eCommerce and digital transformation represent a huge opportunity for the wholesaler sector.
The demographic of the B2B buyer is changing and there is now an expectation that wholesalers will offer a good online ordering experience.
Wholesalers who rely solely on offline order taking are almost certainly losing customers and market share to forward thinking competitors who are embracing the new generation of buyers whose primary interaction is now online.
Quite simply, an online ordering solution is no longer a differentiator in the wholesale sector, it’s a pre-requisite, says Andrew Robathan, Director of eCommerce, TrueCommerce.
How to achieve it
It is crucial for wholesalers to recognise the complexities and specialities of B2B trading. A successful eCommerce solution for the wholesale industry must have the ease and familiarity of a B2C solution coupled with the advanced functionality required for business customers.
The TrueCommerce B2B eCommerce solution has been designed from the ground up to be a thoroughbred enterprise level platform to meet the unique needs of wholesalers. TrueCommerce’s clients benefit from a class leading user interface coupled with support for super-sized catalogues, volume-based pricing, multi-site ordering, express checkout, back order management, full customer self-service and much more.
How to choose it
So how do you know what to look for when selecting a B2B ecommerce platform and comparing eCommerce providers?
• Make sure you invest in a solution which is specifically designed to address the complexities of B2B trading, there are lots of B2C systems also being sold as B2B. Ensure your provider is a B2B specialist.
• Check your provider can successfully demonstrate the functionality you need to deliver your eCommerce strategy, if they have to go off and develop it this will add considerable risk and delay your time to value and they’re probably not a specialist.
• Does the solution offer added value such as self-service functionality or is it simply an online ordering portal? Your customer will want a solution that gives them 100% online control of their relationship with you.
• Ask for case studies. It is important that the provider understands the unique requirements of the wholesale sector and have proven experience.
What is required
A B2B eCommerce storefront can have a dramatic impact on sales, with the ability to instantly facilitate online orders from your customers 24/7 whilst increasing your international reach. The key to persuading customers to move to online purchasing is speed and efficiency, with functionality that enables quick and easy repeat ordering playing a key role.
Once your customers are trading online, sophisticated and intelligent functionality such as advanced promotions and predictive AI Re-ordering can be used to encourage your customers to increase their spend whilst improving your profit margin through increased efficiencies.
Short list a few experienced B2B solution providers today to determine which can provide the best fit solution for your business and team, the sooner you do this the sooner you can start reaping the benefits.
Now shout about it
TrueCommerce specialise in digital commerce, providing solutions which help leading wholesale organisations manage and process 100% of their digital transactions regardless of the sales channel. Our suite of interconnected applications cover EDI, eCommerce, marketplaces and PDF order conversion through to Product Information Management (PIM) and the packing and shipping of the order, all of this is underpinned by our unrivalled integration expertise.
Right from its conception 22 years ago, the TrueCommerce eCommerce platform has been a B2B focused solution. When it comes to implementation, best in class solutions can be set up without the need for weeks or even years of development and the associated cost and risk. Clients simply select the relevant features and we configure the solution as required. This means project lead times are short and costs are low. Working in conjunction with leading wholesalers we have developed an unrivalled suite of over 300 B2B features that allow us to service even the most complex B2B scenarios.
Increase sales and improve customer service, whilst improving efficiencies and reducing costs with the TrueCommerce B2B eCommerce platform.
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