LeanSwift: Anise Madh

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Anise Madh, CEO of LeanSwift, joins us to discuss how manufacturers can begin the transition into ecommerce without ruining relationships with distributors.

Danny:

Okay, so let’s jump in today’s episode. I’m here with Anise from LeanSwift. So Anise, if you could introduce yourself to the audience, those who aren’t familiar with you and Leanswift, what you guys do.

Anise:

Okay. Thanks, Danny. My name is Anise Madh, I’m the CEO of LeanSwift. I’ve been with LeanSwift for over two and half years I joined as a COO and then took a role of CEO last year. Before that I had a background in operations, I was supply chain director. ERP support, that’s how I got introduced into the ERP implementations. So, Oldcastle, that’s where I worked for over eight years We have ERP systems that manages all the operations and that’s where I got involved into ERP implementations And that’s where really LeanSwift comes in in terms of what we do, is around ERP systems.

Danny:

Around ERP, so maybe a little bit, I know there’s a couple specific areas and a couple things you guys do. What exactly is that?

Anise:

Yeah, so we work mainly with Infor. Infor is a big software developer. They have 90,000 customers worldwide and they provide enterprise for companies to run their business. So, when the customer purchases a license of Infor product, mainly M3, which stands for Make, Move, and Maintain, around the manufacturing and distribution space, when they get those licenses, we come in and implement that system for them. So, we take the business processes and try to make sure that the system can support those business processes.

Danny:

Right, and you know, there’s a lot– the big buzzword you’re hearing: digital transformation That’s a big thing going on right now in the manufacturing industrial space And as I understand it, that’s a lot of what you guys help to do there. But there’s also the digital transformation that we’re seeing, not just in operations, in ERP obviously, but marketing and sale and go-to market strategies. And that’s where, when we were talking before, talking about ecommerce, that being a really big thing that we’re starting to see and that’s something that you guys have a lot of experience helping with, with clients to be able to that. If you could share a little bit about your involvement on that side with these manufacturers?

Anise:

Yeah, so ecommerce is one of the business segments of LeanSwift. We have been involved in ecommerce for over four years now, and we work mainly with the Magento platform because it provides a good platform for manufacturer-distributors, so we’ve seen a huge shift. Our focus has been, for the last seven years, manufacturing and distribution space and we’ve seen a lot of these companies vary in degree of what they want to invest, and how much they want to put into ecommerce. We’ve seen a lot of them go to ecommerce and establish presence, and that could vary from opening a portal for customers to come in and look at the invoices, look at the orders look at some of the products, to a full-blown ecommerce where people can come and order and transact on the system. And you know, what we’ve seen is a transition. What used to be B2C is going to B2B now. Which is, everybody that works and transacts in ecommerce, they expect the same thing that they see on the B2C site for B2B. And that’s, that’s what we see the change as.

Danny:

No, it totally makes sense You know, we had, so we had Infor on a couple weeks ago, a couple episodes back and that was exactly one of the things we talked about is that, you know, really customer expectations on how we buy If we’re, the Amazon experience that everybody has You know, “I need to go buy this” or “I need to go buy that”, you know well, A, you go online, and then second of all, you go to Amazon, and just that experience of buying and purchasing there is an expectation we have regardless of whether it’s a B2C product or B2B. And I think that’s a huge thing that we’re seeing.

Anise:

Yeah, and I think it’s not only the experience which, actually, we should be part of the customer experience and the upside of doing business but we’ve seen customers look at that from also from an operational standpoint where you offer this platform where people come in and transact on a 24 hour basis so that cuts the cost also for, instead of calling the office, and faxing you and believe it or not, people still fax or emailing you the orders, especially in certain industries, to go onto the website transaction, and following up on the orders instead of calling and tying up some of the resources needed there.

Danny:

Right, and that’s a big thing just all across the board, so I guess one question that I would have is if you’ve got a company, and you guys have a lot of experience with this, working with companies to kind of make that transition, to say “Hey, we’re thinking about going into ecommerce, it’s a totally different thing.” What have you seen with those initial conversations or at least, from manufacturers, when they’re thinking about doing this, what does that process and that stage typically look like?

