Category Archives: Cost-to-Serve Math

119. Will Commissioned Reps Be Un-Bundled?

Big Data, Concierge Customer Service, Cost-to-Serve Math, Distribution Industry Sales, Distribution Strategy, Index, Service Value Innovation Guidelines, WayPoint Analytics

Traditional-Markup, Service Bundles

Many distributors mark-up goods to hopefully cover the costs of their “free services” that come with the product. These include service-costs like: outside and inside reps, fulfillment, delivery, free returns, and trade credit.

What happens when digital-buying millennials increasingly take over B2B buying, and they find lower prices for equal or better goods from online sellers (with zero outside and inside rep costs)? Continue reading 119. Will Commissioned Reps Be Un-Bundled? →

118. Financial Blind-Spots of Most Distributors

Big Data, Cost-to-Serve Math, Distribution Industry Sales, Index, Line Item Profit Analytics, LIPA, Profit Analytics, WayPoint Analytics

What Do Line-Item Profit Analytics Reveal?

Waypoint Analytics is the only cloud-service firm that offers distributors an array of tools based on a Line-Item, Cost-To-Serve (CTS) model, and a calculation engine. The firm has, over its 10-year existence, created CTS models for well over 100 distributors in over 50 different channels. The aggregate stats for this pool of progressive distributors are startling: Continue reading 118. Financial Blind-Spots of Most Distributors →

113. It’s Human Nature to Resist Analytical Opportunities

AmazonBusiness, Big Data, Core Renewal, Cost-to-Serve Math, Distribution Industry Sales, Distribution Strategy, Index, Line Item Profit Analytics, LIPA, Profit Analytics, WayPoint Analytics

Moneyball and Astroball Lessons

The book Moneyball was published in 2003. At the time, Major League Baseball (MLB) managers despised it, because the book made them look like old-school ignoramuses. A highly-recommended new take published in July 2018 and titled Astroball, summarizes the league’s transition since 2003.

Here are a few key points from the book: Continue reading 113. It’s Human Nature to Resist Analytical Opportunities →

109. Astroball: Taking Lessons from the Analytical Champs

Big Data, Core Renewal, Cost-to-Serve Math, Distribution Industry Sales, Distribution Strategy, Index, Line Item Profit Analytics, LIPA, Profit Analytics, WayPoint Analytics

Baseball’s Begrudging Adoption of Analytics

Since the book Moneyball was published in 2003, all professional sports have embraced analytics, but none more than baseball.

Baseball executives initially hated the book Moneyball because it made them look incompetent. Then, one-by-one teams started to experiment with analytics; in particular, two teams with new owners who had gotten rich using analytics elsewhere. Continue reading 109. Astroball: Taking Lessons from the Analytical Champs →

108. Amazon Business Has a Secret Plan

2020 Companies, AmazonBusiness, Big Data, Cost-to-Serve Math, Distribution Industry Sales, Distribution Strategy, Index, Line Item Profit Analytics, LIPA, Profit Analytics, WayPoint Analytics

Distracting Stats v Strategic Profit Intent

Amazon is secretive, even deceptive. For instance, it trumpets amazing stats in press releases that can distract us from seeing their strategic goals. Maybe this is part of the plan. Why spark early competitive responses?

Consider AMZ-Biz. The last official numbers we saw for sales, resellers, and buyers were at year-end 2016. Wouldn’t you brag on growing 20% per month?

So what final profit streams is AMZ-Biz envisioning? How about fees from: Continue reading 108. Amazon Business Has a Secret Plan →

102. High-Margin Counter Sales Aren’t Profitable!

Concierge Customer Service, Core Renewal, Cost-to-Serve Math, Distribution Industry Sales, Distribution Strategy, Index, Profit Analytics, Service Value Innovation Guidelines, WayPoint Analytics

This is one of the first insights that distributors who subscribe to Line-Item Profit Analytics are shocked to find out. Analytics reveal that:

  • Naturally high-margin percent SKUs and customers are mostly net-profit dollar losers
  • Gross profit dollars on small-dollar lines and orders are less than their cost-to-serve dollars

You can’t ignore small transaction size, or the variable service-people costs for customers with bill-me-later, paper-based trade credit. Continue reading 102. High-Margin Counter Sales Aren’t Profitable! →