The real contact point between those who are looking for and those who are selling components

Matching up supply with demand is the key differentiator in business. The same is true also when we talk about mechatronics and high-precision components.

On the one hand, we have firms producing components in every corner of the globe and, on the other, designers and engineers looking for the right component for their project.

In the middle is the place – not necessarily physical – where both sides meet.

Where do you buy components nowadays?

Over time, this place has become defined and identified not so much by geographical coordinates, but by precise patterns of behavior, timeframes, compatibility features, and many other parameters that had nothing to do with streets and house numbers.

Did you want to sell? There’s a specific place for you to go.

Nowadays, this specific place is no longer tied to a physical location. Supply meets demand thanks to the Internet, and they reward the “marketplace” that objectively allows them to sell and buy better.

The winner is the one who achieves the best result

Do you want to sell or buy? There are new rules that people need to understand.

Therefore, if you assess a business’s chances of success based on old standards, you might end up making a mistake, which is very risky. This means losing customers and revenue.

If I had to summarize some key elements required to assess the success of a commercial activity, thinking about the mechatronics sector, I would definitely include the following factors.

Compatibility

In other words, it’s the way in which it is possible to establish a smooth dialog (sell and buy), faced with the technological “complexity”.

The specific risk – which arises every day – is getting bogged down with minor problems that turn into insurmountable walls in a technological world.

Having an incompatible CAD format or a version that has not been updated means that companies with the right product are doomed to lose sales and customers.

Therefore, the ideal place must be conducive to supporting the maximum compatibility from this perspective.

Ease of use

Supermarkets are designed to serve people from every social and cultural background, offering the same easy use.

We can easily access them and find everything we need. This is what makes well-organized retail outlets the perfect place for making our purchases.

When we switch from offline to online, the easy use of the system is reflected in every single action, single click, and single written (or unwritten) word.

The ideal place for selling and buying components online must be intuitive and easy to operate, including by those who have never used this channel.

Guarantees

We all want to feel secure. Anyone involved in selling and buying wants to feel protected. Therefore, every aspect of credibility should always be obvious. Every one of us has different parameters when it comes to ensuring our security. Knowing how to respond and having reassurance on several fronts when using objective elements is what naturally brings the majority of people together (from companies to designers).

Choice

The huge range of products on sale is always a good thing. This is true for anyone looking to buy (more offerings, more specifications, more solutions to problems) and for anyone looking to sell because, particularly in a sector like mechatronics, a huge range of components attracts the most demanding designers and engineers who want to find the largest number of solutions in a single place. This means that the opportunities to sell increase mathematically with the increase in the number of competitors in the same marketplace.

Ultimately, it’s the 3D online cataloging system that works

You will have understood that these features present a clear profile, which is that of the 3D online cataloging system. And this is precisely the area in which TraceParts works.

All I’ve done is to give you an overview, highlighting the main pillars supporting the sector. If you remove even one of these, you can guarantee that the whole thing will collapse.

Just to recap…

It’s customers that change their habits, you don’t have to agree. They change their habits and they then naturally move away from places that don’t meet their demands.

But if this works so well, why isn’t everyone already doing it?

It’s a valid question, but one that you’ll also find a simple answer to: change causes fear.

It causes fear even when real needs are being met (selling more) and even when reliable data are available about this (such as the data about TraceParts users).

This not only affects the mechatronics industry, but also every single habit in our life that we, as human beings, are forced to change.

P.S. When you’re not 100% sure or when you like an idea and it seems fine to you, but you’re still hesitant, ask yourself the most important questions: what have I got to lose? What could go wrong? We often apply the brakes when dealing with something that requires considerable effort, in this case, change. However, we’re talking here about change for the better and for your benefit.