B2B ecommerce is the short form for business-to-business electronic commerce and as the name suggests, it is the sales of products and services between businesses through online mode. B2B ecommerce has changed the way transactions happened between 2 businesses. B2B ecommerce is simple, easy and efficient compared to the offline mode of in-person meetings and transactions which were pretty much time-consuming.
Considering ecommerce models, the major ones are B2C and B2B, although the difference is only 1 letter, they are completely different models where the former is the sale of products and services of a business to customers and the latter is the sale of products and services between 2 businesses.
B2C is like any offline shop where you’d buy things where the relationship isn’t long-term. To explain further, you might buy a pack of chips while on a journey and might never buy from them again, but the shop you bought chips from would get it from the same distributor in bulk in cycles as per their requirement, which is B2B ecommerce.
If you are a B2B manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler across any industry and any vertical you can transform your B2B & Wholesale business using B2B ecommerce. It can be any industry such as packaged goods, fashion, healthcare, food, automotive, electronics, and other consumer products that are manufactured and transacted in bulk. B2B ecommerce is best suited for manufacturers where they can manage inventory, price products in bulk and split payment collection which makes it easier as they deal with multiple stakeholders. If you are still doing it the offline way, then you are spending too much of your resources like time, money and manpower which can be reduced to a high extent through B2B ecommerce. Create your B2B ecommerce platform and level up your B2B business.
B2B ecommerce is the largest and the fastest-growing ecommerce model, nearly 65% of B2B companies (up by 12% since 2021) offer ecommerce capabilities completely online.
The above stats uncover the real growth data of B2B ecommerce but let's see what benefits B2B ecommerce provides to incur such growth.
With so many businesses switching to digital and changes in consumer behaviour post-pandemic, making the shift to online B2B ecommerce lays a strong foundation for your B2B business that can withstand the test of time.
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Having an online B2B ecommerce site allows you to target your existing customers and attract new customers in different markets. Expanding your B2B business to different regions becomes easier by making it accessible on multiple channels and devices, especially through B2B mobile apps.
Yourstore B2B ecommerce app lets you manage your B2B ecommerce from anywhere and anytime and helps you reach the B2B audience globally.
B2B businesses require to maintain and update databases which require a lot of time and manual effort but B2B ecommerce lets you integrate CRM and ERP with your B2B store improving efficiency and reducing errors.
Manage all the data about your suppliers and customers in one place and effectively track inventory through automated sales workflows. Speed up ordering cycles with customised features for your B2B business and increase revenue.
Sync your ERP and CRM systems with your B2B ecommerce site and get deep insights into customer behaviour and make better decisions with data. This is one of the major advantages of shifting to online B2B ecommerce which helps to scale your B2B business faster.
Reap the benefits of B2B ecommerce with Yourstore B2B & Wholesale Ecommerce.
Traditional B2B is changing with emerging ecommerce technologies and just like different types of businesses there are different types of B2B ecommerce models. Based on the business type, what it sells and the audience it serves, every B2B business falls into one of these B2B ecommerce models or sometimes can be a combination of these.
This B2B ecommerce model merges the B2B model and B2C model by removing the middlemen. The manufacturer partners with B2B companies and sell their products directly to the customers allowing them to better connect with their end-customer.
In the B2B2C ecommerce model, transactions happen through a virtual storefront and the consumer may or may not know that the product is not produced by the B2B company.
Manufacturers produce goods on a large scale through machines and manual labour. These goods are then sold in bulk to wholesalers, suppliers or other manufacturers. For example, a tyre manufacturing company sells tyres to an automotive manufacturer.
In today’s world not only customers are demanding digital shopping experiences but even manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors are looking for flexibility in purchasing products online with features that are customised for them. This again shows the need for B2B ecommerce for B2B businesses.
In the wholesale B2B ecommerce model, businesses buy goods in bulk at a wholesale price and in turn, sell them to consumers at a retail price. Traditionally wholesale B2B businesses took place in person, over the phone or by email but now with B2B ecommerce, everything happens on an online platform with a seamless buying experience.
Start selling your products using the best B2B Wholesale ecommerce platform.
After the manufacturing of goods, the manufacturer can sell their products directly to the customer which would involve packaging, managing orders and marketing or they can partner with a distributor to sell their products. B2B distributors work with the manufacturers and increase the visibility of the goods produced by manufacturers they partner with.
There are numerous B2B ecommerce businesses in the market and here are examples of the 3 best B2B ecommerce companies.
Amazon ranks top among the best B2B ecommerce companies in the world and is known as one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world. Amazon allows both businesses and consumers to purchase from them and also allows businesses and consumers to sell through their platform.
Alibaba is one of the biggest B2B ecommerce platforms in the world that connects businesses to sell their products to potential business buyers. Through Alibaba, anyone can sell products by creating an account and it also connects manufacturers to resellers around the globe.
Flipkart is an Indian ecommerce company and Flipkart wholesale is a good example of business-to-business ecommerce that allows buying goods in bulk from businesses or manufacturers at a wholesale price.
We learnt about B2B ecommerce and how it is a rapidly growing model in the ecommerce space. Upgrade your B2B ecommerce business by understanding the upcoming trends in the B2B ecommerce space.
Let your customers experience the ease of shopping just as they do on B2C ecommerce sites. Since B2B ecommerce is growing faster than ever it is important to switch from the traditional B2B model. Choose specialised B2B ecommerce solutions platforms that suit your B2B business needs.
Research shows that consumers spend 48% more if their experiences are personalised. Therefore invest in personalising your B2B ecommerce website, otherwise, you would be committing the grave mistake of letting your customer turn towards your competitors.
With increasing customer expectations, fulfilling orders faster is the need of the hour. Look for third-party fulfilment if you are scaling your B2B business faster. Using order management software will help you streamline the order fulfilment process.
The ecommerce space is seeing its biggest growth and to keep your B2B business ahead of the competition upgrade your B2B ecommerce business with Yourstore and give your customers a B2B experience no less than that of the B2C ecommerce. Select a B2B plan that suits your B2B business needs and join the tribe of successful B2B companies.
Read our other ecommerce blogs to learn about the best ecommerce practices and stay ahead in the world of ecommerce. Get in touch with us if you have any queries and talk to our team to get them solved.
Sumaya Sheik, Yourstore
30th November 2022