Keeping the current digital growth plan in mind, it can easily be said B2B e-commerce is slated to grow manifold in the days ahead. More and more big and mid-sized players are entering the market with the dream of making it big, and they probably will do so as well. It is also important that these players engage meaningfully with channel partners so as to garner profit.
The B2B advantage
Business to business or B2B e-commerce is one of the most popular forms of e-commerce. When both the parties involved in the transaction are businesses, the transaction is termed as a B2B e-commerce transaction.
If you’re someone who use agents, distributors, affiliates, and other sales partners to help you sell, then you already have an idea who tedious it’s to work with them. However, with a B2B e-commerce platform, you can streamline the process.
You can integrate your accounting system with that of your partners, to ensure that there is no large reconciliation later. You’ll also be able to monitor inventory and sales and take appropriate real-time channel decisions.
B2B e-commerce is becoming popular owing to the maintenance of Inventories. If you’re a manufacturer and you need a steady supply of raw materials, you’ll need to keep maintaining a large and expensive inventory, so as to ensure that you never run of raw materials. This is because, if you order at the last minute, you might not get everything you’re looking for.
Along with this, you’ll also need to maintain a procurement team whose job is to interact with the suppliers and procure quality raw materials at the right prices. There should be an accounting team as well, to reconcile data with all your vendors.
When you’re a part of the B2B world, you don’t need to maintain a large inventory, get the best prices, and reconcile data at the same time, or hire people either. Your system keeps a tab of your inventory levels and monitors the inventory levels of your suppliers as well. When the time comes, your system will automatically trigger the order to the best available suppliers.
Besides, having been able to manage logistics will give you a much required competitive edge. Some B2B e-commerce systems let you monitor order fulfillment as well.
How To Choose A B2B e-commerce Platform?
The B2B e-commerce platform you choose should have built-in functionalities that you need for your business. B2B pricing is different and complex—both bespoke and tiered options exist. The platform you choose should be able to handle whatever your pricing system is. If your platform needs custom coding for it, then cost is something that you’ll need to consider.
The platform you choose should be able to integrate with your back-end logistics and the shopping cart should be able to handle multiple products across multiple categories. You also need to have features like budget control, favorites, and account permission.
While choosing the e-commerce software, keep in the mind the online traffic that your site needs to process. Proprietary license cost is another important thing to consider.
Try and look for a platform which you can easily upgrade if required and one which comes with different plugin options.
Regardless of what your business is, you can setup your B2B store online. Buyers can simply post their requirements on the site and sellers can send in proposals. If you’re a seller, buyers can browse through your products and place orders.