Answering the Increasing Demands for B2B Ecommerce

The 2020 global pandemic has amplified business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce growth and continues to drive digital transformation for distribution businesses. To survive in today's industry, you must know how to run an ecommerce site and any other part of your business. Modern buyers expect an Amazon-level shopping experience with modern interfaces and convenience. This being said, constantly evolving demands have left distribution companies struggling to keep up.

Our industry experts have identified major trends causing ecommerce changes in the distribution industry as modern technology upgrades, automated user experiences, eProcurement governance, and complete business visibility.

Demand: Automation over manual processes

Manually inputting information eats up time and interrupts workflow. As many of us have experienced, using paper invoices to track customer purchases induces costly human errors. Also, importing and exporting data into Excel for reports by hand is monotonous and old-school.

Most companies do not have the time, resources, or training to keep up with an ever-changing market. Especially one full of quick demands and price modifications. As you will see in this blog post, modern technologies in the distribution industry are simplifying processes and influencing automation.

Solution:

Evolution is key to survival. To thrive in the post-COVID distribution industry, you must provide customers with a powerful, integrated ecommerce experience. Take advantage of integrations, like punchouts, that remove the tedious back and forth between you and your customers. This will give them more control over their purchasing process while freeing up your team’s time. As the market shifts and prices fluctuate, optimizing your pricing and reflecting those changes online will help you stay competitive and manage margins for more predictable profits.

Demand: Easy-to-use mobile functionality

As of February 2022, 79% of smartphone users have purchased online using mobile devices. These numbers prove just how imperative it is for your business to have an ecommerce site that translates effectively to mobile devices.

Millennials expect a personalized experience through streamlined digital channels as they move into more leadership and decision-making roles. Customers looking through your site should have access to the most up-to-date information on inventory and pricing. As data security continues to be top of mind for businesses and individuals, your customers need to feel safe when shopping on your site and trust their information will be secure.

Solution:

Choose a software provider with easy-to-use solutions that enables you to create a visually engaging website that translates directly to mobile. To eliminate legitimacy concerns, adding security badges to your website helps customers feel safer when purchasing. You want to ensure your software vendor protects with regularly scheduled maintenance and a secure payment gateway with a trusted credit card processor.

Demand: Increasing sales with eProcurement

Stand out from the competition by making your eProcurement easy and accessible. Without the right eProcurement system, approval processes become time-consuming and impossible to establish. There is potential for lost invoices and rouge purchasing. In some cases, sales teams may target government, healthcare, and financial agencies, but their requirements to work with businesses like yours are stricter, especially concerning procurement. How your ecommerce integrates with these companies’ eProcurement software could be the determining factor for them to work with you or not.

Solution:

Speed up the purchasing process by integrating an eProcurement system into your current business management system. You will experience a win-win by creating a safe and efficient ecommerce space that attracts new customers and keep them coming back. With the right tool, you can gain insight into how your pricing compares to your competitors while also learning how your sales team performs against their targets. Together, these tools will help keep your business stay on track to becoming a preferred seller.

Demand: Full visibility into business health

Data is crucial for telling the real story of your company. Without a way to collect data on your team's performances, mistakes can seep into the cracks of your business. It’s important to maintain insight into all levels of your business. Otherwise, you can lose new business leads and fail to track and complete crucial tasks properly.

Solution:

True data sourcing allows you to make data-driven decisions rather than relying on gut instincts. Having visibility into every level of your business will allow you to understand what is working and, more importantly, what’s not. Find a business intelligence solution fully integrated with your business management system. This information should be available in various forms – visual charts and graphs, dashboards, and raw data – and will provide valuable insight to team members at all levels.

Across the nation, the digital wave has taken over, causing industry leaders to turn to ecommerce to keep up. Don’t let your business be the one that falls behind.