Client description: Building automation systems manufacturer

Practice area: Market Research and Analysis

Geographic scope: US

Industries involved: Process Controls & Equipment, Pharmaceuticals

Services applied: Market opportunity study, Voice of Customer, Competitive Intelligence

Business challenge: Building automation systems manufacturer wants to obtain a market leadership position and needs to evaluate becoming a distributor. Company needs to validate if distributor model is sound and if it will be an extension of their current business unit or a new entity under a different brand name to incorporate competitor product in offering.

Methodologies: Extensive secondary research on market trends, key players and distribution channel. Research complemented with 20 qualitative in-depth interviews (IDIs) and 95 quantitative phone surveys.

The result: Exhaustive research unveiled that buyers do not have an issue with a manufacturer becoming a distributor, there are no actual barriers to penetration, and unmet needs do exist. The full report included market dynamics with charts, graphs and analytics of value drivers that portrayed buying behavior, attitudes and impressions from key customer and users. Findings indicated a soft green light to create a separate distribution business.

While market size was not as large as expected by the client, becoming a distributor would allow them to gain new clients held by other distributors. Recommendations were made to include an online model, as it showed potential.