DHL-B2B电子商务指南：传统已去数字化已来（英文）-2021.01-21正式版-WN4正式版

THEULTIMATEB2BE-COMMERCEGUIDE

TRADITIONISOUT.DIGITALISIN.

ADHLEXPRESSWHITEPAPER

2B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

CONTENTS

TheB2Brevolutionishere.

Areyouready?

03

WhatisB2Be-commerce?

04

ThechangingB2Bcustomer

06

MeetyournewB2Bcustomers:

Themillennials

07

B2Bcustomerfeatures

08

Howthepandemicmade2020

theyearofe-commerce

14

Spinningthee-commerceflywheel

15

Majorchallenges

16

Nextsteps:Identifywhere

youareinyourjourney

18

3B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

THEB2BREVOLUTIONISHERE.AREYOUREADY?

TheB2Bworldisundergoingaperiodofintensetransformation.TraditionalmethodsofB2Boperations–fromsalestocustomerinteractions;fromfulfilmenttoorderdelivery–arechangingrapidly.AndwhiletheB2Bworldwasalreadymovingonline,COVID-19acceleratedtheprocess,meaningB2Btransactionsarebecomingmoredata-drivenandlessdependentontraditionalone-to-onesalesactivity.

2020broughtwithitgreatchallenges,whichexposedtheneedforB2Bsupplychainstobemoreflexible.New,digitally-focusedwaysofdoingthingswerebroughtin,andnowtheirbenefitshavebeenfelt,won’tbegoingback.Inaddition,changingdemographicshabitsmeanthatmillennialB2Bdecision-makersarefurtherdrivingthedigitalizationofthesectorastheyseekcustomerexperiencesmorealignedwiththeirB2C(business-to-consumer)experiences.

It’saparadigmshiftfortheindustry,andB2Bbusinesseswhowanttomakethemostofcross-borderopportunitieswillneedtoadapttothesechangingbuyingbehaviors–and

fast.We’llshowyouhow.

“THISCRISIS[COVID-19]

ISWIDENINGTHEDIGITALDIVIDEAMONGTHOSEWHOMADEEARLIERINVESTMENTSINE-COMMERCEANDTHOSETHATDIDN’T.SOMEOFTHOSETHATDIDN’T,WON’TSURVIVE.”

BrianBeck,ManagingPartnerofEnceiba1

1-BrianBeck,TechBullion,December2020,/b2b-ecommerce-best-practices-for-2021/

4 B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

WHATISB2B

E-COMMERCE?

B2Be-commerce,orbusiness-to-business

electroniccommerce,describesorder

transactionsbetweenbusinessesviaanonline

salesportal.Ingeneral,B2Be-commerce

isusedtoadvancetheperformanceofa

company’ssalesefforts;becauseorders

areprocesseddigitally,buyingefficiencyis

improvedforwholesalers,manufacturers,

distributors,andothertypesofB2Bsellers.

Emerginge-commercetechnologiesarereducingthe

barriertoentryfortraditionallyB2Bcompaniesto

removethemiddlemanandselldirect-to-consumer

(B2B2C).

InthisWhitePaperwewillfocusonthepureB2B

elementofe-commerce–thatis,abusinesssellingto

anotherbusiness,withthetransactionhappeningina

‘seller-free’experienceandwithouttheneedforany

traditionalsalesmodel.

ASNAPSHOT

OFGROWTH

OPPORTUNITIES

In2019,globalsaleson

B2Be-commercesitesand

marketplacesjumped18.2%toreach

US$12.2trillion,outpacingtheB2C

sector,andisprojectedtoreachUS

$20.9trillionby2027.

ForresterpredictstheUSB2B

e-commercemarketalonewillreach

US$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

WhilstthedigitalizationoftheB2BsectorisincreasinglyaligningB2Bbuyers’expectationswiththeirB2Cexperiences,thereremainsomekeydifferencesbetweenB2BandB2Ccommercialtransactions:

1.InB2B,thesaletakesplacebetweentwobusinessentities,whileinB2C,goodsandservicesaresoldtoacustomerfortheirpersonaluse.

