THEULTIMATE

B2BE-COMMERCE

GUIDE

TRADITIONISOUT.DIGITALISIN.

ADHLEXPRESSWHITEPAPER

2B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

CONTENTS

TheB2Brevolutionishere.

Areyouready?03

WhatisB2Be-commerce?04

ThechangingB2Bcustomer06

MeetyournewB2Bcustomers:

Themillennials07

B2Bcustomerfeatures08

Howthepandemicmade2020

theyearofe-commerce14

Spinningthee-commerceflywheel15

Majorchallenges16

Nextsteps:Identifywhere

youareinyourjourney18

3B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

THEB2BREVOLUTIONISHERE.

AREYOUREADY?

TheB2Bworldisundergoingaperiodofintensetransformation.

“THISCRISIS[COVID-19]ISWIDENINGTHE

DIGITALDIVIDEAMONGTHOSEWHOMADE

EARLIERINVESTMENTSINE-COMMERCEAND

THOSETHATDIDN’T.

SOMEOFTHOSE

THATDIDN’T,WON’T

SURVIVE.”

BrianBeck,ManagingPartnerofEnceiba1

TraditionalmethodsofB2Boperations-fromsalestocustomer

interactions;fromfulfilmenttoorderdelivery–arechangingrapidly.AndwhiletheB2Bworldwasalreadymovingonline,COVID-19

acceleratedtheprocess,meaningB2Btransactionsarebecomingmoredata-drivenandlessdependentontraditionalone-to-onesalesactivity.

2020broughtwithitgreatchallenges,whichexposedtheneedforB2B

supplychainstobemoreflexible.New,digitally-focusedwaysofdoing

thingswerebroughtin,andnowtheirbenefitshavebeenfelt,won’tbe

goingback.Inaddition,changingdemographicshabitsmeanthatmillennialB2Bdecision-makersarefurtherdrivingthedigitalizationofthesectorastheyseekcustomerexperiencesmorealignedwiththeirB2C(business-to-consumer)experiences.

It’saparadigmshiftfortheindustry,andB2B

businesseswhowanttomakethemostofcross-

borderopportunitieswillneedtoadapttothesechangingbuyingbehaviors–and

1-BrianBeck,TechBullion,December2020,

/b2b-ecommerce-best-practices-for-2021/

fast.We’llshowyouhow.

4B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

WHATISB2B

E-COMMERCE?

B2Be-commerce,orbusiness-to-business

electroniccommerce,describesorder

transactionsbetweenbusinessesviaanonlinesalesportal.Ingeneral,B2Be-commerce

isusedtoadvancetheperformanceofa

company’ssalesefforts;becauseorders

areprocesseddigitally,buyingefficiencyisimprovedforwholesalers,manufacturers,distributors,andothertypesofB2Bsellers.

Emerginge-commercetechnologiesarereducingthebarriertoentryfortraditionallyB2Bcompaniesto

removethemiddlemanandselldirect-to-consumer(B2B2C).

InthisWhitePaperwewillfocusonthepureB2B

elementofe-commerce一thatis,abusinesssellingtoanotherbusiness,withthetransactionhappeningina‘seller-free’experienceandwithouttheneedforany traditionalsalesmodel.

ASNAPSHOT

OFGROWTH

OPPORTUNITIES

In2019,globalsaleson

B2Be-commercesitesand

marketplacesjumped18.2%toreachUS$12.2trillion,outpacingtheB2Csector,andisprojectedtoreachUS$20.9trillionby2027.

ForresterpredictstheUSB2B

e-commercemarketalonewillreachUS$1.8trillionandaccountfor17%ofallB2Bsalesinthecountryby

2023.Andthiswaspre-COVID-19…

2a-Statista,“In-depth:B2Be-Commerce2019”,August2019,

/study/44442/statista-report-b2b-e-commerce/

2b-Forrester,“USB2Be-commercewillhit$1.8trillionby2023,”January2019,

/report/US+B2B+eCommerce+Will+Hit+18+Trillion+By+2023/-/E-RES136173

5B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

WhilstthedigitalizationoftheB2Bsectorisincreasingly

aligningB2Bbuyers’expectationswiththeirB2Cexperiences,thereremainsomekeydifferencesbetweenB2BandB2C

commercialtransactions:

1.InB2B,thesaletakesplacebetweentwobusinessentities,whileinB2C,goodsandservicesaresoldtoacustomerfortheirpersonaluse.

