BDB leveraged its expertise in understanding applications and machinery ecosystems in engineering and process industries to research the market dynamics of industrial consumables. Industrial consumables are integral parts of machinery and equipment that find applications in manufacturing or process areas of industries, be it the usage of lubricants, gaskets, bearings, cutting tools, abrasives, welding products, additives adhesives, coatings, etc.
BDB started looking at industrial consumable market research over three decades ago. The in-house BDB research team conducts incisive research through interviews of end users, specifiers, maintenance and purchasing teams for analysing the market trends in OEMs and after-market requirements of industrial consumables.
While carrying out market research for industrial consumables, it is important to investigate current consumption patterns, usage of genuine products, application understanding, availability, pain points of customers, regulatory drivers, acceptable price points, sensitivity in usage, impact of substitute and spurious products and more to derive the accurate market dynamics. BDB’s research includes all these areas, and the analysis provides a clear opportunity map of short, medium and long term for our clients. It is also observed that the life and efficiency of machinery & equipment largely depend on the usage practises of industrial consumables, making it a critical subject for the maintenance and purchasing team of OEMs and end users.
As the industrial consumable market is largely driven by effective channel partners and their availability, BDB’s offering in this field includes channel partner identification, demand cluster mapping, competition intensity, channel optimisation and inputs for distribution re-alignment. BDB has the privilege of working with several global players in industrial consumables to define the market through intelligent market research and further developing go-to-market strategies.
BDB’s Industrial consumable research offers incisive customised primary research in South Asia, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa.
FAQ's
1. What is the consumption pattern of the industrial consumables being researched?
Industrial consumables include several items that are required to be used daily in the processes or manufacturing plant mainly by the maintenance department and shop floor or process areas. These items include products like lubricants, welding consumables, abrasives, cutting tools, bearings, adhesives, industrial gases and several other hardware items and chemicals required for operating the plant smoothly. A marketer needs to analyse the consumption pattern including the type of products being consumed for a specific application/process, any substitutes being used and any thumb rule for the usage in terms of units and rupee for estimating the consumption pattern and norm for a specific plant.
2. Who are the influencers and decision-makers for industrial consumables being researched?
It is important to understand the influencer and decision-making unit for a consumable being used in a plant. Systematic evaluation of the buying process shall help in devising the go-to-market strategy and the action items for promoting the specific product and brand
3. What is the stocking pattern for the industrial consumables being researched
These days several manufacturing and process plants require just an in-delivery process as they would like to maintain a minimum inventory for consumables. It is observed that several industrial consumable companies maintain their product banks to meet large consumers. For meeting small-time users cluster cluster-wise distribution mechanism is being developed for meeting the small and mid-size companies’ requirements. Therefore, it is essential to understand the usage practises and thereby help the customers by setting up their own product bank or effective distribution channels.
4. How important are channel systems to sell industrial consumables?
Manufacturing and process plants require industrial consumables to meet daily requirements. An effective distribution channel shall be a catalyst between the user and the supplier. The distribution channel consists of a wholesaler and dealer network. This system allows users to utilise the flexibility in terms of quantity being purchased and the payment schedules. Manufacturers offer effective training, promotional tools and commercial benefits to the channel for promoting their product and brand in the specified geography.
5. How important is packaging while selling industrial consumables being researched?
After a careful analysis of end-user requirements suppliers can decide the quantity of packaging, type of packaging and material for packaging. Packaging plays a major role in succeeding brand penetration and also meeting regulatory requirements. Packaging also helps in handling the threats from spurious products.
6. How are the price sensitivity and commercial practices being researched in the case of industrial consumables?
Depending upon the criticality of the applications, end-users decide what kind of consumables to be used. Sometimes in the case of maintaining the equipment, end-users go with the type of product and brand suggested by the OEMs. The end-users of industrial consumables include customers from small, medium, and large companies. Sometimes the pattern of usage even varies from a domestic end user to an MNC end user. In all these cases price, quality, delivery, and commercials being offered to the end user and dealers matter for the product and brand penetration. Therefore it is important to evaluate the price sensitivity of all the categories of end users while deciding the price points. It is also important to analyse the commercial terms and their impact on the overall pricing while finally deciding the price points.