2.InB2B,decisionandapprovalprocessescanbecomplexandlengthy,involvingtheinputofmultipledepartments,whileinB2C,thedecisionismadebyasinglecustomer.

3.InB2B,thesizeandvalueoftransactionsaretraditionallylargewithlowerfrequency,whileinB2C,theyaresmallerandoftenone-off(althoughrepeatpurchasesdofeature.)

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

5.TherelationshiphorizoninB2Bislongterm,whileinB2C,ittendstobeshortterm.

6.InB2B,paymentisintheformofcreditsales,whileinB2C,itusuallyinvolvesdirectsalesusingalocalizedpaymentoptionwithoutanycreditbeingaccumulated.

7.InB2B,productassortmentandcatalogsarecustomizedwithuniquesegmentationtomeeteachbusinesscustomer’srequirements,whileinB2C,it’sgenerallythesameforall.

Fundamentallythough,B2BandB2Careaboutthesamething–sellinggoodstopeople,andtheexpectationsofthesetwocustomergroupsareincreasinglyoverlapping.ButturningyourB2BwebsiteintoanAmazon-likeexperiencetomakepurchasingsimplerisonlyhalfthestory…

6 B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

THECHANGINGB2BCUSTOMER

ThinkyouknowyourtypicalB2Bcustomer?Well,

itcouldbetimetorethink.Newtechnologies

maybeaidingthedigitalizationoftheB2Bsector,

butthishasalsobeendrivenbytheevolving

demographicofthe“average”B2Bbuyer.

AswithB2C,it’simportanttorememberthatthere

isarealpersonattheendofeveryB2Btransaction.

Theirpurchasingdecisionsareinfluencedbymany

ofthesamefactorsthatdriveB2Ccustomers,which

meanstheyalsoexpectthesamecustomerexperience

throughouttheirbuyingjourney.

ResearchbyGartnerfoundthat44%of

millennialsprefernosalesrepinteractionatall

inaB2Bpurchasesetting,andprojectsthatby

2025,80%ofB2Bsalesinteractionsbetween

suppliersandbuyerswilloccurindigital

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/

7 B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

MEETYOURNEWB2BCUSTOMERS:THEMILLENNIALS

Millennials,alsoknownasGenerationY,nowaccountfor73%ofallB2Bpurchasingdecisions4.Growingupwiththeinternetandmobilephones,theyaredigitallynativeandmoretechnologyorientedthantheirpredecessors.B2CcustomerexperiencesintheirpersonallivesheavilyinfluencewhattheyexpectfromB2Btransactions.ThinkaboutwhatfeaturesyouvaluewhenplacingaB2Corder–speed,convenience,flexibledeliveryoptions…thesearewhatyourB2Bcustomersarelookingforwhenconsideringdoingbusinesswithyou.

Millennialbuyersaremorelikelytoavoidengagingwithsalespeopleearlyintheprocess,insteadpreferringtocarryouttheirownextensiveonlineresearchbeforemakingpurchasingdecisions–mimickingthebehaviorthatissonaturaltothemintheirpersonalshoppinghabits.

Onlineisfastreplacingsalesteamsastheplaceto

educate,engageandbuildbrandtrustwithnew

customersbeforeapurchasingdecisionismade–

orevenconsidered.Therefore,itisvitalyourB2B

companyinvestsinadigitalpresencethatfeels

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

8 B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

B2BCUSTOMERFEATURES

NowyouknowthatB2Bcustomersaremigratingtowardsonlinechannelstomaketheirpurchasingdecisions,howcanyourbusinessmakeanimpactthere?

Muchmorethanjustanothertouchpoint,awell-implementede-commerceplatformwillopennewopportunitiesandhelpyourbusinessreachandengagenewcustomerseasilyandeffectively.

ThemajorfeaturesinfluencingthecustomerjourneyonB2Be-commerceplatformscanbegroupedintofivecategories,outlinedbelow.Toshedlightonthesecategories,DHL’sresearchteamconductedextensiveresearch,supportedbyprimary,qualitativedatagatheredfromin-depthinterviews.

