The Top Challenges Facing the Wholesale Trade in Germany
What are the challenges faced by wholesalers in Germany from the point of view of their salespeople?
The wholesale trade in Germany is a vital sector of the economy, generating billions of euros in revenue per year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the number of companies in wholesale trade (excluding trade in motor vehicles) in Germany has fallen continuously in recent times, most recently to around 135,000 in 2020. Turnover in wholesale trade also dropped this year to approximately 1.24 trillion euros.
SMEs represent around 99 % of all companies in wholesale in Germany. Among them, speciality wholesaling, also called specialist wholesaling, focuses on a specific product group and does not offer a wide range of products, as with assortment wholesaling.
Read more
The different kinds of Wholesale Businesses
Wholesale businesses are all around us. From fueling the dropship revolution to supplying critical pandemic supplies worldwide; wholesalers are an important part of our economic infrastructure.
Research Germany explains, “the German wholesale and retail trade represents an annual turnover of 2.19 trillion Euros and 6.4 million employees. There are about 150,000 wholesalers and about 300,000 retailers.”
Read more
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in B2B e-Commerce
The rise of E-commerce in B2C is mind-blowing. For example, the online giant Amazon made revenues of almost half-a-trillion dollars for the twelve months ending September 30, 2022. And as the number of physical shops declines, e-commerce is becoming increasingly important.
Take Germany. Between 2015 and 2019, 5,000 physical shops were closed yearly in the country. Between 2020 and 2022, up to 47,000 more shops and branches will follow. Meanwhile, online sales are booming. In 2015, online sales were €39.9 billion, but by 2021 they had risen to €86.7 billion, with a forecast of €97.4 billion in 2022.