Anise:

Yeah, and that’s one thing that I would say is we talked a lot about transformation and I think that is, you know, that should be part of the strategy of any company, is how do you get on the digital platform to be able to be, in some industries, relevant because you have to be there. But it… I would say it varies. I think everyone should be, every company that provides services and products in the manufacturing space should be looking at “How can I be on the ecommerce platform? How can I build a digital strategy that goes beyond just the ecommerce?” And it doesn’t have to be a full-blown ecommerce site, or for transactions, it could also be, as I said before, it could be a customer portal. It can provide product information allowing the customer to come in and get more information without having to, you know, have to talk to a resource, so they can have access to it 24 hours. When I would say we should be part of the strategy So, any company that builds a strategy every year or three years, they should look at “How can we be a presence on ecommerce and develop a digital strategy?” And some of it goes beyond that. It’s more of also providing some services to the customer. Like, we have customers that built on their digital strategy of cutting down the paperwork when customers get deliveries, they will have tablets, and they will sign signatures and customers will get invoices. It’s just more using the technology today to make the transaction easier and seamless with the customer.

Danny:

Absolutely, you know, there’s a couple key things there that I’m latching onto. I guess that sometimes, and myself included, when you think of ecommerce, you always think okay, transaction, transaction, transaction But what you’re talking about here is saying you know, you don’t necessarily have to have the full-blown solution, we’re saying “Yeah, so you can buy, you’ve got a catalog on there and you can purchase, and we’re going to deliver through there” But maybe even just having access to some of that information, not necessarily all of it, or delivery, but you know, bringing some of that back online so you can have a little bit better experience. I think that’s interesting, and yeah, I said, I always kind of think maybe just transactionally. But it doesn’t have to be the full-blown thing, right?

Anise:

Yeah, and I think, we have different customers. So, we have customers that… they are manufacturers and distributors, so they have the B2B process and some of, actually, those customers are putting a lot of those B2B transactions on the website. So there, other businesses work with them, they can transact on the website. They also do multi-channel, they pretty much sell to a lot of, directly to consumers on those channels. And we have customers that just have one portal that they can open to customers for information, I would say, and in the middle we have some companies that target specific segment of the customers that they want to kind of, push them toward the website So, because they are low volume, and stock product but low volume, they try to push them toward the website, which is a win-win for both the vendor and the customer.

Danny:

Absolutely.

Anise:

So, different varying degrees we think about digital transformation, it doesn’t have to be zero to sixty all at once, but you could take steps to get there.

Danny:

Absolutely. And another key thing you mentioned there, even in the digital transformation piece, and maybe sometimes people might think “Well, you know, that’s not necessarily a function of sales and marketing per se,” but you’re talking about making that ease of not even the sale, but the ease of the process of being able to find information or you mentioned even going to a paperless type system, and going and making things easier for the customer. And I think, you know, I’m a big believer of always selling, and in your business, you’re always selling, and it doesn’t matter whether sales is in your job title or not because it’s really creating that experience and making things, because if you have got a great experience, and maybe it’s a customer that you’ve had for years and years and years but you’re making it easier, still continuing to solve those pains, those challenges. In my mind, that’s a big function you know, that customer service piece Just that, that flow, is really helping to sell to sell, continuously sell through that. So I think that’s just a critical component to look at it sort of holistically like that.

Anise:

Yeah, and I think it’s also that the demographics of our customer base is changing, too. I think you see a new generation, the Millennials are used to certain platforms or technology not only from selling, but also from growing the workforce and making sure that you attract the right people. And we talked about digital transformation, again it goes beyond, you know, just the ecommerce. Also, you know, we’ve seen manufacturers look beyond the four walls, and look at tracking shipments, overseas products coming in so you can give better customer service by promising a product, you need to have visibility when your products are coming overseas. So we’ve seen them start to branch out, not just looking at what’s in your plant, but where’s that shipment coming in, also finding new vendors in that digital transformation to make sure that you’re using new technology to be able to service the customer better.

Danny:

Absolutely, and I’m a big geek and a big fan when it comes to all that stuff. You’re taking ERP and using it as sort of, your central hub to really manage all those things and certainly sales and marketing is just one function of it, but to your point, the supply chain, just all of that looking at, there’s a ton of data, you know your IoT, you know, all this fun stuff to really help to manage better processes and you know, get better efficiencies. And so, but, kind of going back towards this sales and marketing thing, I’m very curious about, you know your experience in terms of clients or customers that have come in and said, “Hey, we want to roll out with an ecommerce solution.” Let’s say somebody who is being a little bit more transactional with it, have you seen where, have you had any customers or any experiences where you’ve had a manufacturer saying, “We have z– we’re not selling anything online we haven’t, and we’re going from zero to sixty,” but maybe not necessarily like you know, immediately, right out the gate but over a period of time, say, “We’ve never done this, we’re going to try this.” Have you had any experience with that?

Anise:

Yes and we have a customer here in the state of Georgia that all they’ve done was B2B and they took the B2C approach. They have priced it to make sure they protect the distribution

Danny:

Of course.