Considerthesefivecategoriesasyourguidetoimplementingadigitalchannelthatwilldrivevalueforyourcustomersandincreaseyourprofitabilitythroughhighermarketshareandoperationalefficiency.

9 B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

1.DIGITALINFRASTRUCTURE

Akeyfeaturehighlightedbyintervieweeswastheneedtoheavilyinvestindigitalinfrastructure.Theydriverealvaluefortheirbusinessesandcustomersbyincorporatingtechnologiessuchasartificialintelligence,machinelearning,big

dataanalyticsandbusinessintelligence

insights.Thesetechnologiesallowthestreamliningofinternalandexternalbusinessprocessestoimprovetheaccuracyofdemandplanningandforecasting.

LeadingB2Bprovidersintegratecloud-

basede-commerceplatformswiththeir

EnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)

andoperationalsystems.Thisfacilitates

betterreal-timevisibilityandalignment

acrossthesupplychain,makingiteasierfor

themtoexploitnewbusinessopportunities

andcapturedifficulttoreach,low-volume

customersacrosstheworld.

TOPTIPSFORYOUR

E-COMMERCEPLATFORM

Youcanenhancethecustomerexperience

acrossyourend-to-endbusinessprocessesby

incorporatingfunctionalityandtechnologies.

Digitalizationofyourfullproductcatalog,for

example,andtheinclusionofasimple-to-useand

powerfulsearchenginetofindthoseproducts

arefundamentalfeatures.Additionalfeatures

suchasmobile/tabletresponsiveness,strong

dataprotection,secureonlinepaymentsand

chatfunctionalityhavealsobecomestandard

expectationsformostusersofe-commerce

platforms,whetherB2CorB2B.

10B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

2.CUSTOMEREXPERIENCE

Theresearchpointedtoasimplebuteffectiveon-sitesearchengineasessentialtoenablecustomerstofindandviewtheproductsonoffer.ThemoresophisticatedB2Bplayersintegrateamorecomprehensivesuiteoftoolstohelptheircustomersnavigatetheirsitesandfinddetailedinformationabouttheproducts,includingmegamenus,videoproductdemonstrations,websitetutorialsandcompetitorcomparisons.Somee-commerceplatformsincorporateliveonlinesupporttoassistwithanyqueriesorissues,whichimprovesconversionlevelsandfacilitatesbuyingdecisions.ResearchbyGartnerfoundthatmorefocusoninformationsystems(IS)andonlinesupportresultsinincreasedcustomersatisfaction6.

TOPTIPSFORYOUR

E-COMMERCE

PLATFORM

2020wastheyearcustomerexperience

surpassedpriceasthekeydifferentiator

forB2Bbuyers.Now,64%ofbuyers

placemoreimportanceonexperience

thanprice,and86%ofbuyersarewilling

topaymoreforabetterexperience7.

Whetherit’sacompletedigital

transformationorjustarefreshofyour

website,makethecustomerthecenterof

yourfocusfor2021.Everynewfeature

andeverynewprojectshouldstartwith

thequestion,“howdoesthisimprovethe

customerexperience?”

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:pastpurchasehistory,priceoptimizationalgorithmsthatmeet

customizedproductpricerequirements,andconfigure-

price-quote(CPQ)softwaretomakeonlinequotesand

pricesthatareadjustedonthebasisoftherelationship.

ExamplesofpriceoptimizationandCPQsoftwareinclude

Vendavo8,Navetti9,BlueYonder10andOracle11.

TheresearchfoundthatmostadvancedB2Bcompaniesareusing

thelatesttechnologiestocombineknowledgefrombothhuman

andmachineinordertoidentifypatternsofhumanbehavior.

Thismovesthemintothe‘cognitivecommerce’space,where

theplatformcanpredictandanticipatefuturebehaviors

ofcustomersandusethoselearningstopersonalize

theexperienceforspecificcustomers.IBMWatson12

andCognitiveScale13providecognitivecommerce

platformswithwiderapplicationsacrosssectors.

CustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM)

systemsareusedtodeliverdynamicpricingand

supportcustomersbyofferingcommercialcredit.

Inmanyinstances,buyersarepermittedto

customizethefinalconfigurationofpurchased

products,suchasthepackaging,handling,and

loadingofproducts.

TOPTIPSFORYOUR

E-COMMERCEPLATFORM

21stcenturycustomersarelookingtosource

globally,soyoure-commerceplatformshould

beabletohandlepaymentinanycurrency.

Improvecustomersatisfactionbyprovidingclarity

aroundtheassociatedcostsforacross-border

transaction,suchasdutiesandtaxes.

8

-/

11

-/index.html

9

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

12

-/uk-en/watson

10-/

13

-/

12B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

4.OMNI-CHANNEL

TheresearchfoundthatintegrationwasmostsuccessfullycarriedoutthroughB2Bomni-channelcommerce;amulti-channelsalesapproachcombiningtraditionalonline,bricksandmortarstores,tabletand/orsmartphoneoptions.ThisseamlessintegrationincreasescustomerengagementandhelpsB2Bcompaniesto

amplifytheirbusinessgoalsandtargetsbyreachingbusinesscustomersglobally.

WebroomingisanotherinterestingcustomerbehaviorthatB2Bcustomersarepracticing(it’sotherwiseknownasROBO–ResearchOnline,BuyOffline).Asindividualconsumers,we’reusedtocruisingtheinternetforinformationbeforegoinginstoretomakeapurchase.Now,thisbehaviorisbecomingmoreandmorepopularwithintheB2Benvironment:researchingonline,decidingonapurchase,andthenreachingouttoasalesreptoplacetheorder.Thedifferenttouchpointswiththecustomerneedtobemanagedsothattheoverall

customerexperience,rightthrough

tothefinalpurchase,isseamless,

irrespectiveofthechannelused.

TOPTIPSFORYOURE-COMMERCEPLATFORM

ThecustomerexperienceisnotoverafteraB2Bbuyerclicksthe‘BuyNow’button.Toensureatrulyseamlessend-to-endprocess,don’tneglectthedeliveryoptionsyouofferyourcustomers.BasedontheexperienceoftheB2Csector,thereisclearrecognitionthatthecustomerexperiencecanbedamagedbypoormanagementofthelastmiledeliveryprocess,soinvesttoensurethatyourfinaltouchpointwiththecustomerisapositiveone.

13B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

SYNCHRONIZATIONOFLOGISTICS

Perhapsunsurprisingly,manyintervieweesidentifiedthecriticalroleoflogisticsinB2Bcross-bordere-commerce.Thisisnotjustaboutlast-miledelivery,butalsotheoverallfulfillmentstrategy.

Toincreasetheircompetitivenessandaddressdifferentcustomerrequirements,B2Be-commercebusinessesareemulatingthestrategyofonlineretailplatformsbyprovidingmultipletransportanddeliveryoptionstomeetdifferentcost,transittimeand/orservicerequirements.Thankstointegrationwiththesystems

oftransportproviders,theircustomerscanselecttheirpreferredsolutionwithfullvisibilityofthecostsinvolved.

Synchronizationoflogisticsoperationsinacross-bordercontextiscrucialandcanbeachievedthroughtheintegrationoftherighttechnologiesanddataapplicationswiththelogisticsserviceprovider.Intoday’scompetitiveworld,theseintegrationsenableB2Bbusinessestooffercross-bordersolutionswiththeflexibilitytomeetadhocorlatentrequests.

TOPTIPSFORYOUR

E-COMMERCEPLATFORM

ThinkaboutwhatyouexpectfromaB2Ce-commerce

service–thisshouldinfluencethebuildofyourB2B

platform.Speed,reliability,traceability,convenience

andaneffectivereturnsandexchangepolicyshouldbe

toppriorities.

14 B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

HOWTHEPANDEMICMADE2020THEYEAROFE-COMMERCE

Ofcourse,it’snotjustmillennialspushingB2Btowardsadigitalrevolution–thearrivalofCOVID-19inearly2020hadanunprecedentedimpactonthesectortoo.

