That’s the question we’ve been asking since LBMX’s inception in 2000. Independent distributors make up one of the most profitable customer segments for suppliers, yet the systems in place to support them are antiquated, inconsistent, and manual.
LBMX has spent the last two decades focusing on independents and their buying groups. We provided the world’s only technology platform designed specifically for buying groups, purchasing cooperatives, and their independent members, connecting them with frictionless order management, digital marketplaces, invoice and payments, rebate and purchasing analytics, product information management (PIM), and complete EDI services – all in one place. We created the tools that helped groups thrive.
As we worked within the buying group model, we saw the gap between independents and their corporate competitors grow wider. While companies like Amazon, Home Depot and Walmart accelerated their adoption of technology, independent distributors fell behind.
We knew from experience that independents face different challenges when it comes to technology – varying priorities, disparities in resources and knowledge, increased threats to their customer bases, and more. The boot strap nature of independent businesses – the very entrepreneurial spirit that makes them such great customers – created a landscape of one-off systems, heroic manual processes, and a reluctance to invest in technological infrastructure.
LBMX solved the problem of varying trading practices and disparate technology for buying groups and their members. We leveled the technology field through the creation of private marketplaces designed with the independent in mind. We created private platforms for orders, product information, invoices, payments, and rebates to flow between trading partners with a single connection. We helped distributors buy better and suppliers sell more.
Now we are bringing our innovative marketplace architecture with its One Connect technology to the open B2B world outside of buying groups. We have over twenty years of experience making trade with these unique customers easy, seamless, and profitable.
LBMX knows how to work with independents. We are bringing that knowledge to you.