2.InB2B,decisionandapprovalprocessescanbe

complexandlengthy,involvingtheinputofmultipledepartments,whileinB2C,thedecisionismadebyasinglecustomer.

3.InB2B,thesizeandvalueoftransactionsare

traditionallylargewithlowerfrequency,whileinB2C,theyaresmallerandoftenone-off(althoughrepeatpurchasesdofeature.)

4.InB2B,thetermsandpricingarecustomerororderspecific,reflectingindividualcustomerrelationships,whileinB2C,pricesarelikelytobefixed.

5.TherelationshiphorizoninB2Bislongterm,whileinB2C,ittendstobeshortterm.

6.InB2B,paymentisintheformofcreditsales,

whileinB2C,itusuallyinvolvesdirectsalesusingalocalizedpaymentoptionwithoutanycreditbeingaccumulated.

7.InB2B,productassortmentandcatalogsare

customizedwithuniquesegmentationtomeeteachbusinesscustomer’srequirements,whileinB2C,it’sgenerallythesameforall.

Fundamentallythough,B2BandB2Careaboutthesamething–sellinggoodsto

people,andtheexpectationsofthese

twocustomergroupsareincreasingly

overlapping.ButturningyourB2BwebsiteintoanAmazon-likeexperiencetomake

purchasingsimplerisonlyhalfthestory…

6B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

THECHANGINGB2BCUSTOMER

ThinkyouknowyourtypicalB2Bcustomer?Well,itcouldbetimetorethink.Newtechnologies

maybeaidingthedigitalizationoftheB2Bsector,butthishasalsobeendrivenbytheevolving

demographicofthe“average”B2Bbuyer.

AswithB2C,it’simportanttorememberthatthereisarealpersonattheendofeveryB2Btransaction.

Theirpurchasingdecisionsareinfluencedbymany

ofthesamefactorsthatdriveB2Ccustomers,which

meanstheyalsoexpectthesamecustomerexperiencethroughouttheirbuyingjourney.

ResearchbyGartnerfoundthat44%of

millennialsprefernosalesrepinteractionatallinaB2Bpurchasesetting,andprojectsthatby2025,80%ofB2Bsalesinteractionsbetweensuppliersandbuyerswilloccurindigital

channels.3

3a-Gartner,“FutureofSales2025:DelivertheDigitalOptionsB2BBuyersDemand,”December2020,

https://gtnr.it/3sbRRu4

3b-Gartner,“FutureofSales2025:WhyB2BSalesNeedsaDigital-FirstApproach,”September2020,

/smarterwithgartner/future-of-sales-2025-why-b2b-sales-needs-a

-digital-first-approach/

7B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

MEETYOURNEWB2BCUSTOMERS:THE

MILLENNIALS

Millennials,alsoknownasGenerationY,nowaccountfor73%ofallB2Bpurchasingdecisions4.Growingupwiththeinternetandmobilephones,theyaredigitallynativeandmoretechnologyorientedthantheirpredecessors.B2CcustomerexperiencesintheirpersonallivesheavilyinfluencewhattheyexpectfromB2Btransactions.

ThinkaboutwhatfeaturesyouvaluewhenplacingaB2Corder–speed,convenience,flexibledeliveryoptions…

thesearewhatyourB2Bcustomersarelookingforwhenconsideringdoingbusinesswithyou.

Millennialbuyersaremorelikelytoavoidengagingwith

salespeopleearlyintheprocess,insteadpreferringtocarryouttheirownextensiveonlineresearchbeforemakingpurchasingdecisions一mimickingthebehaviorthatissonaturaltothemintheirpersonalshoppinghabits.

