EB2B: Will It Be A Force Multiplier?

In the modern business landscape, companies are increasingly adopting digital technologies to streamline their operations and improve efficiency. One of the most significant digital transformations that businesses are undertaking is the adoption of ecommerce solutions. 

After a few years of major shifts, B2B decision makers are preferring companies that deliver on a great experience backed by personalised marketing. Just as they have been doing in their personal lives, B2B customers have long wanted the ability to buy everywhere, and at any time of the day.

Welcome to the world of eB2B, which has revolutionised the way B2B businesses interact with their customers, offering a seamless and user-friendly purchasing experience. By providing an online platform for browsing and purchasing products, tracking shipments, viewing order history, and managing accounts, eB2B companies can enhance customer satisfaction and ultimately increase revenue. 

Companies, however, cannot merely experiment with just paying lip-service to the much over-used word “omnichannel” and personalisation. They would need to continue to invest and experiment smartly even amid uncertain macro-economic conditions. That is the key to continued success and growth.

Ecommerce platforms offer a scalable and cost-effective way for B2B companies to expand their reach into new markets. Over time, if good eB2B companies create localised websites that cater to specific regions, languages, and currencies, they can score hugely by providing a personalised experience for customers and overcome language and cultural barriers, which is critical for building long-term relationships.

In addition to providing a localised experience, eB2B companies can also offer advanced analytics and reporting tools that allow buyers to track their performance in real-time.

EB2B sales models, with a mix of equally important human and digital channels and with ecommerce at the center of them all are the ones with greater chances of growth and success. While companies have been experimenting with different roles and sales methods within their channel mix, it is now clear that successful eB2B companies will need to deploy hybrid approaches.

Whether third party or company-owned or a combination of both, marketplaces are an important place to be. The better organisations are already selling their products online through third-party marketplaces.

In today's mobile-first world, it is critical for eB2B companies to optimize their ecommerce platforms for mobile devices. Mobile devices are becoming the preferred device for browsing and purchasing products online. 

A recent study, commissioned by Google and conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, revealed that mobile drives or influences about 40% of revenue in leading B2B organisations.

Ecommerce solutions that are optimized for mobile devices can provide a better customer experience, enabling customers to browse and purchase products on the go. This can lead to increased sales and revenue for companies.

The preference for traditional payment methods remains entrenched even online, where more than half of all B2B buyers cling to checks, terms, and purchase orders, as opposed to B2C, in which transactions are conducted almost entirely via card payments. While the old ways still reign, both buyers and sellers are beginning to recognise the benefits of digital payments, which, soon could turn the tide toward newer, more efficient methods, such as commercial mobile wallets, virtual credit cards, and even third-party financing.

Flexibility and a payments platform that can accommodate both traditional and new methods, and integrate with key business systems, will be critical to making the transition seamless.

In the coming years, eB2B is expected to integrate with other technologies such as block chain and the Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance security, improve tracking and traceability, and enable new use cases.

However, current key challenges which need to be overcome are -resistance to change, accurate data management, security concerns, and having an ethical board with good corporate governance. Startups are great innovators. In the desire for speed, often the importance of good governance and financial management is ignored as there is a general lack of awareness in the initial phases. It is important that eB2B players internalise that no amount of success can compensate for governance failures.

Protecting eB2B will continue to be increasingly complex and will require comparably sophisticated governance, security and training measures. Additionally, strictly adhering to international privacy laws and regulations will become a must.

Finally, since the size and scale of eB2B transactions are of a much higher magnitude, eB2B players will need to ensure there are no conflict-of-interest issues, which could seriously undermine the reputation of their platforms.

In conclusion, eB2B can provide significant benefits for businesses, including streamlined procurement processes, increased efficiency, improved customer experience, access to new markets, and better data and insights. eB2B is expected to grow to USD 18 trillion business by 2026. Now that is surely a force multiplier.

(Niranjan Gidwani is the Consultant Director, Member of UAE Superbrands Council, HBR Advisory Council and Charter Member Tie Dubai)