Latest trend in B2B and B2C
When we talk about e-commerce, many people think of B2C platforms such as Bol.com, Coolblue, Wehkamp, or Zalando, which sell products to consumers. However, the trend toward B2B and B2C e-commerce continues to grow!
Wholesalers have been engaged in both B2B and B2C e-commerce for some time now. Why not offer products or services that you previously sold only to B2C customers to B2B customers as well? More and more service providers are recognizing the added value of offering services or products through portals. These portals are e-commerce environments where services and products are also offered to other target audiences, thereby generating additional sales. How do you do this, and what requirements must you meet to get started? You’ll find out in this blog!
What are the requirements for getting started with B2B e-commerce?
Do you want to offer your products or services through e-commerce? If so, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First and foremost, it’s obviously crucial that your portal is linked to an inventory system or an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. This system displays real-time inventory levels on your portal. That way, customers always know whether an item is in stock (and can therefore be delivered quickly) or if they’ll have to wait a bit.
In addition to e-commerce activities, you can also use a portal for many other purposes. Consider, for example, digitizing customer contact, the returns process (RMA), complaint registration, or providing insight into order and invoice history. A B2B portal can also be used in various ways, such as providing visibility into open items, order and invoice history, requesting documents (such as packing slips), or scheduling a (service) appointment.
User-friendly portals with a responsive design
In addition to displaying accurate inventory levels, the portal or online store must also be user-friendly and feature a responsive design. More and more customers are placing orders via a tablet or smartphone. That’s why it’s important for the online store to adapt to the device’s screen size and remain clearly visible to the visitor. Finally, you want all products to be easy to find. You can achieve this by using a logical menu structure that’s easy to navigate.
The Rise of Supply Chain Collaboration and Supply Chain Optimization
Other factors contributing to the rise of wholesalers opening their own e-commerce stores include ‘supply chain optimization’ and ‘supply chain collaboration.’ Due to the advent of the internet and the wide range of options offered by various players, consumers are often looking for the cheapest provider. One solution to this is to minimize the number of steps in the supply chain, with wholesalers taking matters into their own hands and launching their own online stores.
In addition, digitization makes it easier for partners to collaborate with one another when they integrate (parts of) their systems and, for example, share inventory information with each other.
Wholesaler offers its products and services directly to B2C customers
We’ve discussed offering your B2C products to B2B customers, but the reverse is also possible, of course. We’re seeing more and more of our wholesale customers add an e-commerce store so they can also offer their products or services to B2C customers. Some of these clients already have a B2B portal and want to further expand their online offerings to B2C customers.
Want to integrate seamlessly with your e-commerce portal?
Do you use Exact software, for example Exact Globe or Exact Synergy, and would you like to make (part of) your Exact environment available to your clients so they can view, edit, or retrieve information? Under the name Alistar, we develop generic add-ons for Exact Globe and Exact Synergy. These add-ons ensure that your software aligns even better with your organization and processes.
Explore all the features of our Webshop Connector at this page.