Onlineisfastreplacingsalesteamsastheplacetoeducate,engageandbuildbrandtrustwithnewcustomersbeforeapurchasingdecisionismade一orevenconsidered.Therefore,itisvitalyourB2Bcompanyinvestsinadigitalpresencethatfeels

familiartothesenewB2Bbuyers.

B2Bcustomerswereasked:

whatisyourtopcriterionwhenchoosinganewsupplier?

Nothavingtowaitforasalesreptogetincontact:52%

Onlineordertracking:39%

Theabilitytoplaceordersviaanonlinesalesportal:38%

Source:Sana4

4-Sana,“HowtoMeetBuyers’Demandfor(Better)B2BE-Commerce,”February2019,

/int_wp_b2b-buying-process-2019-report.html

8B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

B2BCUSTOMERFEATURES

NowyouknowthatB2Bcustomersare

migratingtowardsonlinechannelstomaketheirpurchasingdecisions,howcanyourbusiness

makeanimpactthere?

ThemajorfeaturesinfluencingthecustomerjourneyonB2Be-commerceplatformscanbegroupedintofivecategories,outlinedbelow.Toshedlightonthesecategories,DHL’sresearchteamconductedextensiveresearch,supportedbyprimary,qualitativedata

gatheredfromin-depthinterviews.

Muchmorethanjustanothertouchpoint,awell-

implementede-commerceplatformwillopennew

opportunitiesandhelpyourbusinessreachandengagenewcustomerseasilyandeffectively.

Considerthesefivecategoriesasyourguideto

implementingadigitalchannelthatwilldrivevalueforyourcustomersandincreaseyourprofitabilitythroughhighermarketshareandoperationalefficiency.

9B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

1.DIGITALINFRASTRUCTURE

Akeyfeaturehighlightedbyintervieweeswastheneedto

heavilyinvestindigitalinfrastructure.Theydriverealvaluefortheirbusinessesandcustomersbyincorporatingtechnologiessuchasartificialintelligence,machinelearning,big

dataanalyticsandbusinessintelligence

insights.Thesetechnologiesallowthestreamliningof

internalandexternalbusinessprocessestoimprovethe

accuracyofdemandplanningandforecasting.

LeadingB2Bprovidersintegratecloud-

basede-commerceplatformswiththeir

EnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)

andoperationalsystems.Thisfacilitates

betterreal-timevisibilityandalignment

acrossthesupplychain,makingiteasierforthemtoexploitnewbusinessopportunitiesandcapturedifficulttoreach,low-volumecustomersacrosstheworld.

TOPTIPSFORYOUR

E-COMMERCEPLATFORM

Youcanenhancethecustomerexperience

acrossyourend-to-endbusinessprocessesbyincorporatingfunctionalityandtechnologies.

Digitalizationofyourfullproductcatalog,for

example,andtheinclusionofasimple-to-useandpowerfulsearchenginetofindthoseproducts

arefundamentalfeatures.Additionalfeaturessuchasmobile/tabletresponsiveness,strongdataprotection,secureonlinepaymentsandchatfunctionalityhavealsobecomestandardexpectationsformostusersofe-commerceplatforms,whetherB2CorB2B.

10B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

2.CUSTOMEREXPERIENCE

Theresearchpointedtoasimplebuteffectiveon-sitesearchengineasessentialto

enablecustomerstofindandviewtheproductsonoffer.ThemoresophisticatedB2Bplayersintegrateamorecomprehensivesuiteoftoolstohelptheircustomersnavigatetheirsitesandfinddetailedinformationabouttheproducts,includingmegamenus,

videoproductdemonstrations,websitetutorialsandcompetitorcomparisons.Somee-commerceplatformsincorporateliveonlinesupporttoassistwithanyqueriesorissues,whichimprovesconversionlevelsandfacilitatesbuyingdecisions.ResearchbyGartnerfoundthatmorefocusoninformationsystems(IS)andonlinesupport

resultsinincreasedcustomersatisfaction6.

TOPTIPSFORYOURE-COMMERCE

PLATFORM

2020wastheyearcustomerexperiencesurpassedpriceasthekeydifferentiatorforB2Bbuyers.Now,64%ofbuyers

placemoreimportanceonexperiencethanprice,and86%ofbuyersarewillingtopaymoreforabetterexperience7.

