B2B digital transformation – part two

The second part of a video and podcast series on what it takes to get a digital transformation project done in a B2B organization and how a partner agency like Acro Commerce can be the solution to a lot of roadblocks.

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In part one of this series, I talked about identifying the need for digital transformation in B2B and why digital commerce, or ecommerce, is something that B2B organizations should incorporate into their ecosystem. 

I also touched on how digital commerce helps outbound sales teams rather than the misconception that it will eliminate those positions. 

Listen to the AcroCast podcast-  B2B digital transformation – part one if you want to catch up on that piece first. In the meantime, I am going to jump into part two.

Alright, so, as a business, you have decided that a little digital transformation is in order. You want to add a new ecommerce platform to your environment to meet new technology requirements and business goals. Congratulations! 

Let’s talk about how Acro Commerce can help once you reached that decision.

Why go with a digital commerce development agency?

In our experience, B2B organizations often need an outside agency to help get them through a large-scope digital transformation. These kinds of projects take time and expertise, which generally, in-house teams don’t have. You may have a programmer on staff, but that person is likely not quite equipped to handle all of the facets of a full-scale development project.

That’s where we come in. We have dozens of developers, software experts and subject matter pros on hand to guide and build your project.

We know that B2B digital transformation is a big jump in many cases. So we make recommendations on how to ease your organizations and customers into the process. 

We work directly with you to determine the best course of action for everyone: you, your internal teams and stakeholders, and your customer and external users.

So, what does an engagement with Acro Commerce look like?

The first thing we do when we start a new project is to hold a series of discussions and stakeholder interviews to find out what is what. This is what we call discovery & strategy, or D&S for short. The outcome of D&S is that you should know exactly what you need to do, how you should do it, and the order you should do it in.

How do discovery & strategy work?

We meet with key stakeholders in your sales, fulfillment, operations, customer service, administration, and IT teams (basically everybody we can) to learn your business needs and objectives inside and out.

We often ask about workflows and manual processes and determine if technology can solve them. The goal of talking to each department head is to hear what technology they need to do their job faster, easier and more effectively. We often find ways to help each department by improving data flow and removing swivel chair processes.

These conversations give us a good understanding of what you should be doing and your current capabilities, and then we work out a plan to bridge the gap between the two.

Each of these talks enables us to build a potential blueprint of your ideal commerce architecture and a prototype of what your new site could look like.

Prototyping brings it all together

Prototyping allows you to see a click-through version of a site without coding. We prototype sites first to ensure that we are hitting all of your project’s goals and stakeholders' needs before we invest time and money into the development part of the project. 

Nothing is more frustrating (for you and the development agency) than getting partway into a project just to find out that it will not do what you need. Prototyping allows us to find areas that may have been missed in the discovery phase and then strategize a way to cover those needs in the final build.

The most common visuals we show in prototyping include the customer frontend experience and highlighting the required functions that were identified during discovery. We can usually also walk you through the backend user experience from your internal team’s point of view, including order and account management.

Strong technical architecture mapping

Along with the prototype, we also create technical architecture documents detailing what the development will look like and how all the new and existing technology fits together. 

At this point, we can also map other pieces for you, such as integrations with your accounting and ERP systems, so that all of your teams have the tools and access they need for true digital transformation.

Sprinting through Agile development methodologies

Once these blueprints and prototypes are approved, we start the development in phases. The premise is to start with an MVP, or minimum viable product, and build your solutions in stages to get you to a live, usable platform faster, adding new functions and features in quick succession. 

Using our Agile methods and planned development sprints, we can usually have the first version of your site live in as little as 12-to-14 weeks. Digital transformation is a process, and you should realistically expect to spend 12-to-18 months to fully realize the full scope of your project. 

Conclusion

Engaging with the right digital commerce development agency makes for a much more successful digital transformation project.

If you want to know more about what discovery & strategy covers and how it is the cornerstone of a successful development project, hit us up.