WHAT’S THE FUTURE OF WHOLESALE? – A KEYNOTE SPEAKER AND FUTURIST WEIGHS IN

We often serve as future of wholesale speakers and distribution futurist consultants. Why? Because between AI, automation, robotics and other new innovations, the field is rapidly changing. But before we dive deeper, it helps to note what the industry focuses on, as it’s not necessarily one that’s of immediate obviousness to your average everyday household shopper. Noting this, as future of wholesale speakers and distribution futurists, let’s offer up a working definition that make help things become a bit more understandable at a glance for you.

Put simply: The wholesale industry is an essential part of the supply chain where goods are sold in large quantities, typically to retail businesses, commercial, industrial or other professional business users. It differs from the retail industry, where products are sold to end consumers in smaller quantities. Bearing this in mind, as future of wholesale speakers and distribution futurists would tell you, wholesalers serve as intermediaries between manufacturers, who produce the goods, and retailers, who sell the goods to the public. In other words, folks here buy goods in bulk from manufacturers, mark up the prices slightly, and then sell these goods to retailers or other business entities. (Who then, as you can see with your favorite big box store chains and small neighborhood outlets, mark up prices further and sell to consumers.) This bulk buying allows wholesalers to get discounts from manufacturers, which they can pass on to their customers, and provides manufacturers with a steady demand for their products.

Overall, we’d note that the wholesale industry includes a diverse range of sectors, from food and beverage to electronics, apparel, pharmaceuticals, and more. Of course, wholesalers can also be merchant wholesalers, who take legal ownership of the goods they distribute, or brokers and agents, who facilitate sales between a buyer and a seller but do not take ownership of the goods.

That said, as future of wholesale speakers and distribution futurists remind, in recent years, the wholesale industry has been influenced by the rise of e-commerce and digital technologies. Changes in the space have led to the emergence of digital wholesale platforms and dropshipping, where retailers sell products to consumers without actually holding any inventory. Instead, when a product is sold, the retailer purchases the item from a third party (usually a wholesaler or manufacturer) who then ships it directly to the customer.