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

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

Today's generation is increasingly looking for convenient ways to save time and take care of more important tasks, and e-commerce between online businesses is beneficial for both parties and is a strategy to gain new customers and protect against customers going to another competitor.

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What is B2B e-commerce?

B2B e-commerce represents online sales between two companies, specifically between a supplier and a company. Online B2B companies are not limited to one sector, but are present in all sectors.

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

Companies are increasingly looking to make purchases as quickly as possible, which is why suppliers who only sell offline are thinking about setting up their own e-commerce sites.

What are the types of B2B e-commerce?

B2B2C

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

In this way, a B2B company instead of sending its products to another company and having that company market its products by conducting transactions online, the second company is merely a shop window (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 classical trade, but also in e-commerce, where 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 sectors such as catering, textiles, medical and more.

This type of sale, as opposed to the traditional sale that is made over the phone or through an email, is made on 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 take an example from the automotive sector, the first makes the components of a car, while the second does the assembly. This type of trade is beginning to be successful online in recent years and companies are starting to move their business by creating an e-commerce site.

Sales between distributors

The distributor works in synchrony with the manufacturers to give their products better visibility, with the main objective being 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 advantages of having a B2B e-commerce platform are many and to adapt to the new trend, an e-commerce site is required. Some of these advantages are:

• Reaching new customers: by having an e-commerce site you ensure better visibility of your products, through the use of marketing strategies you can reach new customers. Customers prefer to buy online as this saves them a lot of time.
  
  
• Better customer and supplier management: by using a digital system, customer data is always recorded and this allows you to send them customised offers.
  
  
• Better reach: increase the number of their customers.
  
  
• Greater efficiency: inventory done automatically by the platform.
  
  
• Easier for customers: there is no need to physically go to the shop, so it is convenient and quick without wasting time.
  
  
• Sellers can spend more time working on their brand strategy rather than performing repetitive tasks that are done automatically in the platform.
  
  
• They retrieve information on orders placed by customers in order to 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.
  
  
• Attracting 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 limits of B2B commerce

• In B2B sales, companies often want a similar approach to B2C sales .
  
• Companies often believe that in order to make an e-commerce sale and sell in B2B, it is necessary to have price transparency, which is often difficult to do as they prefer to negotiate the 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 on the marketplace, it is necessary to establish a human relationship. Often this is very difficult with selling on an online platform.
  
  
• Customers often want to place customised orders and think that this is complicated to do in an e-commerce site, which is why some companies propose contacting them directly via email or using chat to be able to offer these customers customised quotations.

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Differences between B2B and B2C e-commerce

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

• Payment methods: 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.
  
• On 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 are not public most of the time since each customer will have a personalised quote.
  
  
• In B2C, the customer has access to various functions including the display of his history, his wishlist. In B2B the buyer has additional tools such as: account statements, invoices, credit notes, bills, estimates.
  
  
• In B2B commerce there is the possibility of managing 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.