Manufacturing and Inventory Management Software
B2B eCommerce is the process of marketing and selling products online between two businesses.
The goal is to reach more customers and spend less money doing so that your business makes more money.
In this blog, we'll explain what an eCommerce portal is. We'll tell you how it works for business-to-business (B2B) transactions. And we'll explain why having one is an important addition to your business tech stack.
For instance, according to the Insider Intelligence report from eMarketer.com, “We forecast B2B eCommerce site sales will reach nearly $1.77 trillion in 2022, a 12% increase from a year prior.”
Additionally, the forecast for 2023 is an 11.8% increase over 2022’s forecast — so there’s ample B2B eCommerce opportunity.
Also, B2B eCommerce is growing a lot in the US and worldwide this July 2022 Statistica.com report:
Do you want a part of the future growth in B2B eCommerce? You will need to have a good plan to get there. Use the information in this guide to help make sure your B2B eCommerce business is successful.
Every business needs to buy or sell things from other businesses. These are called business-to-business transactions, or B2B. Some examples of B2B are an insurance company that buys office furniture from a wholesaler or a manufacturer that buys raw materials from another company. One company sells something to another company instead of a business selling something directly to an individual consumer, which would be called business-to-consumer or B2C.
There are some things that businesses that sell to other businesses (B2B) have in common with businesses that sell to customers (B2C). Both kinds of businesses need to advertise their products and services, and both need to nurture relationships. However, B2B is much more complex. B2B transactions often involve large quantities of goods and highly technical services. Plus, the personnel on both sides of the deal are usually highly knowledgeable about their products. When businesses work with other businesses, sometimes a lot of people have to agree to the deal before it can be finalized. This can take a long time. So when business people are selling something to another business, they need to understand the people involved in the deal on both sides.
B2B eCommerce is a sales model that is growing very quickly as mentioned before. Some estimates think that the global B2B eCommerce market is worth more than $12 trillion. That would be 13% of all B2B sales in the United States.
B2B eCommerce platforms have helped drive the movement by innovating and introducing new technology. B2B businesses traditionally involved a lot of manual sales and marketing processes, which were time-consuming and expensive. However, digital commerce has helped these businesses reduce costs and become more efficient by automating processes.
B2B sellers work with:
Buyers and sellers can now meet online. They can use their phones to manage orders and connect with businesses. This creates new opportunities for businesses to connect with distributors and suppliers.
The best way for a business to use the B2B eCommerce marketplace is by installing and using a B2B eCommerce portal. A portal gives access to a website page where information about products and services can be found and transactions can occur.
There are different types of businesses that use B2B eCommerce portals. Each kind has advantages and disadvantages. Many businesses use more than one type at the same time.
Wholesale suppliers sell products to retailers. This is usually done in large quantities. B2B marketplaces are a good way for wholesale suppliers to advertise their products because there are fewer sellers. In this case, the buyers have online marketplaces where they invite suppliers to show their products and accept bids from different sellers.
Manufacturers make products in large quantities. They sell these products to other suppliers, wholesalers, or manufacturers. For example, a manufacturer might produce specialty shoelaces. These shoelaces are then sold to a luxury shoe manufacturer, which puts together the shoe and adds to its branding. From there, completed shoes can be sold in bulk to wholesalers.
With the changing times, manufacturers need to be able to meet digital demand. This means that wholesalers, suppliers, other businesses, and consumers are looking for manufacturers who can do online transactions with personalized features like pricing, production schedule, or sizing.
Distributors help with packaging, shipping, and marketing. This is stuff that a manufacturer may not want to do themselves. So, sometimes manufacturers team up with distributors to sell their products together. You can set up this kind of partnership online. This way, the manufacturer and distributor can work together more efficiently to meet customer expectations.
When many companies try to get customers by offering a good experience, it is hard to be the best. This makes it important to have low-cost plans for how to distribute products. For example, some businesses choose to have Amazon take care of sending out products because it is cheaper than doing it themselves.
A good B2B eCommerce portal will help your organization grow. The digital world gives you access to more potential B2B buyers in your country and overseas. You can show the information on your platform in a friendly design. When your B2B business is automated, communication between the two parties can happen even if they are in different time zones. A B2B eCommerce portal will make you more visible and help you develop your brand.
eCommerce has lots of advantages. For example, you can suggest other items to people buying something from you. You can also offer more expensive items. These techniques are called cross-selling and upselling. You can do these things easily on an eCommerce portal with the help of AI-based product suggestions. They will be accommodating for your company.
An eCommerce platform for businesses gives you an online presence. This lets you control your brand. You can use this to make your brand more robust and more popular in your area and worldwide.
Your branded eCommerce website is the best marketing tool to sustain online presence and visibility. Developing content for your eCommerce site that is friendly for search engines is a fast way to improve your site's ranking and make it more likely that people in your target audience will know who you are.
E-commerce portals can be designed to look whatever way you want them to. This means that depending on what products or services you are selling, they can be presented in a way that will attract your target audience.
Likewise, for the actual business of purchasing. Tailoring information to a specialized customer base means communicating with them on their terms. Whether you're operating in the tech world with millennials, the construction world, or the world of handmade furniture, your online sales portal must speak directly to whoever your customers are, and that's something they'll appreciate.
Your sales team will be able to work better if you have a place online where people can buy things. This way, your sales team can see what people are buying, how much it costs, and what happened before. This is especially helpful when your sales team travels or works from home.
With automated inventory management and order tracking, you can match the information between your different selling places and give your customers accurate updates. Doing this has made people trust your brand more, get their orders to them faster, and make them happier with their purchases in general.
Ecommerce is a good way for businesses to improve their customer service. E-commerce sites can provide access to self-serve portals with customers’ accounts, orders, history, and tracking information. A robust eCommerce site can also show customer-specific products, services, and pricing based on customer login credentials.
Brahmin Solutions B2B eCommerce portal has useful features created to make your transactions smooth, stress-free, and customer friendly.
These features are:
Brahmin Solutions allows you to create a custom catalog that you can share with your buyers quickly and easily. This will allow each customer to quickly access the products you want them to see and with the negotiated pricing.
If you connect your Brahmin Solutions eCommerce store with Brahmin Solutions Inventory, it will be easier to sell things. When a customer buys something, it will show up as a confirmed order or draft order. Then the Brahmin Solutions sales module can help with pick, pack, and ship.
The Brahmin Solutions B2B eCommerce portal integrates with your accounting software. This means you can see all of your sales and track them. You can also create reports about past and present sales. This information will help you make good financial decisions.
Our B2B portal connects with payment gateways like Stripe and Authorize.net. This is a secure way for your customers to pay you immediately for their goods or services.
B2B customers often need to reorder items. The Brahmin Solutions eCommerce portal makes it easy for them. Customers can view their order history and check the status of their orders at any time.
We discussed the benefits of eCommerce and B2B eCommerce portals to show they fit into B2B transactions. Brahmin Solutions System software helps you to do this easily by automating the sales process and engaging your customers. You can also integrate Brahmin Solutions B2B portal with inventory management software, accounting software, and payment gateways. This makes it easy for both you and your customers.
If you want to learn more about how the Brahmin Solutions B2B eCommerce portal can help your business grow, you can call and speak to one of our business experts.