Withthepandemicravagingtheglobe,yourbusinessmayhavejoinedcountlessothermanufacturers,distributorsandwholesalerswhichhavereliedonB2Be-commercetokeepoperationsgoingandswitchedin-personsalesmeetingstoonlinechannelslikeSkype14.

Ifyourbusinessisnowplanningonkeepingthesenewdigitalmethodslongterm,it’snotalone:only20%ofB2Bbuyerssaytheywanttraditionalin-personsalestoreturn,eveninsectorswherefield-salesmodelshavetraditionallydominated,suchasthepharmaandmedicalsectors15.

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

COMPANIESEXPECTTHECHANGESTOSTICK17

Likelihoodofsustainingnewgo-to-marketfor12+months%ofrespondents

April2020

August2020

Verylikely

89%

32

46

Up11.25%

Somewhatlikely

48

43

sinceApril

Unlikely

17

8

Nogo-to-market

4

3

changes

Itisnolongeraquestionofifyoushouldmoveyourbusinessonlinebutwhenandhowfast.ManyB2Bcompaniesthatdonotyethaveane-commercesolutionarenowstartingtheprocessoflookingforsolutionproviders.Areyou?

14-Skype

15,16,17-McKinsey&Company,“TheseeightchartsshowhowCOVID-19haschangedB2Bsalesforever,”October2020,/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/these-eight-charts-show-how-covid-19-has-changed-b2b-sales-forever

15B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

SPINNINGTHEE-COMMERCEFLYWHEEL

TheFlywheelEffectisaconceptwhichsaysthat“goodtogreat”transformationsdon’thappeninstantly;instead,aswithflywheels,theyrequireturnuponturn,buildingmomentumuntilapointofbreakthroughandbeyond.

Tosupportyouonyourjourneytowardshavinganoptimale-commercesaleschannelforyourB2Bcompany,wehaveanalyzedthefourphaseswhichplayavitalroleingettingyourown“flywheel”spinning:

1

2

3

Starttospintheflywheelbymigratingyourcustomersfromofflinetoonlinechannels.Ifyourteamisimplementinganewe-commercechannel,besuretocommunicateearlyandoftenwithyourcustomers.Ensureyouronlineplatformisuserfriendlywithhow-toguidesandFAQs.ThinkoftheeaseatwhichyoucannavigateB2Cwebsites-thisisthenewbaseline.

Keeptheflywheelspinning.Customerexperienceisnowkey–rolloutprogramsthatspurloyalty,higherordervalues,andincreasedpurchasingfrequency.Byallowingbothsubscription-basedandtraditionalone-offpurchases,youcanlockinbuyersandyieldhighercustomerlifetimevalues.Thiswillalsoproducedatawhichcanhelpyoursalesteamsbetterunderstandyourcustomers’buyingbehavior.IntegratepartnersoftwarelikeRebilla10tomanagesavedcreditcardinformationforindividualcustomers,ortechnologieslikePayWhirl11forrecurringbilling.

Makeyoure-commerceflywheelavitalpartofyourbusinessmodel.Alignbusinessprocessesandteamstoscale.Reviewyourcurrentorganizationalstructureandre-alignrolesandresources,hiringfromoutsideyourorganizationifnecessary.Oncethatstructureisinplace,haveacharteroverbudgetingandmanagementdecisionsthatimpactthedigitalteam.AtoollikeBundleB2B12canbettermobilizeyoursalesteamtoaccessbuyershoppinglists,addproductstocart,andcompleteorderplacement.

4

Haveyoure-commerceflywheelconnectwithothers.

Internalchannelconflictisacommonpainpointfor

B2Borganizations,soworktoensureyoure-commerce

platformcomplementsallyourothersaleschannels.Your

digitalteam,alongsidesalesleadership,shouldchampion

thebenefitsoftechnology-basedcustomerself-service

andhowitcanactuallyhelpsalesmembersretireand

exceedquotas.Onlyifandwhenacustomerbecomes

complexshouldanactualsalesrepresentativetakeover

theaccount;anapproachthatallowstheteamtofocus

moreonsellingandlessonordertaking.

