6 Ways Digital Commerce Tools Can Help Mitigate Risk and Reduce Uncertainty in the Chemical Industry

In the past two years, the chemical industry, like many others, has faced many challenges, including unusual price volatility, logistics troubles, inventory shortages, and more. To help mitigate these issues, many chemical companies have turned to digital channels in an effort to add efficiency to their processes, streamline interaction with customers and suppliers, and reach broader markets through innovative sales and marketing tools. Here are the top six ways digital commerce solutions can help chemical suppliers weather the current storm and better position themselves for the future. 
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1. Adapt to Inventory Fluctuations

Product availability changes rapidly and without notice, often leaving suppliers and distributors scrambling to find products that their customers need. Digital commerce tools provide the option to automatically update product availability on the commerce portal, so customers can see if the seller has the precise chemical or ingredient in stock that they need at that moment. Not only is this significantly faster and more efficient than verifying product availability over the phone or email, but it also creates transparency and provides valuable data for inventory analysis, demand forecasts, and future planning. 

‍2. Keep Customers in the Loop

Digital commerce tools can do much more than just give customers the ability to search for products in real-time. Suppliers can also configure their portals to automatically inform their customers about price changes, newly available documentation, specs, or additional inventory. A Product Information Management system manages all updates and notifications in real-time, keeping all relevant information and documents in a central repository and feeding them into integrated back-office systems. Keeping customers up to date on changes and fluctuations not only helps them with their processes but also builds trust between buyers and suppliers and helps nurture long-term relationships.  

3. Support Distribution Partners 

With a chemical industry-focused commerce platform, producers and distributors can support each other with inventory, sales, marketing, and logistics efforts. Staying engaged around the clock and monitoring incoming quote and order requests, inventory levels, and price changes helps keep everyone on the same page. An effective commerce platform can help route incoming leads to the right sales and marketing teams, reducing friction between sales channels and minimizing errors. 

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‍4. Scale up the Sales Outreach 

Digital commerce can help reach more customers faster and with greater precision. By adding automation into their sales outreach channels, chemical producers and distributors can quickly send out notifications about important changes, inform their buyers about new product availability, and keep the communication lines open with customers and prospects – at scale.

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5. Reduce Excess Inventory

With its complex supply chains and frequent demand changes, the chemical industry often struggles with excess inventory. To help reduce the quantity of available chemicals and ingredients, many suppliers turn to tools like TradeX by Agilis. It enables suppliers to list their excess or bulk materials and launch sales campaigns for customers and distributors to place bids. Not only does this help to clear out excess inventory, but it also allows suppliers to get the best possible price for their products. Learn more about TradeX.

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6. Data Analytics

Data analytics is becoming increasingly important as the industry moves towards digital transformation. Analytics tools can help chemical companies make better decisions about pricing, product availability, and customer engagement. 
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Digital transformation has proven to be a successful initiative for many chemical companies and will only become more critical in years to come. Digital commerce tools are an essential part of this process and can undoubtedly help chemical companies mitigate the risk in these uncertain times.

At Agilis, we focus on building solutions for the chemical industry using a scalable, modular approach, allowing suppliers and distributors to add the tools they need to their existing websites and digital channels. To learn more about how we can help your business, visit us at: www.agiliscommerce.com