“We were very pleased to launch our B2B ecommerce site” said Richard Dean of Upgrade Bikes Ltd. “For 15 years we built our business spending quality time with our trade customers, and now they can also enjoy buying direct from our website.
While retailers have been quick to capitalise on the growth of online sales, b2b distributors have been much more cautious about embracing the benefits of ecommerce. In fact, Modern Distribution Management’s 2015 State of Ecommerce Study, says that only 4.3% of distributors accrue more than 40% of their revenues from trading online. For the majority, this means they’re missing out on the higher sales volumes and margins that established ecommerce businesses can realise.
With mobile internet usage (on tablets and mobile phones) overtaking static early in 2014; “big isn’t always better” was a message we all got loud and clear.
A Forrester report entitled ‘Death of a (B2B) Salesman, recently predicted that a million b2b salespeople will lose their jobs by 2020. Its focus was around the growth of b2b ecommerce and how traditional order-takers would be hit hardest by a continually improving online customer experience.
The way B2B companies do business is changing – and the move to selling online is at the heart of that transformation. Here are five key factors influencing the massive growth in b2b ecommerce…
The growth in b2b ecommerce isn’t just a passing trend – it’s revolutionising the way companies do business. Switching to an online channel or omnichannel approach can empower business operations, transform the customer experience and drive sales. With a technology platform that aligns with business needs, companies not only save costs and increase efficiency in the short-term, they’re ensuring they have the infrastructure and tools in place to make the most of future opportunities.
The current boom and predicted rise in b2b ecommerce is well documented, but for many businesses, it’s been part of their channel mix for some time. The problem is, a lot of legacy ecommerce platforms are rudimentary and have limited capabilities compared to the latest systems – and that could be holding back companies who now need to prioritise their online customer offering to stay competitive.
I invite you to take a step outside your office. Metaphorically. And to step into your customers’ shoes. What are they experiencing when they engage with your business?
If you hear groans and moans from your web department every time you change your wholesale prices, you are not alone! Without a fully integrated site, the price increase of 10p per unit can soon be wiped out by the time it takes someone to change prices across all your platforms, from your accountancy package to your web presence, and then possibly on your ecommerce platform too.
When would you have said e-commerce first appeared? 1995? 1997?
