Simply put, b2b e-commerce is the process of marketing and selling products between two businesses online. In other words, it enables manufacturers and wholesalers, or wholesalers and retailers to transact online.
Due to the digital aspect of b2b eCommerce, selling products is made more efficient and effective. In 2020 the B2B eCommerce market was valued at $14.9 trillion which was five times the B2C market and it has been suggested by data from Statista that the North American B2B eCommerce market will surpass $4,600 billion by 2025. Also, Gartner's research says that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales transactions between buyers and suppliers will occur via digital channels.
Advantages of using B2B eCommerce apps/platforms
Better management: Having everything in one place, enables you to manage things more effectively and efficiently; from customer data, orders, reports and inventory control.
Sell more to current customers: Having an app that is accessible and easy to use gives your business a great opportunity to cross-sell and up-sell to existing customers.
Business expansion: creating an app that is unique to your business or the industry you work in, will increase the chance to attract new customers. Going digital means you can go global and reach new audiences.
Increased customer experience: An app can provide a great opportunity for businesses to give exceptional customer service. Customers can access their account, order history tracking information, news features, contact information etc. all in one place making it an easy and valuable application for them.
Improved brand awareness: A B2B app is unique to you and your business and it gives you an online presence. Via an app or eCommerce platform, you can promote and expand your business locally, nationally and worldwide.
One of our clients, Josh Dewing, Seed Manager at Dewing Grain, says: “One of the major benefits of having an app is that it is a very efficient way to keep customers updated. We have to regularly do market reports to let our customers and people we trade with know what the market is doing – the app enables us to easily send this out. It’s also very specific; rather than having to go to several websites to find information, you can just go into our app and see all the information you could want to know.
Another benefit is that it saves us a lot of time, especially with calls. Instead of calling a few hundred people a day to update them, we can just send out news bulletins to let people know breaking news, such as the war with Russia and Ukraine, droughts in America or any other major issues that could affect our industry.
Reputation is another thing that an app has been great for. We’ve picked up quite a few new customers and seen customers trading with us more because they can see that we have invested time and money into our industry by investing in technology. A lot of industries aren’t quite there yet, they may send the odd text or newsletter, but an app is a fantastic way to show we are investing in the future.
Finally, whether you like it or loathe it, the way we communicate is changing. It’s no longer about face to face, of course, that’s always going to exist, but there are many groups of people who now like to trade and communicate via WhatsApp or texts. An app is another great way of doing that. With an app, you can trade even quicker as you no longer need to pick up the phone and spend 10-15 minutes talking about trading.
Overall, having DueTrade create an app for us has been great for business.”
Past data and future predictions show the continuous growth of the digital world and highlight the importance of ensuring your business isn’t getting left behind. If you’re looking to invest in a unique, valuable and accessible B2B app, please do get in touch and see how we can help you!