Whetherit’sacompletedigital

transformationorjustarefreshofyourwebsite,makethecustomerthecenterofyourfocusfor2021.Everynewfeatureandeverynewprojectshouldstartwiththequestion,“howdoesthisimprovethecustomerexperience?”

6-Gartner,“RapidAssessmentCustomerSatisfaction”,accessedonFebruary02,2021,

/pages/docs/bvit/images/CustomerSatisfaction.pdf

7-TheXMInstitute,“ROIofCustomerExperience,”August2018,

/xm-institute/roi-of-customer-experience-2018/

11B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

3.PERSONALIZATION

CustomerswantpersonalizedsolutionsandB2Be-commercecompaniesareofferingthoseviacustomerportalswithcontentorganizedaroundanumberofparameters:pastpurchase

history,priceoptimizationalgorithmsthatmeet

customizedproductpricerequirements,andconfigure-price-quote(CPQ)softwaretomakeonlinequotesandpricesthatareadjustedonthebasisoftherelationship.

ExamplesofpriceoptimizationandCPQsoftwareincludeVendavo8,Navetti9,BlueYonder10andOracle11.

TheresearchfoundthatmostadvancedB2Bcompaniesareusingthelatesttechnologiestocombineknowledgefrombothhumanandmachineinordertoidentifypatternsofhumanbehavior.

Thismovesthemintothe‘cognitivecommerce’space,wheretheplatformcanpredictandanticipatefuturebehaviors

ofcustomersandusethoselearningstopersonalizetheexperienceforspecificcustomers.IBMWatson12andCognitiveScale13providecognitivecommerceplatformswithwiderapplicationsacrosssectors.

CustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM)

systemsareusedtodeliverdynamicpricingandsupportcustomersbyofferingcommercialcredit.

Inmanyinstances,buyersarepermittedto

customizethefinalconfigurationofpurchasedproducts,suchasthepackaging,handling,and

TOPTIPSFORYOUR

E-COMMERCEPLATFORM

21stcenturycustomersarelookingtosourceglobally,soyoure-commerceplatformshouldbeabletohandlepaymentinanycurrency.

Improvecustomersatisfactionbyprovidingclarityaroundtheassociatedcostsforacross-border

transaction,suchasdutiesandtaxes.

8-

/

9-

/vendavo-acquires-navetti-intelligent-pricing-made-simple/

10-

/

11-

/index.html

12-

/uk-en/watson

13-

/

loadingofproducts.

12B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

4.OMNI-CHANNEL

TheresearchfoundthatintegrationwasmostsuccessfullycarriedoutthroughB2Bomni-channelcommerce;amulti-channelsalesapproachcombiningtraditionalonline,bricksandmortarstores,tabletand/or

smartphoneoptions.Thisseamlessintegrationincreasescustomer

engagementandhelpsB2Bcompaniestoamplifytheirbusinessgoalsandtargetsbyreachingbusinesscustomersglobally.

WebroomingisanotherinterestingcustomerbehaviorthatB2Bcustomersarepracticing(it’sotherwiseknownasROBO一Research

Online,BuyOffline).Asindividualconsumers,we’reusedtocruisingtheinternetfor

informationbeforegoinginstoretomakeapurchase.Now,thisbehaviorisbecomingmoreandmorepopularwithintheB2B

environment:researchingonline,decidingonapurchase,andthenreachingouttoasalesreptoplacetheorder.Thedifferenttouchpointswiththecustomerneed

tobemanagedsothattheoverallcustomerexperience,rightthroughtothefinalpurchase,isseamless,irrespectiveofthechannelused.

TOPTIPSFORYOUR

E-COMMERCEPLATFORM

ThecustomerexperienceisnotoverafteraB2Bbuyerclicksthe‘BuyNow’button.Toensurea

trulyseamlessend-to-endprocess,don’tneglectthedeliveryoptionsyouofferyourcustomers.

BasedontheexperienceoftheB2Csector,thereisclearrecognitionthatthecustomerexperiencecanbedamagedbypoormanagementofthelastmiledeliveryprocess,soinvesttoensurethatyourfinaltouchpointwiththecustomerisapositiveone.

