SIMA Promotes Business Sustainability and Standardized Approach to Virtual Wholesale Purchasing
Further building upon their partnership with Elastic Suite, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) is taking steps to promote the sustainability benefits of digital wholesale purchasing technology while creating an industry-wide standardized virtual B2B platform. New enhancements and customized features of the Elastic merchandising solution are making it easier for surf industry brands to eliminate printed sales materials and catalogs while actively engaging retailers in a more efficient and flexible virtual purchasing process.
“In August of 2019, SIMA and Elastic first announced the start of their partnership to move the surf industry to digital catalogs. The timing of the partnership couldn’t have been better given that most of the world would need to move to virtual platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic by March of this year. Elastic has proven to be an invaluable resource and partner for surf brands and retailers alike, and SIMA is excited to not only continue the partnership, but also to go deeper with new innovations to strengthen the industry.”
Central to program enhancements is the formation of a SIMA taskforce consisting of brands, retailers and technology advisors from Elastic. The aim of this working group is to foster greater feedback and collaboration to maximize the effectiveness of digital merchandising solutions and to streamline the onboarding process for retailers, including hands-on training for wholesale buyers. A new, centralized SIMA dealer dashboard will create a more consistent, seamless and fully integrated purchasing process for retailers.
“The Elastic team welcomes the opportunity to achieve this common vision while creating a more efficient and standardized B2B merchandising experience across the surf category. We envision the partnership with SIMA setting an example of brand and retailer collaboration in creating innovative virtual B2B solutions that will extend to other industries as well.”
Ongoing education about the sustainability benefits of eliminating printed B2B sales and marketing materials is also a key focus. New features on the SIMA website, including a real-time ticker illustrating the positive environmental impact from B2B print elimination among SIMA members and a sustainability calculator, are additional elements of the enhanced program.
Elastic helps manufacturers, retailers and distributors adopt a more sustainable approach to B2B sales while achieving efficiency-driven cost savings and incremental sales growth. Sustainability and cost savings come through streamlined order entry, digital catalogs, eliminating printed sales materials, resource optimization, inventory management, online payment functionality and product sample reduction. Increased sales revenues come through brand-specific retailer/dealer applications, sales rep tools, strategic sales planning, digital merchandising, product customization, managing complex pricing incentive programs, assortment planning tools, history-driven selling, strengthening brand equity, segmented sales capability, increased client acquisition/retention and enhanced product presentations.
Existing SIMA partners on the Elastic platform include: Quiksilver, Roxy, DC Shoes, Billabong, Element, RVCA, Hurley, Volcom, RipCurl, Jetty, Xcel, VonZipper, Vans and O’Neill.
