We analyze the main characteristics of the distribution sector in the world, Europe and, mainly, in Spain.
We show you, according to official studies, the companies that are in the TOP ranking worldwide.
In addition, we analyze the reports that indicate the products and sectors that are in continuous growth in our country and we tell you in which items European and Spanish consumers have invested more.
Table of Contents
1. Distribution companies.
In recent years, companies in the sector have undergone major changes as a result of the speed of buying/selling in a globalized world connected to markets that fluctuate in real time. The items for distribution travel the country’s arteries and cross a thousand borders to satisfy a consumption that is, every day, more immediate and diverse.
Faced with an increasingly competitive scenario, small retail chains are beginning to implement CRM systemsto integrate strategic decisions into their business models and become a leading company in the retail sector.
The sector is developing by implementing functional strategies that make its distribution network engineering more versatile and agile, increasingly “liquid” in order to adapt, faster than the competition, to changes in the sector.
Europe accounts for 34.4% of the total income of the distribution sector, and in terms of importance within the Union’s economy, we are talking about no less than 14% of the EU’s GDP. And not only that, around 11 million people are part of the sector which, according to the latest European logistics studies, is projected to grow by 40% over the next 20 years.
Access and immediacy are the protagonists in thedesign of the current distribution network, in a context in which the consumer wants to be able to choose between items from anywhere in the world and have them available now.
In Europe, France and Germany are the strongest, closely followed by Denmark and the United Kingdom, and it is not always the national distributors that are in charge ofmapping distribution routes. country of origin. In Spain, the German delivery company DHL (Deutsche Post DHL), plays in the front line and is a leading company in the distribution sectorin our country.
In the world ranking, the U.S. Wal-Mart Stores,Costco Wholesale Corp and Amazon take the top three places respectively in the global pyramid of the sector.
1.1. Distribution companies in Spain.
In Spain, retailers are immersed in an ever-growing online shopping environment where they have to compete to provide the lowest price.
The ranking of the world’s largest retail groups, Global Powers of Retailing 2020, shows that Spain’s major retailers are among the world’s leading companies in the sector.
According to the study, Spanish retail companies are in the Top 200 and, in the case ofMercadona, Inditex and El Corte Inglés, in the Top 100.
2. The consumer.
While thedesign of the distributionnetwork is being fine-tuned to be more competitive, it will be the consumer who willdetermine which items to distribute are the most in demand.
The sales strategies of large companies are beginning to shift from multichannel, i.e., procedures that approach the consumer from various physical and digital media, to omnichannel.This process is focused on generating a better customer experience, placing the customer at the center of the strategy and simulating a more individual communication with him or her.
This is because, ultimately and regardless of the effortsof a leading retailer, the consumer decides which retail products are profitable and which are not.
2.1. The consumer in Spain.
According to Observatorio Cetelem, in its reportObservatorio Cetelem de Consumo en España 2019.focused on “purchasing behavior in twelve of the most important distribution sectors in our country”, the consumer index continues to increase year after year, with sales of sporting goods, travel, mobile devices and household appliances leading the way. These four categories have not only grown, but have grown considerably.
The study, based on 2,200 surveys, indicates that consumers are increasing, but average spending is not. Spaniards are moving away from the image of wastefulness that illustrated the year 2000 and, on the contrary, are closer to a society that prioritizes savings. So much so, in fact, that the Cetelem report is presented with the headline “More consumption, less expenditure”.
As for the surfaces in which consumers prefer to shop, 64% choose large stores, where they have the full range of productsthey may need, compared to 36% of respondents who prefer neighborhood stores or stores. Likewise, it is important to note that, despite the fact that the difference between one typology and another is wide, small stores are up two points compared to 2018.
This increase in the valuation of small businesses is due to younger people, natives of a consumerist and connected society, who are inclined towards the neighborhood store, prioritizing familiarity, trust and, ultimately, the closest treatment.
In addition, more and more buyers are beginning to prioritize the sustainability of what they consume, with 1 out of every 4. Moreover, 45% of the respondents indicated that They almost always take sustainability and/or ecology into account in their purchases, compared to a small 13% who say. Never
2.2. The consumer in Europe.
If we draw a parallel with the report of the Cetelem Observatory of consumption in Europe 2019.we find ourselves with local and responsible consumption as a protagonist. From the rest of the Union, the same trends as in our country are maintained: sustainability, local and regional, and savings as maxims in the final consumer and, therefore, in the rest of the circuit that makes up the market and its distribution.
The only sector in Spain that has grown in the face of the fall in average spending in favor of savings is the home furnishings sector, and in the case of our European neighbors, exactly the same thing is happening. Savings are taking center stage, but our interest in the comfort of our homes remains active and growing.
3. The future of supply chains.
After a decade of market terminology from the horizontality of the processes involved in real-time communications, developments marked by a return to verticality and concentration are beginning to be established.
The offshoring of production to third countries neglected the importance of the industrial process as opposed to the distribution and purchasing phase. Now, large industrial groups are beginning to buy up distribution chains, producing a change in the balance that puts the production process back in the lead.
We will see over time what this transformation, still in its infancy, has to tell us about the relationship between the manufacturer and the production industry, the commercial and distribution chain and, finally, the consumer and the shopping experience.
4. La digitalización en el sector de la distribución.
Thereengineering of distributionnetworks is built, in Europe alone, by 11 million people involved in the mapping of distribution routes.
In a context of access and immediacy, with e-commerce online shopping 24 hours a day, it is already a necessity for companies and carriers to operate with management software or, what is the same thing, a CRM that works in the cloud, to provide mobility and synchronize information in real time and on all devices: cell phone, tablet and PC.
STEL Order is the best rated ERP in the market and in more than 70 countries, which synchronizes all documents, invoices, customer and supplier data, stock and much more in real time and on all devices automatically from the cloud.
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