Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/919877
November/December 2017 47 of Grainger but is positioned differently than the traditional full-service parent. Another segment platform is Wilmar at wilmar.com. It is a part of Interline Brands, owned (since 2015) by Home Depot. Wilmar serves a thin slice of multifamily housing where maintenance crews are often the installers of products and have the capability of ordering what they need. Segment platform businesses are typically separate entities that develop a highly-customized marketing mix for their customer base. It is difficult to operate them with the same management as the full-service firm. Enhanced Value Firms juggle the traditional value chain for a cost advantage over brick-and-mortar distribution; examples include Civic Solar and Sustainable Supply. Civic Solar serves the solar industry by designing projects before ordering materials. They use a combination of advanced, proprietary software and vendor relationships to avoid excessive inventory in the channel to consummate the sale. Their competitors, traditional electrical distributors, order inventory and store it in hopes of supplying the installation. Cons Probability of Success Examples Unwieldy, not made for Low, as online sales Most of distribution online, expensive, difficult to grow entities with online navigate sales Takes extra effort in marketing, High, as there are few WebstaurantStore.com marketing mix, and upkeep competitors Extra work in definition and upkeep Medium, as it takes a lot of Zoro Tool and including management online marketing expertise but Wilmar-Div of Interline marketing mix. Often stand-alone ROS and growth projects are Brands business with cultural differences exceptional growth projects Extra work in marketing and often a Medium to High — if well Civic Solar and new firm with new management and defined and structured Sustainable Supply mission. Risky in early-lie of entity. with professional marketers Large investment in software Medium to high once Kinnek at Kinnek.com established Warehouse Two, Home Advisor E-COMMERCE MODELS - EXHIBIT I Their asset storage and financing costs are high and they have trouble competing with Civic's model. Sustainable Supply has developed an expertise in parts for industries such as HVAC and plumbing. They partner with top vendors to develop extensive and detailed product content. Users can find parts detail including breakdowns and substitutes with ease. When they place the order with Sustainable, it is often drop-shipped from the manufacturer. Traditional distributors often have trouble with parts sales because of the small order size and numerous SKUs. However, Sustainable Supply stocks few parts, hence they have a reduced operating cost base and can fulfill smaller orders shipped direct. Finally, there are information sharing firms called Marketplaces that develop an online marketplace for common industries. These firms pair buyer and seller and take a transaction fee from the sale. They typically provide the transaction engine, post the inventory, enhance content, and evaluate member services. Good examples are Kinnek at kinnek.com, WarehouseTwo and Home Advisor. Marketplaces