Anise:

But they want from, from doing nothing on the B2C multi-channel, over two years that segment was growing, and they had to staff it, and that’s where we came in with our platform that allowed them to grow. But one thing with the ecommerce sales and marketing, what allows you the ecommerce platform is really reacting quickly to the customer. Especially if you’re looking for promotions, recommendation engine, having some catalogs so that they are dynamic, because, you know, the print days are gone. When you print the catalog, it’s outdated the moment it’s out of the press. So I think those are what allowed them to grow, is being able to dynamically change, recommend, price it based on what’s going on in the market, and also keep updating those product catalogs.

Danny:

That’s a really good point,

Anise:

But we do have, we do have yes, a case in point in one of our customers in Georgia went from zero in B2C, to growth over two years in the 200, 300 percent growth year over year.

Danny:

Oh, that’s great.

Anise:

And as I said, they did B2B and B2C and they kept both markets growing.

Danny:

That’s great! Now, I would imagine, were there any particular challenges or any hurdles, I mean, cause that’s, in my mind it’s kind of a big and maybe scary shift saying, “We’re going to try this channel over here” and it’s a different ball game versus saying, if you’re going through distribution you know, working through your channel partners your distributors, saying “Hey,” versus saying, “Now we’re going direct, we’re going direct to the customer” and actually I’m curious, in this case, was it B2B or were they going B2C in that case?

Anise:

Yeah, they had B2B established, which is the distributors, but then they want to–

Danny:

So then, they were going direct. They’re going direct. Can you speak to any of the challenges, or you know, particularly from a sales and marketing standpoint, they kind of ran into, or lessons they had to figure out a little bit?

Anise:

Well, I think the main thing was just their hesitation around, “How will the distribution channel react?” So, because it is, they were a manufacturer and they were selling to distribution. And then also, the skill set too. Because, if you’re doing B2B, the engine for the ecommerce is different than if you’re doing B2C. So, for B2C, the website itself is going to have to be different, because you’re dealing with different functions that you have to put in. So, those are really challenges more around how do you build a business model that will protect the distribution? And then sell directly when people want to buy from certain outlets?

Danny:

Yeah.

Anise:

And, two, how do you build the website to where it’s different from B2B because you need to figure out some of these engines. Recommendation engine, one of them. And three, the skill set in-house because now you’re developing retail, most B2C models. So those are challenges, but the end game is they were able to grow that segment of their business, so.

Danny:

Now, yeah, it totally makes a lot of those challenges I’ll hear from distributors, and you read articles and stuff, you know, that they’re a little worried. They’re a little scared, saying, you know I think somebody I heard, I’m going to throw out a name, Ian Heller from MDM, you guys should check them out if you’re a distributor, they do some really cool stuff. Which, I can’t remember the name, the acronym, Modern Distributor… Management or Marketing, I can’t remember I’m sorry, I totally futzed that up but that’s okay, MDM, and if that’s not right we’ll correct it in the show notes. But anyways, he had this article on LinkedIn he was talking about the wholesale apocalypse you know, and worried distributors, you know you guys need to be looking and making a change here because, you know, with the whole ecomm thing coming in, it’s like, is there a question of relevance? And I think the answer to that is, absolutely. There’s still a lot of value but there will be some erosion and if they’ve got to kind of have to figure out what to do. And that, maybe, for sure they I imagine, the distributor, need to bring an ecomm solution, number one, needs to be something to bring in, but yeah, it’s a concern.

Anise:

Yeah, and I think that’s a good point that you bring up, it’s the distribution channel has a value to add because what you’re doing selling products, you cannot just buy and go ahead and install, but you need some professional to help you.

Danny:

Yeah, and some support.

Anise:

Yeah, and the specs and certain ways to install it. So there is knowledge to be gained or shared through the distribution channel. But I think what people are looking for is just for the medium, how we get that and how we work with each other, transact is changing. A lot of people still want that value, that knowledge, but they want to do it through an ecommerce transaction. Or at least, have the option, so that people can go and do that. So I think it’s, there is a value in having a distribution channel, but also there is more value to having another option for consumers to be able to get, as I said before, the customer portal is great to get that, just that first interaction. And then, talking about sales and marketing, we know about SEOs, we know about ads and all that. If you have that platform, it will help you get more access to more consumers out there that they might now know about your product.

Danny:

Yeah, and that’s something that we’ve seen too right, you know, you’re making that switch that work can be a little scary, It’s because the whole go-to market strategy from a marketing standpoint, and from a sales standpoint, is different. You know it’s, you mentioned, SEO and ads it’s like, “Okay, we’ve got this engine we can sell stuff, but now we need to build traffic,” and it’s kind of a little bit of a mind shift in terms of how to do that. But it sounds like, you know, you’ve got some customers that have had some real good success with that.