13B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

5.SYNCHRONIZATIONOFLOGISTICS

Perhapsunsurprisingly,manyintervieweesidentifiedthecriticalroleoflogisticsinB2Bcross-border

e-commerce.Thisisnotjustaboutlast-miledelivery,butalsotheoverallfulfillmentstrategy.

Toincreasetheircompetitivenessandaddressdifferentcustomerrequirements,B2Be-commercebusinessesareemulatingthestrategyofonlineretailplatforms

byprovidingmultipletransportanddeliveryoptions

tomeetdifferentcost,transittimeand/orservice

requirements.Thankstointegrationwiththesystems

oftransportproviders,theircustomerscanselecttheirpreferredsolutionwithfullvisibilityofthecostsinvolved.

Synchronizationoflogisticsoperationsinacross-bordercontextiscrucialandcanbeachievedthroughtheintegrationoftherighttechnologiesanddataapplicationswiththelogisticsservice

provider.Intoday’scompetitiveworld,theseintegrationsenableB2Bbusinessestooffercross-bordersolutionswiththeflexibilitytomeetadhocorlatentrequests.

TOPTIPSFORYOUR

E-COMMERCEPLATFORM

ThinkaboutwhatyouexpectfromaB2Ce-commerceservice一thisshouldinfluencethebuildofyourB2B

platform.Speed,reliability,traceability,convenienceandaneffectivereturnsandexchangepolicyshouldbetoppriorities.

14B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

HOWTHEPANDEMIC

MADE2020THEYEAROF

E-COMMERCE

Ofcourse,it’snotjustmillennialspushingB2Btowardsa

digitalrevolution–thearrivalofCOVID-19inearly2020hadanunprecedentedimpactonthesectortoo.

Withthepandemicravagingtheglobe,yourbusinessmayhave

joinedcountlessothermanufacturers,distributorsandwholesalerswhichhavereliedonB2Be-commercetokeepoperationsgoingandswitchedin-personsalesmeetingstoonlinechannelslikeSkype14.

Ifyourbusinessisnowplanningonkeepingthesenewdigital

methodslongterm,it’snotalone:only20%ofB2Bbuyerssaytheywanttraditionalin-personsalestoreturn,eveninsectorswhere

field-salesmodelshavetraditionallydominated,suchasthepharmaandmedicalsectors15.

Inaddition,buyersarebecomingmoreconfidentatmakinglargervaluepurchasesonline:70%ofB2Bdecisionmakerssaidtheyareopentomakingfullyself-serveorremotepurchasesinexcessofUS$50,000,whilst27%wouldspendmorethanUS$500,00016inasingleonlineorder.

COMPANIESEXPECTTHECHANGESTOSTICK17

Likelihoodofsustainingnewgo-to-marketfor12+months%ofrespondents

Verylikely

Somewhatlikely

Unlikely

April2020

32

48

17

August2020

46

43

8

89%

Up11.25%sinceApril

4

3

Nogo-to-marketchanges

Itisnolongeraquestionofifyoushouldmoveyourbusinessonlinebutwhenandhowfast.ManyB2Bcompaniesthatdonotyethaveane-commercesolutionarenowstartingtheprocessoflookingforsolutionproviders.Areyou?

14-Skype

15,16,17-McKinsey&Company,“TheseeightchartsshowhowCOVID-19haschangedB2Bsalesforever,”O(jiān)ctober2020,

/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our

-insights/these-eight-charts-show-how-covid-19-has-changed-b2b-sales-forever

15B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

SPINNINGTHEE-COMMERCE

FLYWHEEL

Starttospintheflywheelbymigratingyourcustomers

fromofflinetoonlinechannels.Ifyourteamis

implementinganewe-commercechannel,besureto

communicateearlyandoftenwithyourcustomers.Ensureyouronlineplatformisuserfriendlywithhow-toguides

andFAQs.ThinkoftheeaseatwhichyoucannavigateB2Cwebsites-thisisthenewbaseline.

