as well as local ones.
• Real-time product tracking data can be collected to inform sales staff, management and owner of performance and areas of opportunity. This will facilitate a more proactive approach and guarantee an increase in sales conversions.
• Create an intranet that is updated in real-time for sales staff where they can find detailed information on products (availability, delivery timeframes), marketing material and general sales information. This allows for agile working and gets sales staff out on the road more rather than at the depot/office.
• Provide an area for existing customers to access products, see past purchases and complete ordering online. Areas can also be provided to take customer feedback, comments and requests to allow for more collaborative customer-focused product development. Online discussion is the new focus group.
• Eliminate the need for such a large range of demonstration stock by equipping salesman with a rich online showcase of available products; their unique selling points, features, benefits. All they need is a laptop and connectivity and a core set of products for life demonstration purposes. It can also be used to sell to visitors to the site.
• Repeat orders can be completed online, leaving visits to be more focused on upselling and cross-selling.
• Establish key partnerships with distribution companies for the freighting of products.
• Establish key partnerships for support selling of the products giving them access to detailed product information online.
• Look at shipping and product discounts for buying online, loyalty and/or bulk orders.
• Selling older shelf life and infrequent stock online or through other sales channels like eBay.

And how do you pay for this new investment?

1. Reduction in overheads through the replacement of the trucks with vans or cars.
2. Reduction in overheads in the reduction of stock held and storage costs.
3. Increases in sales with an online channel supporting the marketing and sales process.
4. Increase in sales activity as the sale staff will focus on sales and leave behind much of the freighting and administration.
5. Improvements in sales through the analysis of information to increased sales performance and efficiencies.

I acknowledge that a lot of these opportunities can be realised with internet speeds at their current rate. High-speed broadband however, will make these processes fluid and give greater reach in areas where previously there was no connectivity. It will reduce waiting times, create more stable connections, and, overall, prompt more and more people and organisations to seek out their products online.

The time to prepare for the changes that will inevitably come is now.

Mark Nicklin is the Managing Director of Digital Strategy for Bullseye.