A Cautionary Tale
Do you remember back in the day when you would go check out a book at the library or buy one from a bookstore? It seems like such an uncommon thing to do now, but there was a time when multiple retail giants dedicated to books existed. One of these chains was Borders Group, Inc. Maybe you remember them, maybe you don't– the reason for that is they went bankrupt during a pivotal time like one we're in. Customers began wanting to buy online more than in person. Their unfortunate demise provides critical lessons for the steel service industry today. As more and more service centers modernize and begin adopting online sales portals, we have to be careful not to make the same detrimental mistakes that they did.
This all happened just after the dot-com bubble, where the empty-shell companies dissipated and the real players emerged. This is the world Amazon emerged in, and as everyone knows, they were first and formerly an online bookstore. Now Borders was already fantastic at brick-and-mortar sales, but just as the industry was going digital, they were busy expanding their physical plant and refurbishing their stores [1]. Their stagnation in technological capabilities eventually led to a deal with one of their biggest competitors.
That's right– Amazon provided Borders with an online ecommerce platform. This was criticized as one of the biggest strategic blunders that led to their bankruptcy in 2011 [1]. Even though it should've been obvious to their leadership at the time, we humans are notoriously prone to blindspots.
But you don't have to be.
Evaluating the People Behind Your Portal
There are a lot of steel service centers adopting online sales portals right now. It's getting easier and easier to go to a local competitor's website and get an online quote. But how many of these distributors are asking themselves, "who actually builds the portal platform I pay for? Who are their investors?"
SteelVend is not the only customer portal platform for service centers. We have competition. There are alternative portals available. And their investors are your competition. These other portals have likely given over ownership shares to the large steel distributors you work hard to differentiate yourself from. SteelVend is different– fully independent, no investors of any kind, and no stake nor association (business or personal) whatsoever to any metals company.
Your Competitive Intelligence Belongs to You
Our promise is simple: Your competitive intelligence belongs to you, not your competitors. When you manage your prices, inventory, and customers in our platform, those details will never be aggregated into anonymous, private market reports that could potentially fall into the laps of your competitors.
When Borders sought out Amazon to handle their online sales platform, that was like "handing the keys over to a direct competitor" [1]. The customer portal that you brand as your own, that you trust to live on your own website, matters. If it's built by a software company that's given a financial stake to your competitor, why would you use their product? Why would you upload your most valuable secrets to them? Don't overlook this crucial detail when considering an online portal provider. There is too much risk that your business will find itself on the losing end of an asymmetrical market-knowledge landscape in the future.
You don't have to make that mistake. Your trust in us is more precious than gold, and SteelVend seeks to honor it. Our promise isn't simply to help you sell more metal. It's to give you the technology to compete more effectively without compromising the information that makes your business competitive.
Sources
- Noguchi, Yuki. “Why Borders Failed While Barnes & Noble Survived.” NPR, July 19, 2011. Republished by KUNC.
- Gladwin, Lee Copeland. “Borders Turns to Amazon for Outsourcing.” Computerworld, April 17, 2001. Read article.