E/D/E trademarks and sales concepts
The E/D/E trademarks stand for quality, reliability and added value. With unique selling points and targeted marketing activities as part of the sales concepts, members can position themselves on the market and successfully differentiate themselves from the competition. They benefit from the association’s extensive experience and expertise in product range design, branding, product purchasing and sales support – up to and including digitalisation.
With the E/D/E trademarks, the industrial B2B sector can tap into new sources of turnover potential and further strengthen customer loyalty. Simultaneously, the product range is is attractively and wisely rounded off by the established trademarks – with a comprehensive portfolio in the various product groups. In certain cases, marketing takes place exclusively via sales groups in E/D/E.
The FORMAT trademark continues to gain in importance
The FORMAT trademark developed in a stable manner in 2023 in the areas of tools, PPE and factory equipment. The brand features prominently in the PREMIUM FORMAT GROUP’s new tool catalogue 2023/24, for example, for which we have further expanded the FORMAT trademark range. The catalogue was published in May 2023 and was successfully launched on the market through catalogue training for distributors. The FORMAT umbrella brand has also continued to become more relevant in the building services sector and has led to an even higher share of own brands thanks to targeted sales activities at WUPPER-RING distributors.
Strategic development of the PREMIUM FORMAT GROUP
In addition to the introduction of the new catalogues for the tools, power tools and factory equipment product areas, the year 2023 was characterised by further strategic development for the PREMIUM FORMAT GROUP. The reorganisation of the entire group was developed over the course of several meetings. The results will be presented at the plenary meeting in June of this year. Preparations are also underway for the PPE catalogue to be published in 2024.
FORTIS:
Growth in industrial supplies
The E/D/E trademark FORTIS has been established among professional users for many years with tools and PPE products. It represents an indispensable part of the product range for distributors within the association. The area of personal protective equipment (PPE) in particular, was further expanded in 2023. New additions to the range include construction equipment and industrial supplies. The product groups for the technical trade include hoses, fittings, compressed air/pneumatics, rubber and seals.
An ongoing task is to further develop existing product ranges with a view to market relevance – through the use of needs-based offers, for example for chemical-technical products with E-COLL, or target group-orientated product ranges, for example in collaboration with the PROTECTOR sales group. Other focal points of the year 2023 included the optimisation of products in stock and the expansion of digital processes in order to meet market requirements in an even more targeted manner.
Trademarks
Sales concepts
HANDWERKSTADT:
Personal exchange and digital marketing
In the area of industrial B2B sector systems, the E/D/E resumed the concept of the marketplace distribution systems in 2023. The roughly 40 exhibiting focal suppliers were able to engage in intensive dialogue with around 140 visitors from the HANDWERKSTADT and PLUS 1 sales groups. The day before, the HANDWERKSTADT Group’s plenary meeting discussed the direction to be taken. The focus was on the continued expansion of digital marketing activities in the sales group.
In the current year, the focus will be on sales activities, process cost optimisation, and consistent controlling. The new PLUS 1 Tools catalogue will be published in spring. In addition, the functions in the marketing portal for both sales groups will be further expanded and supplemented with online listing packages. In doing so, we are consistently promoting digital marketing activities among our members and creating a considerable deburdening effect. The HANDWERKSTADT “Wood” and “Metal” target group catalogues will follow in the fourth quarter with well over 30,000 items.
High levels of inventory in the trade sector led to cautious planning behaviour overall in 2023. As a result, stakeholders within the trade sector have consistently reduced their inventories. Process cost advantages and the intensive use of the eLC led to growth of 8 per cent in the E/D/E warehouse business across all product areas in the relevant PLUS 1 and HANDWERKSTADT sales groups.
The service portfolio in the area of service/aftersales is being promoted in the motorisation segment with the GreenMoto sales concept. Furthermore, new service modules are being developed to optimise workshop processes. The rainy spring and high stock levels posed major challenges for the trade sector. It was not until the middle of the year that the motorisation season developed to a more satisfactory level. General consumer reluctance was also reflected in an increase in repair services.
MIETEplus
continues to grow with new partners
“Renting instead of owning” continues to be a trend: MIETEplus is clearly in tune with the times and has developed positively in 2023. New partners were added on both the member and supplier sides. Network maintenance will take centre stage in 2024. The aim is to build up a nationwide network of lessors. E/D/E provides joint support when it comes to process optimisation and digitalisation, from rental software to connection to CRM systems and the use of AI-based systems.
