B2B digital commerce – built for complex products.

Many organizations fail to launch B2B ecommerce because they believe it is only a fit for simple, commoditized products and not complicated, configurable products. This simply isn't true. Read on to learn more and find out how B2B digital commerce can improve efficiency in your organization.

Due to changing B2B buyer behaviour, Gartner predicts that by 2024, 80% of ordering and replenishment will be touchless for most organizations. The preferred methods of order placement will be digital-first or ecommerce-based.

Digital-first B2B experiences are critical.

Digital commerce is vital to the future success of B2B organizations. Not only does ecommerce offer significant benefits inside B2B organizations, but it also offers an improved, self-service customer experience to buyers that are part of the digital-first generation.

Millennial buyers are beginning to demand digital commerce options from their sellers. Without an online offering, B2B sellers risk getting left behind as competitors move to digital. Those competitors will attract digital-savvy buyers, inciting them to shift their allegiance (and purchasing power). The result is a loss in market share for organizations that are reluctant to go digital-first.

B2B ecommerce is not just for simple products.

B2B sellers often assume that digital commerce is only a good fit for pre-packaged, simple, or consumable products such as replacement parts or office supplies. This assumption simply isn't true. 

Advances in guided selling, product configuration technologies, pricing optimization and B2B commerce platforms have increased the ability for complex products to be sold online. 

With a robust ecommerce platform, it is now possible to set up an online product configurator for products that were once considered too complicated to purchase online. For example, consider the purchase and configuration of a mobile access platform, a product generally purchased with the help of a sales rep. The user chooses product specs from a set of options, including the height, inclination, tread depth and width of the steps, and the layout of the platform and guardrails.

Along with the ability to purchase this product online, a robust B2B ecommerce platform allows organizations to provide all of the research information that the modern B2B buyer is looking for, such as video demos and downloadable product datasheets with links to spare parts and accessories. 

This easy-to-access information fulfills B2B buyers' desire for a seller-free customer experience. As a bonus, a digital-first sales enablement process allows organizations to tighten up inefficiency and improve profit margins.

Optimizing costs and efficiency with configurable ecommerce

As orders shift online, away from manual processes or antiquated technologies, B2B sellers and buyers will experience many benefits. In many cases, the ordering process is simply more efficient and accurate when executed on digital channels. The sections below list some of the cost reduction and efficiency benefits of B2B digital commerce to both the buyer and seller: 

Order automation

Traditional, old-fashioned methods of generating, receiving and processing orders, such as via email, phone and fax, are prone to errors. The buyer can mistype information, or the seller can misinterpret the request. Digital commerce sites minimize or eliminate these mistakes with error handling technology, suggestions and thresholds. For example, a digital commerce site could prompt a user if they suddenly place an order for 1,000 of an item when they typically purchase only 10. This type of error checking is not possible via manual ordering processes. 

Reduced cost of service

Traditional ordering methods often require a swivel chair process. A person receives the fax, reads the email, or takes the phone call and then has to enter the order into the order management system. This process is error-prone and labour-intensive. With B2B digital commerce sites, orders placed online flow directly into order management systems for processing. 

Improved customer expectations for product delivery

B2B digital commerce sites can offer estimated shipping and receipt times based on inventory, knowledge of current processing times and insight into potential shipping delays. This information is not always available to a customer service representative taking a phone call. For an order received via email or fax, it's already too late to accurately set the buyer's expectations. 

Improved transparency of order status

B2B digital commerce offers transparency beyond the order status to pricing, promotions, approvals, and quotes. B2B digital commerce sites can provide "order status" links that pull data from ERPs or order management systems, providing accurate status for in-process orders. Without a website to return to for order status, customers have to place additional phone calls or send follow-up emails. This added step increases the buyer's frustration and support costs for the seller. 

Pricing accuracy

B2B digital commerce sites commonly integrate with ERP systems to retrieve contract-specific pricing for each buying organization. Already assigned pricing leads to fewer discrepancies between buyers and sales reps, which results in a better customer experience (CX). This type of integration can also prevent scenarios in which sales reps or inside sales agents accidentally misquote a price and charge too little, resulting in lost revenue for the seller. B2B digital commerce sites also allow B2B sellers to adopt price optimization tools to maximize revenue and margin. 

Reordering simplicity

Many B2B orders are either replenishment orders or orders that do not need much product discovery and research. Some B2B buyers place the same order for the same products, with the same quantity, every month. B2B digital commerce sites can simplify this process with functionality for viewing and duplicating previous orders. Replenishment ordering is a simple process for buyers, but greater simplicity also results in timely reorders, which results in more revenue for sellers. 

Shorter sales cycles

Automation powered by B2B digital commerce can create more straightforward and efficient buying processes, shortening sales cycles. Because B2B digital commerce offerings are self-service and available 24/7, online ordering eliminates the inefficiency of contacting a sales rep or filling out an order form. Similarly, digital commerce can automate other sales processes that are slower when done in non-digital ways, such as automatically generating bundles, creating quotes or developing policy-compliant discounts. 

Now is the time to get digital-first in your B2B organization

As they say, there is no time like the present to prepare for the future. If you need help starting the conversations about a digital transformation that will bring your selling practices online, call us. Our consultants and subject matter experts are well-versed in getting a B2B company's digital transformation together successfully.