Relationships and trading exchanges

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 12/1/2000

"Relationships with customers are far more fragile than they have ever been," explained Elizabeth Smith, general manager of Custom Solutions at IBM, at the EXE Technologies Users Group Conference. She then went on to explain why.

To begin, customers are looking for personalized attention. They are also more fickle and have less patience than in the past. And to make it all more difficult for suppliers, customers have never had more options.

But there are ways to deal with what appears to be a stacked deck of cards.

"The only true competitive advantage comes from the understanding of your customer that your competition doesn't have," said Paula Puleo of consultant Peppers & Rogers Group at the same conference.

Puleo's 1-to-1 approach to customers requires treating each as an individual and being able to recognize different needs and values between customers. That requires close interaction and customization of products.

On the technology side, Smith said "in the Internet economy, the shortest distance between two points is a network." That's where trading exchanges enter the picture. By integrating your own processes and making links to suppliers and customers, companies will be able to use trading exchanges to better meet the specific needs of their customers, added Smith.