Industrial and wholesale distribution companies are at a pivotal moment. As digital transformation accelerates across sectors, these organizations face mounting pressure to modernize legacy systems, unify fragmented data, and deliver seamless experiences for both customers and employees. The lessons learned from connected digital sales and service ecosystems in agriculture and energy offer a powerful blueprint for transformation—one that Publicis Sapient has successfully applied to industrial, wholesale, and distribution clients, including leaders in equipment rental and retail distribution.
Much like their counterparts in agriculture and energy, industrial and wholesale distributors often possess strong brands, robust product portfolios, and loyal customer bases. Yet, they are frequently held back by outdated sales processes, siloed data, and inefficient internal workflows. Sales teams may still rely on spreadsheets and manual tools, making it difficult to gain real-time visibility into inventory, supply, and demand. These inefficiencies not only slow down operations but also erode customer loyalty and limit the ability to scale.
The need for change is clear: to remain competitive, distributors must deliver the kind of connected, real-time experiences that customers and employees now expect. This means modernizing sales processes, integrating real-time data, and creating unified digital platforms that serve both external customers and internal teams.
Publicis Sapient’s work in agriculture and energy provides a proven framework for transformation. In these sectors, we have helped global leaders modernize their digital ecosystems by:
The results have been transformative: sales teams can now forecast demand, manage customer relationships more effectively, and increase revenue using improved tools. Customers benefit from faster, more transparent service, while internal teams enjoy streamlined workflows and reduced operational redundancy.
One of the world’s largest equipment rental specialists partnered with Publicis Sapient to set a new standard for customer experience in their industry. Facing a broken web reservation platform and fragmented customer journeys, the company needed a flexible, scalable e-commerce solution to drive operational efficiency and revenue growth.
We delivered an integrated omnichannel experience by implementing a dynamic, component-driven architecture using Adobe Experience Cloud and Adobe Commerce, supported by a hybrid cloud solution. This enabled complete automation, robust security, and high performance. The impact was immediate: user search activity and product views surged, funnel leakage decreased, and average order value increased. Sales representatives were freed from manual tasks, allowing them to focus on building relationships and driving business growth.
For global retail and consumer product clients, Publicis Sapient has unified commerce and education platforms to serve both B2B customers and internal teams. By consolidating fragmented systems into a single, agile platform, we enabled direct sales, streamlined customer education, and empowered sales and support teams with better tools and insights. Automation and a renewed technical architecture reduced cost-to-serve and increased development efficiency, while customers enjoyed a seamless, self-service experience.
At the heart of these transformations is the integration of real-time data and the creation of unified digital platforms. By connecting sales, service, inventory, and customer data across the value chain, organizations can:
Publicis Sapient’s SPEED framework—Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data & AI—ensures that every transformation is tailored to the unique needs of each client. Our strategic partnerships with technology leaders like Salesforce, AWS, and Adobe provide the foundation for scalable, future-ready solutions.
With over 30 years of experience in digital business transformation, Publicis Sapient brings deep industry expertise, technology leadership, and a people-first mindset to every engagement. We don’t just implement solutions—we co-create them with our clients, ensuring that every initiative delivers measurable business outcomes and lasting value.
Industrial and wholesale distribution companies have a unique opportunity to leap ahead by adopting the connected digital sales and service models proven in agriculture and energy. By modernizing sales processes, integrating real-time data, and unifying digital platforms, these organizations can unlock new levels of efficiency, customer satisfaction, and growth.
Ready to modernize your B2B customer and employee experiences? Connect with Publicis Sapient’s experts to discover how we can help you achieve your boldest digital ambitions—together.