1

TheFlywheelEffectisaconceptwhichsaysthat“goodtogreat”

transformationsdon’t

happeninstantly;instead,aswithflywheels,they

requireturnuponturn,

Keeptheflywheelspinning.Customerexperienceisnowkey一rolloutprogramsthatspurloyalty,higherorder

values,andincreasedpurchasingfrequency.Byallowing

bothsubscription-basedandtraditionalone-offpurchases,youcanlockinbuyersandyieldhighercustomerlifetime

values.Thiswillalsoproducedatawhichcanhelpyour

salesteamsbetterunderstandyourcustomers’buying

behavior.IntegratepartnersoftwarelikeRebilla10tomanagesavedcreditcardinformationforindividualcustomers,or

technologieslikePayWhirl11forrecurringbilling.

2

buildingmomentumuntilapointofbreakthroughandbeyond.

Tosupportyouonyourjourneytowardshavinganoptimale-commercesaleschannelforyour

Makeyoure-commerceflywheelavitalpartofyour

businessmodel.Alignbusinessprocessesandteamstoscale.Reviewyourcurrentorganizationalstructureand

re-alignrolesandresources,hiringfromoutsideyour

organizationifnecessary.Oncethatstructureisinplace,haveacharteroverbudgetingandmanagementdecisionsthatimpactthedigitalteam.AtoollikeBundleB2B12canbettermobilizeyoursalesteamtoaccessbuyershoppinglists,addproductstocart,andcompleteorderplacement.

3

B2Bcompany,wehaveanalyzedthefourphaseswhichplayavitalrole

ingettingyourown“flywheel”spinning:

4

Haveyoure-commerceflywheelconnectwithothers.

Internalchannelconflictisacommonpainpointfor

B2Borganizations,soworktoensureyoure-commerceplatformcomplementsallyourothersaleschannels.Yourdigitalteam,alongsidesalesleadership,shouldchampionthebenefitsoftechnology-basedcustomerself-serviceandhowitcanactuallyhelpsalesmembersretireand

exceedquotas.Onlyifandwhenacustomerbecomescomplexshouldanactualsalesrepresentativetakeovertheaccount;anapproachthatallowstheteamtofocusmoreonsellingandlessonordertaking.

10-

/11-/12-/

16B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

MAJORCHALLENGES

Despitethebenefitsofintroducingane-commerceplatformtoyourbusiness,it’simportanttoconsidersomeoftherisksandchallengesthatsectorsoperatinginthenewB2Be-commerceenvironmentwillface.Some,suchasthefashionsector,willadaptquickly,whilstothers,likethepharmaceuticalsector,willrequirealonger-termdevelopmentplan.

ThekeybarriersandchallengestoB2Be-commercegrowthwereidentifiedbysupplychainexpertsduringDHL’sresearch(seeAppendixfortheinterviewees):

■Employeeswillberequiredtoupskillinordertoaccommodatethechangingbusinessandsupplychainlandscape.A‘digitalfirst’mindsetandbeingopentoinnovationisrequiredtodrivesuccess.

■Exchangerates,customsrequirements,dutiesandtaxes,andlessdevelopedinfrastructurescanbechallengingtodealwith一taketimetounderstandtheimplicationsofcross-bordershippingtoyourprimarymarkets.Transport

networksneedtobeagiletoaccommodatethenewlogisticsdemands.

■Largecompanieswithwell-establishedB2Bplatformswillfinditchallengingtocompetewithagile,start-upcompanies.Theyriskbeingleftbehindiftheydon’treactquicklytocompetitionfromthesechallengers一whilenotputtingprofitabilityatrisk.

■Pricingwillpresentfurtheruniquechallenges.B2Bbuyersareusedto

negotiatingdiscountsforbulkorrepeatpurchaseswithsalesreps.Ifpricingistobemovedonline,B2Bbusinesseswillneedtoconsideralternatewaystoincentivizebuyers一aneasilyimplementable‘buymore,payless’pricingstrategy,forexample,orbulkdiscounts.