Anise:

Yeah, and I think it’s, the more outlets that you have out there, the more your presence, in terms of online, the more recognition you’re going to get and the more people are going to know about you. So, the way I see it is, it’s really marketing it’s a new way of marketing, is to be able to show up on these search pages, make sure that you are there so people can find you easily.

Danny:

That’s ultimately the biggest thing, is that we have the way that we buy, like you said, is completely changing, and essentially you just have to be found! And the amazing this is, what we think is cool, is people are searching for this stuff. You know, I don’t think that necessarily a full-blown ecommerce solution is going to work for every single manufacturer and OEM, you know I mean, if it’s very solutions side and technical, you can’t be, you can’t go buy an industrial automation solution with your click But you can get you down the line. But with some other things, if you have the ability to go direct to consumer, I mean, it’s, “People are searching for the stuff. Hey, guess what, we can be found, and we can help, you know, sell to you and reduce some of the costs,” and, you know, all that good stuff.

Anise:

And then so, going back to the Amazon, it really, some folks decided to use the word “Amazonized”, pretty much because–

Danny:

Okay, “Amazon…” wait, what is it again?

Anise:

“Amazonized”, so you use Amazon, and so the industry is trying to say that they’re pretty much, whatever people are expecting in the B2C world is, being bleeding

Danny:

Could be echoed.

Anise:

Into B2B, so being Amazonized means they have to offer the same features. Uh, but we also, speaking of Amazon, there is also a lot of customers doing the efillment by Amazon, so that’s another way of ecommerce being out there, is being able to take orders and then get someone else to fulfill them, but you’re not doing the whole distribution–

Danny:

All the logistics, and…

Anise:

Yeah, so there are ways to be able to get on the ecommerce and start generating some sales and marketing.

Danny:

Yeah, no, absolutely. Well, this has been absolutely fantastic, I’ve really enjoyed you know, just kind of talking, we could probably go on for hours talking about all these different things. Is there any last parting words you’d like to say to our audience?

Anise:

Well, yeah, definitely, it’s that, as we talked about throughout this session, is the importance of ecommerce to the digital strategy. The way we advise our clients is just not one piece, you have to look at the whole picture, see where the trend is going, and the more you get on the ecommerce and, ecommerce is a broad term too as I said, it can vary in the degree but you have to start somewhere to be able to be accessible to your customers and make sure that you provide as much as you can on that platform so that customers, potential and prospect, can find you easily. And the process is not, it’s scary, but a there are lot tools out there today that were not there ten years ago

Danny:

That’s very true.

Anise:

Even for customers that want to invest in a platform, there are open-source platforms that you could use, you could link up through APIs to your, whatever ERP system you are using today. That can allow you to kind of start making that transition. So I believe the future’s bright in terms of ecommerce, you’ve just got to make it part of your digital strategy so that it can have an outlook for your products.

Danny:

That’s awesome. So, what I’m hearing: strategy, don’t be afraid, and accessibility. That was a great word, be accessible you’ve got to be found.

Anise:

Yes.

Danny:

Absolutely, that makes a lot of sense. Well, thank you so much for coming on. If anybody has any questions that they would like to reach, what’s the best way of getting in contact?

Anise:

Well, our web presence, leanswift.com

Danny:

Perfect, a website, you guys have a website

Anise:

The website, yeah, definitely check us out and you definitely can reach out through the website. We have contact information.

Danny:

Perfect. Great. Well, thanks again!

Anise:

You’re welcome, thank you, it was nice.

Danny:

Excellent, yeah. So, well, we had another great episode. Thank you so much to LeanSwift for coming on here and showing that, you know, there were a lot of big key takeaways. Again, we echo this on this show all the time is really that the way that we buy, the way that your customers buy, the way that your future customer’s going to buy is changing, and it’s dramatically changing. And like we were talking about here, some real big key takeaways, is that ecommerce, something that I learned, was that not necessarily all the way transactional, but even just having the ability of having information online and having data, and really making things easier for people to be able to find is a big takeaway. Another one is really that availability or that accessibility of people are, the reality of it is, we’re all online. If your products and your services are not on there, not easily found, you’re doing yourself a major disservice. You need to change that. So, big big big takeaway to be thinking about as we start rolling into 2019.

So again, thanks for watching this episode. If you have any questions, we’d love to answer them. You can reach out to industrialsage.com/questions. We answer them all the time for you, and we’ll answer them here on the show. If you’re listening on iTunes, we’d love a review, if you’re on social media please share our content, we’d love it. And that’s it, I’m done for today, thanks so much for watching, we’ll be back next week with another awesome episode of IndustrialSage.

 

 

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