E-commerce B2B what is it and what are its features

Many companies have started B2B e-commerce, others are reticent as they think that B2B business has a lower profit margin than B2C, well even though in B2B business the sales are lower they have a high volume.

The current generation is increasingly looking for convenient ways to save time and take care of more important activities, and e-commerce between online business is beneficial for both parties and is a strategy to gain new customers and protect themselves from customers going to another competitor.

See all software eCommerce

What is B2B e-commerce?

B2B e-commerce represents sales made online between two businesses, specifically between a supplier and a company. Online B2B businesses are not limited to one industry, but are present in all industries.

We often think that it is only consumers who shop online ,I can assure you that this is absolutely not true because globally B2B sales make the same revenue as B2C sales .

Companies are increasingly looking to make purchases as quickly as possible for this reason suppliers who only make sales offline are thinking about creating their own e-commerce site.

What are the types of B2B e-commerce?

B2B2C

With B2B2C sales, the first company (B1) accesses its customers through the second company (B2), removing the middleman and interacting directly with the customer. The advantage is that by not making a partnership, customers have direct knowledge of the company they are buying from, plus the first company can retain customer data, B1 retains customers and the data generated by each transaction.

In this way, a B2B company instead of sending its products to another company and having it market its products by conducting transactions online the second company is merely a storefront (an intermediary), but the customer knows the company from which they are receiving the product .

Wholesale

This is a type of B2B that exists in both classic trade and e-commerce, companies buy their products from a manufacturer or distributor in large quantities and resell them in retail .

This type of B2B sale is very common online and can be described as the sale of goods from one company to another. This type of sale is applicable in all industries such as food service, textiles, medical, and more.

This type of sale as opposed to the traditional sale that is done over the phone or through an email, is done in an e-commerce platform that must be simple and intuitive to ensure a better customer experience.

Sales between manufacturers

This is a type of B2B sale that takes place between two manufacturers. The first produces finished products from raw materials, and the second is responsible for creating new products from those made by the first.

If we want to take an example in the automotive industry, the former makes the components of a car, while the latter does the assembly. This type of trade is beginning to be successful online in recent years, and companies are beginning to move their business by creating an e-commerce site.

Sales between distributors

The distributor works in a synchronized way with the manufacturers to offer their products better visibility, setting as the main goal to increase sales. The management of the logistics part takes place most of the time in an e-commerce platform.

Distributors collaborating online are increasing all the time, and this type of B2B collaboration is beneficial as it allows for a better customer experience and customer loyalty through reduced time.

The benefits of B2B e-commerce

The benefits of having a B2B e-commerce platform are many, and to adapt to the new trend, an e-commerce site must be used. Some of these advantages are:

• Reaching new customers: having an e-commerce site ensures better visibility of one's products, through the use of marketing strategies one can reach new customers. Customers prefer to buy online as this way saves them a lot of time.
  
  
• Better management of customers and suppliers: by using a digital system, customers' data always remain registered, which allows you to send them personalized offers.
  
  
• Better reach: increase the number of their customers.
  
  
• Greater efficiency: inventory done automatically by the platform.
  
  
• Easier for customers: no need to physically go to the store,so it is convenient and fast without loss of time.
  
  
• Salespeople can spend more time working on their brand strategy rather than performing repetitive tasks that are done automatically in the platform.
  
  
• Retrieve information about orders placed by customers so that they can make changes and think about improving the product.
  
  
• Errors are fewer as many tasks are done automatically.
  
  
• Ability to manage product sheets and update if there are changes in price and product description.
  
  
• Attract Millennials: An increasing number of B2B decision-makers are millennials, a group with a strong preference for the Web.
  
  
• Ideal for complex products: B2B customers can enjoy a simple, consumer-like shopping experience for products as well.

The limitations of B2B commerce.

• In B2B sales, companies often want a similar approach to B2C sales .
  
• Often companies believe that to make an e-commerce sale and sell in B2B you must have price transparency, which is often difficult to do as they prefer to negotiate price. Therefore, one solution would be to show the price only after the customer has logged in.
  
  
• To ensure continuity of sales with a buyer and that they do not go to another customer in the marketplace it is necessary to establish a human relationship. Often this with selling in an online platform is very difficult to manage.
  
  
• Often customers want to place custom orders and think this is complicated to do in an e-commerce site, which is why some companies propose contacting directly via email or using chat to be able to offer these types of customers customized quotes.

See all software eCommerce

Differences between B2B e-commerce and B2C e-commerce.

While they use the same sales channel and can offer the same services, they have some differences:

• Mode of payment: in B2C commerce, payment is made by credit card, PayPal,cash on delivery or bank transfer. In B2C e-commerce there are also RiBa and RID.
  
• In B2C sites it is possible to display a product with its price or even a promotion next to it in B2C commerce on the other hand, prices most of the time are not public since each customer will have a personalized quote.
  
  
• In B2C the customer has access to several features including viewing his history, his wishlist. In B2B the buyer has additional tools such as: bank statements, invoices, credit notes, bills, quotes.
  
  
• In B2B commerce there is the ability to manage the customer by accessing all administrative information.
  
  
• In B2C commerce the sale takes place with the end customer and payments are made before the goods are received, whereas in B2B the procedure is much longer.