[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/09\/16\/4-critical-steps-for-building-a-b2b-e-commerce-organization\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/09\/16\/4-critical-steps-for-building-a-b2b-e-commerce-organization\/","headline":"4 critical steps for building a B2B e-commerce organization","name":"4 critical steps for building a B2B e-commerce organization","description":"B2B e-commerce operations don\u2019t run on their own. When establishing B2B e-commerce, organizations need to create several new important roles\u2014or risk failure. Companies that are just beginning the e-commerce journey will also need to figure out how to balance in-house vs. outsourced resources. You probably won\u2019t find the e-commerce expertise and competency you need in […]","datePublished":"2016-09-16","dateModified":"2021-12-23","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/brian-beck\/#Person","name":"Brian Beck","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/brian-beck\/","identifier":182,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/97f46accbfe54d4ef9f1b1097ccd4a541d14f04f611b69e9501cfadc889bb580?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/97f46accbfe54d4ef9f1b1097ccd4a541d14f04f611b69e9501cfadc889bb580?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Zz1hNjcxYTVkMzY3MDEwNTI4NjdhMjFiZDIxOTBlYjc1Yw.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Zz1hNjcxYTVkMzY3MDEwNTI4NjdhMjFiZDIxOTBlYjc1Yw.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/09\/16\/4-critical-steps-for-building-a-b2b-e-commerce-organization\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/b2b\/","name":"B2B Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/B2B_e-commerce"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]}],"wordCount":889,"keywords":["B2B","B2B E-commerce"],"articleBody":"B2B e-commerce operations don\u2019t run on their own. When establishing B2B e-commerce, organizations need to create several new important roles\u2014or risk failure. Companies that are just beginning the e-commerce journey will also need to figure out how to balance in-house vs. outsourced resources.You probably won\u2019t find the e-commerce expertise and competency you need in your organization right away. Obtaining the incremental revenue and efficiencies available through e-commerce is an exciting prospect, but it will take some time to develop, so be patient.If you\u2019re planning to launch a B2B e-commerce initiative in the near future, consider a crawl-walk-run approach.The philosophy applies just as much to e-commerce as it does to organizational structure.How exactly can you create a well-oiled B2B e-commerce machine? Here are four tactics I\u2019ve seen numerous companies use to build out a high functioning, winning organizations that drive success with e-commerce.Start with an overarching planSuccess begins with a solid, carefully considered plan that gives a clear idea of revenue and growth potential. Before you do anything else, you need to hit the drawing board and come up with a plan that will work. Figure out the people you need, the kind of technology and e-commerce platform\u00a0you plan on using, how you\u2019ll fund your new initiative, and your target customers (considering both current customer adoption and new customer acquisition opportunities available through e-commerce).The plan should contain very specific milestones, with actions to be taken along the way. Break it down into digestible chunks \u2013 3, 6, and 12 month goals \u2013 and make sure you also have a longer term vision to put it all into context. However, don\u2019t try to boil the ocean right away. Doing too much at once is a recipe for failure.When you don\u2019t understand the needs of a successful B2B e-commerce channel, you don\u2019t have anything to work against or a business case to build into. It is critical that you don\u2019t skip this step. Start with a plan right out of the gate.Leadership is criticalYou can\u2019t expect your B2B e-commerce initiative to succeed without strong leadership coming from the top. After all, there are key hiring decisions that have to be made\u2014decisions that impact the entire organization. Existing processes will have to be updated and new working relationships and collaboration structures formed. Top management will need to keep its collective eye on the P&L.Making things trickier, you likely will need to hire before you start seeing revenue, particularly if e-commerce is a new sales channel for you. You need some push from the top to make things work\u2014all the way up to the CEO and the Board. Take a longer-term view that incorporates overall company strategy, and you\u2019ll be just fine.      Your obsession with demand gen is going to suffocate your B2B marketing                We absolutely must stop measuring B2B marketing success in terms of campaign clicks, quarterly reports, and lead volumes alone. The B2B brands who will win are the ones we\u2019ll remember.      B2C models can be a starting pointYou don\u2019t have to start completely from scratch; B2C e-commerce organizational models provide an excellent framework to draw inspiration from.Be warned, however, that these frameworks need to evolve to incorporate the nuances of B2B selling\u2014like:CRMSales force enablementWorkflows for purchasingThe importance of contentComplex pricing modelsHigh-touch, account-specific customer supportB2B-specific fulfillment methods (e.g. customer pick up, ‘will call’, sales force delivery of product, etc.)Team size and role definitions evolve along with revenue growth, and this evolution generally follows B2C examples. But the internal touch points and collaboration structures are quite different in B2B e-commerce.      Building a profitable distribution business: CX matters                The world is changing and so are B2B customers. By adapting to current trends sooner than later, distributors can realize a more profitable distribution business. Distributors that choose to stick to traditional models rather than customer-centric solution models will fall behind.      Hire B2C VeteransWhen you\u2019re looking to hire for your new B2B unit, don\u2019t dismiss candidates who only have B2C experience.\u00a0Instead…hire these people!\u00a0They already have e-commerce experience and skill sets. Blended with the product knowledge already inside your organization, they\u2019ll be unstoppable.Seeking experienced retail e-commerce professionals provides a way for B2B organizations to build a team that is deep in digital commerce, online marketing, web merchandising, e-commerce technologies, and other competencies.However, hiring organizations still need to be aware that these candidates will likely not have an understanding of their products\u2014or the nuances of B2B selling, for that matter.Be patient. Put together a blended team of e-commerce pros and product specialists from B2B ranks for maximum effectiveness.You can\u2019t expect to build a killer B2B e-commerce engine overnight. Like anything else in business, success will involve a combination of hard work and patience. Stick to it. With enough planning and hard work, you\u2019ll reap the benefits of your invested sweat soon enough.  The Industry Market Report for Retail lays out the roadmap for success. The question is: will you follow it or fall behind?"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2016","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"16","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/09\/\/16\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"4 critical steps for building a B2B e-commerce organization","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/09\/16\/4-critical-steps-for-building-a-b2b-e-commerce-organization\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]