What Is B2B Ecommerce?
B2B eCommerce, or business-to-business, is the exchange of goods or services between two businesses. This type of e-commerce can offer many benefits for businesses, from expanding into new markets to making everything easier to manage. These benefits also make it a popular choice for millennials who are looking for a way to make a living.
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Transactions between businesses
B2B eCommerce involves the sale of products and services to other businesses. Most of these transactions take place between departments or groups within a company, while some involve an entire company’s purchase of a particular product. For large purchases, a request for proposal (RFP) is often issued, requesting prospective vendors to submit detailed proposals of their products and services.
A common example of B2B eCommerce is a cookware manufacturer who needs to purchase metal for their products. They turn to a metal fabrication company for the material and are satisfied with their pricing and expedited shipping. As a result, they establish a long-term relationship with the metal fabricator. This creates a steady flow of goods for the cookware manufacturer and a steady source of clients for the fabricator.
Opportunity to expand into new markets
B2B eCommerce is a powerful tool that can revolutionize your business operations. By allowing you to sell products directly to other businesses, B2B eCommerce can help you increase customer engagement while managing complex processes. This new channel also enables you to expand into new markets.
When incorporating B2B eCommerce into your supply chain, you can create a customized website that is optimized for search engines to attract new business. Personalized content appeals to B2B buyers, who want to experience the convenience of purchasing online. Moreover, a fully transactional website can help you increase your sales and improve the efficiency of your supply chain.
Ability to manage everything from one place
One of the most important features of B2B ecommerce is the ability to manage everything from one place. This enables organizations to have a centralized view of data and makes it easier to act on the most relevant data. Moreover, it allows organizations to implement comprehensive analytics campaigns that can measure everything from product mix to inventory turns. For example, by integrating Google Analytics with your ERP system, you can track your website’s performance.
B2B eCommerce platforms should also offer self-service capabilities. This way, your customers can easily browse, search, create carts, and manage their orders. These self-service features should also offer tracking capabilities.
Impact on millennials
When millennials shop for business services online, they expect to find useful information quickly. More than two-thirds of them use their mobile devices to research products. They also look to social media to inspire purchases. Hence, brands need to adapt to this trend and use new technologies that cater to their needs.
In today’s world, 73% of B2B purchasing decisions are made by millennials. These tech-savvy buyers are fueling the rapid digitization of the global economy. According to a survey by Gartner, 44% of millennials would rather buy without the help of a sales rep. The millennial generation is pushing organizations to create exceptional B2B e-commerce experiences, and they want it to be easy and fast.