10-/11-/12-/

16 B2B’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–taketimetounderstandtheimplicationsofcross-bordershippingtoyourprimarymarkets.Transportnetworksneedtobeagiletoaccommodatethenewlogisticsdemands.

Largecompanieswithwell-establishedB2Bplatformswillfinditchallengingtocompetewithagile,start-upcompanies.Theyriskbeingleftbehindiftheydon’treactquicklytocompetitionfromthesechallengers–whilenotputtingprofitabilityatrisk.

Pricingwillpresentfurtheruniquechallenges.B2Bbuyersareusedtonegotiatingdiscountsforbulkorrepeatpurchaseswithsalesreps.Ifpricingistobemovedonline,B2Bbusinesseswillneedtoconsideralternatewaystoincentivizebuyers–aneasilyimplementable‘buymore,payless’pricingstrategy,forexample,orbulkdiscounts.

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

17 B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

NEXTSTEPS

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

Buttherearealsosomepracticalrecommendationswhichshouldbeafundamentalpartofyoure-commercejourney:

CustomerExperienceandCustomerService–theyarethecenterpointofanyB2Cbusiness,andB2Bshouldbenodifferent.Yourdigitaltransformationshouldincludesimple,flexible,andconvenientbusinessprocessesforimprovingcustomerexperience.Bycombiningthebestofhumanandmachines,yourbusinesscandeliverpersonalizedservicesviaonlinecustomersupport,andutilizemachinelearningtechniquestobetteranticipatecustomerneeds.

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

Brandnamerecognition,providingcredibilityandtrustfortransactionsbetweencompaniesinvolvedinthesupplychain.

TheminimizingofpossiblefinancialrisksbyenablingeasyDutyandTaxpaymentoptionsandtrackingandtracingofproducts.

Aglobalnetworkoflocalpartnersandcertifiedinternationalspecialistswiththeexpertiseandlocalknowledgetosupportcompaniesintargetingoverseascustomersandnavigatingacrossborders.

18 B2B’sE-commerceRevolution

IDENTIFYWHEREYOUAREINYOURJOURNEY

Theaspectsmentionedinthepreviouschapter will

guide‘Novice’levelB2Bcompaniesastheystart

theire-commercecustomerjourney.

SomeofthekeyfeaturesthatalmostallB2Bcustomersexpectevenfroma‘Novice’levelB2Bcompanyare:

Personalizedcontent.

Transparentpricing.

Interactiveanddetailedproductcontent.

Convenientbuyingprocessessuchase-commerceautomation.

Ifyouhaveanestablishede-commercebusiness,orarejuststartingonyourjourney,thesestepswillhelpyoutransformyourbusinessforthenextindustrialrevolution:thedynamicallygrowing,cross-borderB2Be-commercesector.

‘Intermediate’levelB2Bcompaniesshouldtypicallyhaveallthefeaturesof‘Novice’levelcompaniesbutshouldalsoadopt:

SearchEngineOptimization(SEO)toincreasemarketpresence.

EffectiveonlineengagementprogrammesandawellthoughtthroughDigitalMarketingstrategy.B2Bcompaniesshouldbewheretheircustomersare:

Online.

Customer-basedpersonalizationsuchase-portals,customerspecificpricingandproductcustomization.

Seamlessmulti-channelintegrationwithERPsystemsforreal-timestockavailabilitychecks,multiplepaymentoptions,andflexiblecheckoutwithshipping/logisticsoptions.

Finally,‘Innovator’levelB2Bcompanieshaveallthefeaturesof‘Intermediate’levelcompanies.Inaddition,they:

Emphasizespecificfeaturestoachievedifferentiationsuchascontentmarketing,highqualityproductimagesanddescriptions,layoutofpagesandgroupingofcontent,andproductvideosandreviewswithsocialmediaintegration.

Focusonfrontandbackofficeintegrationwiththee-commerceplatform.

Investindeliverymanagementwithmultipleoptionsforlogisticsandshippingincludingordertracki