B2B Wholesale: Should You Still Print Your Own Product Catalog?
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In B2B wholesale, especially in technical wholesale distribution, the classic product catalog has a long-standing tradition.
But the world of e-commerce is transforming the market rapidly, presenting new challenges for sales managers and managing directors of specialist wholesalers. So, what about our thick printed catalog?
Companies that often manage between 20,000 to 100,000 products and serve up to 10,000 customers are under increasing pressure to act flexibly and data-driven—both in pricing and customer engagement. And tradition can be a heavy burden.
The pressing question: does a printed catalog still make sense in times of AI and e-commerce? This article examines the pros and cons, presents real-life examples, and explores how innovative technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing wholesale—and what this means for the traditional paper catalog. “What, we shouldn’t print catalogs anymore?”—we hear that a lot. Let’s start the discussion.
The Printed Catalog in B2B Wholesale – An Anachronism or Still Relevant?
Printed catalogs convey a sense of value and are an established marketing tool. Nothing beats the image of a customer flipping through your catalog at their desk and ordering directly from you. Those days are long gone—or are they?
Wholesale catalogs have often served as an excellent excuse to visit customers or discuss the product range with your product managers. See it in print!
Yet, with the advance of digitization, the question arises: is a printed catalog still justified? Would investing in digital alternatives not be more effective? There are clearly both advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of the Printed Catalog
• Tangible and Reliable: A printed catalog provides a sense of permanence and trustworthiness that digital offerings often struggle to match. B2B customers value the reliability and calm that a well-structured catalog provides.
• Offline Access: Ironically, in the age of e-commerce, the ability to browse products without internet access or external software remains a strong advantage. Customers in more traditional industries often prefer working with physical product information.
• Brand Presence and Emotion—Even in B2B: Many wholesalers use catalogs to build emotional connections with their brand. Examples include Würth’s flip catalog and the Orange Hoffmann print catalog—available in 18 languages and valid as of August 1, 2024. These were long the flagship marketing tools of a well-established German wholesaler. A paper catalog did more than convey information—it represented the company. Of course, they’re also available online now. As consumers, we’re all familiar with flip catalogs from retailers.
Disadvantages and Challenges of the Printed Catalog
• Cost and Timeliness: Printing and shipping are costly, and catalogs become outdated quickly. If product details or prices change, you need to reprint and redistribute—an expensive and time-consuming process.
• Limited Customization: Printed catalogs are static and can’t easily be tailored to individual customer needs. This is a drawback in a world where personalized offerings are increasingly expected.
• Environmental Impact: The production and distribution of printed catalogs have a significant carbon footprint. Companies aiming for greener operations are increasingly questioning whether they should shift to digital alternatives.
The Impact of AI and Predictive Sales on the Wholesale Product Catalog
When you shop online as a consumer, chances are an algorithm determined the price, influenced what you purchased, and certainly shaped what you saw.
These are all applications of machine learning and AI. This powerful influence of AI in B2C is inevitably expanding into the B2B wholesale space. It’s very likely that some of your suppliers, competitors, and customers are already using these algorithms to gain a competitive edge.
In today’s digital age, the transition from print to online platforms is nearly unavoidable. B2B customers expect the same convenience and flexibility they’re used to as consumers in online shops. That’s both a blessing and a curse—you’ve gained a new sales channel, but so has your competition.
Predictive analytics and ERP data mining enable wholesalers to anticipate trends and customer behavior. These technologies help increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), identify cross-selling potential, and retain customers in a more targeted way. So how can a printed product catalog—with multiple vendors featured—keep up with this level of dynamic intelligence?
Analyzing historical ERP sales data is especially valuable in this context. It reveals unique insights into customer needs and helps define the optimal product selection for the catalog. List prices with higher purchase probabilities can also be estimated using AI.
Should You Still Invest in Printing a Catalog?
Sorry to disappoint you, but the answer is: “It depends.” First and foremost, you need the resources to design and print your own catalog, and the costs must be manageable. These factors are closely linked: the more products and vendors you resell, the more expensive and complex your catalog becomes.
Don’t forget the upcoming EU Product Liability Directive, which may require you to provide detailed technical information for every product in your portfolio.
If you have around 2,000 active customers, you’d likely need to print a similar number of catalogs. That would cost you roughly €15,000 for a 244-page A4-format catalog printed on 80g paper in full color—or slightly less in black and white. That’s “only” €7 per customer. And this doesn’t even include design, delivery, or distribution costs. Assuming these double the price, you’re at about €15 per catalog per customer. Does that still make sense for you?
There’s also the practical question of how to compress 20,000 product listings into roughly 200 pages. 100 SKUs per page? Possible if you stick to variations and tiny print. But if you offer 2 million products online, print simply can’t compete. Here, digital is better. A provocative side note: what’s the point of listing 2 million products online if you stock 20,000 and only sell those? I’ll cover that in a future blog post.
While printed catalogs offer benefits like tangibility and brand recognition, the developments in digital and data-driven sales clearly provide stronger advantages. AI-powered tools allow for more precise customer targeting, stronger loyalty through personalization, and sustainably higher revenue via smarter data management. Still, I remain a fan of paper. What about you?
Ask yourself:
• Do we still have the resources to design a catalog?
• How often do product details or prices change? Do we want to print list prices as well?
• How digitally savvy is our customer base? How many would still appreciate a printed catalog?
• What benefits could we gain through AI-driven, personalized offerings?
CALCULATE NOW THE ROI OF QYMATIX PREDICTIVE SALES SOFTWARE
Still Printing Your Own Catalog in B2B Wholesale – The Bottom Line
The decision to print a catalog is not a simple yes-or-no. While traditional catalogs offer brand visibility, the growing importance of AI makes a strong case for going digital. With predictive analytics and ERP data mining, wholesalers can not only cut costs but also respond to customer needs in a data-driven way—safeguarding their competitiveness in a market shaped by e-commerce. Ideally, you can benefit from both worlds.
The shift toward AI and data-driven decisions is not just a trend—it’s a necessary adaptation to today’s and tomorrow’s challenges in B2B wholesale. And in the end, tradition might still prevail. If you can, I still prefer paper. Print the catalog again—and send me a copy.
If you’re still unsure, maybe start with a Qymatix AI pilot project to explore the potential of these technologies for your business. Times are changing—even in technical wholesale. Make sure your company keeps up.