FAVORIT Group:
successful repositioning
The FAVORIT Group reorganised itself in 2023 and expanded its service portfolio for suppliers. With the FAVORIT partner conference, which focussed on sustainability and solutions for industrial supply concepts – for example with dispensing machines – we have succeeded in addressing market-relevant topics. At the A+A trade fair (personal protective equiment) in October 2023, the FAVORIT Group successfully presented the ForSec trademark and dispensers at its own stand and once again established numerous new business contacts.
PROTECTOR:
pilot projects with selected suppliers
The PROTECTOR Group (personal protective equiment) achieved a positive result for the year 2023 at its annual conference. Various projects have been successfully implemented over the past few months, including the close collaboration with the E/D/E warehouse for the FORTIS trademark. Collaboration with defined key suppliers was also further intensified in the form of two pilot projects: together with 3M, the PROTECTOR Group created an image and sales brochure. A product flyer was created with Ansell, which E/D/E converted into a microsite and then made available to the members of the sales organisation.
New communities of interest in the WUPPER-RING
Activities at WUPPER-RING centred on the new concept of communities of interest per supplier, which will replace the previous service groups from 2024. We also continued to provide intensive training programmes within heating and supported the development of expertise in the area of renewable energies in the local trade.
We also implemented a new marketing strategy for the FORMAT trademark in order to support lead generation for members with greater reach and further improved brand awareness.
Specialist groups bundle expertise
Recognising market trends at an early stage and developing suitable solutions: the PRO.ELEMENT specialist group – with its four competence groups Contract Business, Sun Shading + Façade, ELEMENTARES Services and the ELEMENTARES exhibition – continued to act as a stimulus in 2023. The target group-specific focus is also reflected in the ELEMENTec specialist group, which – in collaboration with the EURO Baubeschlag-Handel AG (EBH) – brings together the expertise of building hardware and building elements on one platform. The aim is to provide dealers with targeted support in door engineering and the development of installation expertise.
Enhanced networking of the individual trades: this is the aim of the EBH SmartWorldPool project. In particular, the Smart Home & Building business areas and the service sector are at the centre of the strategic development.
UNION:
successful sales forum
In addition to the plenary meeting for all three UNION sales concepts – Tools, Power Tools and Factory Equipment – in March 2023, the sales forum for suppliers and UNION members in May 2023, in particular, provided a central platform for mutual exchange. A solid 350 visitors from the UNION Group met 40 E/D/E concept suppliers. Another sales forum for suppliers and UNION members is planned for November 2024.
The new UNION power tool catalogue will be published in May 2024. The new UNION Tools and UNION Factory Equipment catalogues will follow in the autumn of 2024.
EURO-DIY
focuses on new marketing mix
The activities of the EURO-DIY focussed on increasing customer frequency in the members’ trade locations, and providing new sources of impetus with digital marketing measures, in particular. The new mix of print and digital advertising campaigns, which was launched in the third quarter of 2023, is set to be continued this year.
Support in digital marketing
Marketing activities through which E/D/E supports its members with trademarks are increasingly shifting to digital formats. A new tool is used to provide microsites for E/D/E trademarks, among other things. The initiative was developed in the sales concept development working group, and was realised in close collaboration with the E/D/E marketing department. The microsites can be easily integrated into members’ websites or online shops, and take on the function of a catalogue in digital form. There is also an advantage in terms of sustainability: print runs for paper catalogues, which are already losing relevance with end customers, can be reduced further – this lowers emissions and avoids unnecessary consumption of resources.
One of the first projects realised was a microsite for power tools. The HANDWERKSTADT Group’s retailers are thus able to communicate innovations in a targeted manner (and at short notice) with a wide reach. This digital shop window with a highly up-to-date product range will also be rolled out for UNION members in the power tools sector in May of this year. Acceptance among members is high: for example, all 80 retailers in the UNION Werkzeug Group are anticipated to integrate the microsites for the FORTIS and E-COLL trademarks into their online presence in 2024. The initiative for this came from the UNION Distributor Advisory Board.
A further step in this direction in 2023 involved the expansion of the marketing portal as a distribution platform for various materials – true to the guiding principle of “Bundling with personalisation”. The members of the HANDWERKSTADT sales group received further marketing support in the form of templates that can be used for posts on social media. Potential communication opportunities are identified and suggested in advance by the E/D/E marketing department. In certain cases, there are already preprepared posts that can be customised as required.
