OrderWise joins EDA to drive digitisation in the sector

Business management software specialist, OrderWise, has joined the Electrical Distributors’ Association (EDA) as an Affiliated Solution Provider as it aims to be part of a drive to digitalise the sector.

Since 2017 the EDA has been the electrotechnical sector’s digital champion: through ETIM, the global standard for product data, and more recently EDATA, the ‘by the industry for the industry’ data pool. Software solution providers are important strategic allies in the drive to digital, resulting in the introduction in early 2020 of the new Affiliated Solution Provider category of membership.

OrderWise is one of a growing number of businesses calling for the electrotechnical sector to upgrade its infrastructure and adapt to a digital model to support their bricks and mortar branches. As market share continues to be taken by larger online marketplaces, online ordering, click and collect services, next day-delivery and omnichannel experiences will be key to the wholesalers’ ability to increase revenue.

Jon Roberts, Senior Sales Manager at OrderWise, with a software portfolio that includes ERP, Ecommerce and Warehouse Automation, explains the opportunity: “Electrotechnical businesses can benefit from our tried and tested approaches gained from working with other B2B sectors. One of this sector’s biggest challenges is the need to adapt to digital channels, and this has only been accelerated this year by the impact of Covid-19 as customers want and need to access products online now more than ever.

“OrderWise already works with a large number of businesses in this sector so we understand the issues, challenges and requirements of the electrotechnical supply chain. Larger market places are taking significant share from traditional wholesalers, so without acting and adapting to digital channels, they could be putting themselves at a disadvantage. As a new Affiliated Solution Provider of the EDA, we will be able to work closely with EDA businesses to help drive the digitalisation of the sector so it can remain competitive.”

Richard Appleton, General Manager at EDA Data Services, said:  “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how important it is for wholesalers to be able to serve their contractor customers through a variety of different sales channels and enable them to purchase online but, historically, there are several barriers to overcome. There’s the time-consuming and resource-heavy exercise of obtaining high-quality product data as well as selecting the appropriate software partner for the business. The EDATA data pool can provide a central source of manufacturer product data which wholesalers can access through subscription, and we look forward to working with OrderWise to integrate this service into their software.”

OrderWise works with more than 100 electrical distributors in the UK, with many of the businesses members of the EDA.

For more information about OrderWise’s business management software for electrical distributors, visit the Orderwise website.