Aswithanynewventure,thekeytomitigatingrisksistobeawareofthem,andplanaccordingly.Youre-commercestrategyshouldturnriskanalysisintoactions–suchasadoptingalternativeapproachesforachievingthesameobjective,orleveragingtheexpertiseofthird-partypartnerssuchasDHL.

17B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

NEXTSTEPS

WhilstthebenefitsofB2Be-commerceareclear,youmaybethinking“wheredoIstart?”AsexploredinthisWhitePaper,successfulinvestmentintocross-borderB2Be-commercerequiresthestreamliningofculture,processes,andtechnology.Yourstrategywillneedthebackingofseniormanagement,collaborationacrossbusinessunits,andtherightmindsetacross

theorganization.

Buttherearealsosomepracticalrecommendations

whichshouldbeafundamentalpartofyoure-commercejourney:

CustomerExperienceandCustomerService–theyarethecenterpointofanyB2Cbusiness,andB2Bshouldbenodifferent.Yourdigitaltransformationshouldincludesimple,flexible,andconvenientbusinessprocessesforimprovingcustomerexperience.Bycombiningthebestofhumanandmachines,yourbusinesscan

deliverpersonalizedservicesviaonlinecustomersupport,andutilizemachinelearningtechniquestobetteranticipatecustomerneeds.

PartneringwithaninternationalexpresslogisticscompanylikeDHLwillgiveyourbusinessdirectand

rapiddoor-to-dooraccesstooverseasmarkets,evenforsmallerbatchvolumes,providingbetterconversionratesoflatentdemandandtheopportunitytodifferentiatewithapremiumserviceoffering.Suchapartneralsoprovidesseveraladditionalindirectbenefits,including:

■Brandnamerecognition,providingcredibilityandtrustfortransactionsbetweencompaniesinvolvedinthesupplychain.

■TheminimizingofpossiblefinancialrisksbyenablingeasyDutyandTaxpaymentoptionsandtrackingandtracingofproducts.

■Aglobalnetworkoflocalpartnersandcertifiedinternationalspecialistswiththeexpertiseandlocalknowledgetosupportcompaniesintargetingoverseascustomersandnavigatingacrossborders.

18B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

IDENTIFYWHEREYOUAREIN

YOURJOURNEY

Theaspectsmentionedinthepreviouschapterwill

guide‘Novice’levelB2Bcompaniesastheystarttheire-commercecustomerjourney.

Someofthekeyfeaturesthat

almostallB2Bcustomersexpectevenfroma‘Novice’levelB2B

companyare:

?Personalizedcontent.

?Transparentpricing.

?Interactiveanddetailedproductcontent.

?Convenientbuyingprocessessuchase-commerce

automation.

Ifyouhaveanestablishede-commercebusiness,orarejuststartingonyourjourney,thesestepswillhelpyoutransformyourbusinessforthenext

industrialrevolution:thedynamicallygrowing,

cross-borderB2B

e-commercesector.

‘Intermediate’levelB2B

companiesshouldtypicallyhaveallthefeaturesof‘Novice’levelcompaniesbutshouldalsoadopt:

?SearchEngineOptimization(SEO)toincreasemarket

presence.

?Effectiveonlineengagement

programmesandawellthoughtthroughDigitalMarketing

strategy.B2Bcompaniesshouldbewheretheircustomersare:

Online.

?Customer-basedpersonalizationsuchase-portals,customer

specificpricingandproductcustomization.

?Seamlessmulti-channel

integrationwithERPsystemsforreal-timestockavailabilitychecks,multiplepayment

options,andflexiblecheckoutwithshipping/logisticsoptions.

Finally,‘Innovator’levelB2B

companieshaveallthefeaturesof‘Intermediate’levelcompanies.Inaddition,they:

?Emphasizespecificfeatures

toachievedifferentiationsuchascontentmarketing,high

qualityproductimagesand

descriptions,layoutofpages

andgroupingofcontent,and

productvideosandreviewswithsocialmediaintegration.

?Focusonfrontandbackofficeintegrationwiththee-commerceplatform.

?Investindeliverymanagementwithmultipleoptionsfor

logisticsandshippingincludingordertrackingwithoutlogin,

automateddispatchmessagi