Consumer shopping habits have bled over to B2B buyer expectations, which forces B2B sellers to rethink multichannel commerce capabilities. Buyers are looking for more than just to be served online. They expect services such as next-day delivery, inventory visibility, and enhanced fulfillment capabilities. Many B2B sellers are beginning to upgrade their ecommerce platforms and pull those resources in-house.
2/3 of B2B sellers acknowledge customer expectations driving omnichannel initiatives and tech investments[1]
Third-Party Procurement Providers to Insourced B2B Platform
The days of faxing procurement orders are over for most B2B companies. By moving away from third-party procurement providers, B2B sellers can establish stronger relationships and achieve greater visibility into customer needs and behaviors. B2B customers expect integrated channel fulfillment, so eCommerce sites need to be integration-ready to make it easier to interface with inventory availability and real-time pricing. B2B sellers have realized that they can gain a higher level of control over the buyer’s journey, their brand, sales, and customer connections with the implementation of their own eCommerce platforms and branded sites. By bringing these platforms in-house, B2B organizations achieve greater differentiation and flexibility and reduce outside costs with affordable, enabling technology.
What can you do to insource a B2B platform?
- Implement tools to support the fulfillment process
- Manage from one centralized platform
- Provide seamless migration and change management to support in-house commerce
- Create strategies by understanding how customers engage and buy
Click here to learn more about the B2B Commerce trends in 2015!
[1] https://econsultancy.com/blog/66088-how-to-build-an-effective-b2b-multichannel-commerce-platform/
