[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/10\/19\/what-b2b-companies-need-to-know-before-selecting-an-ecommerce-platform\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/10\/19\/what-b2b-companies-need-to-know-before-selecting-an-ecommerce-platform\/","headline":"Choosing the best B2B e-commerce platform: 3 steps to success","name":"Choosing the best B2B e-commerce platform: 3 steps to success","description":"End your analysis paralysis and learn the top three tips for choosing a B2B e-commerce platform that fits your business needs. ","datePublished":"2016-10-19","dateModified":"2021-09-07","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\/10\/thumbnail-91d17ae07d4e8135f92bc9a2f221ee9a.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/thumbnail-91d17ae07d4e8135f92bc9a2f221ee9a.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/10\/19\/what-b2b-companies-need-to-know-before-selecting-an-ecommerce-platform\/","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"]},"Commerce Platforms + Software",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/e-commerce\/","name":"E-Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E-commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q484847"]}],"wordCount":768,"keywords":["B2B","B2B E-commerce","E-commerce"],"articleBody":"You know the future of e-commerce is here, and you need a strategy, but you\u2019re in analysis paralysis – with so much competition, how do you choose the best B2B e-commerce platform?Your first and perhaps greatest hurdle is selecting the right platform (or re-platform). It\u2019s a significant investment of time and money that can yield real returns and competitive advantages for manufacturers, distributors, and brands if done correctly.Mid-market B2B companies invest anywhere from $250,000 to several million dollars and spend about nine months to two years to launch an e-commerce presence.Making the wrong platform decision has serious consequences.It\u2019s better to invest time now to document your requirements, compare platforms, and understand how your organizations and processes need to evolve if you\u2019re going to take advantage of an e-commerce platform.      The new B2B customer journey: Winning the moments that matter                The B2B customer journey is changing as buyers begin to expect B2C experiences at work. Smart B2B businesses are realizing new growth by adjusting CX.      How to choose the best B2B e-commerce platform for your companyFirst, you need to understand why you need an e-commerce platform.These are top three keys to selecting the platform that’s best for you:Understand what’s driving your business, from products to vendorsComplete an assessment to understand if you have the staffing in place to support a platform changeDo a systems review, from search to post-sale and make sure you’ve thought of the technologies needed at each stageUnderstand your business driversBecause of the \u201cAmazon Effect,\u201d 88 percent of business executives are purchasing products and services online. They now expect consumer-level experiences from their B2B partners. Companies are feeling market and customer pressure to invest in e-commerce because they want to:Participate in many-to-many marketplaces (i.e. Alibaba and AmazonSupply)Shift procurement to the internet from EDIPlace orders from their mobile devicesEmpower their sales force to become strategic, reducing manual tasks and enabling off-hours orderingThese are some of the broad drivers of B2B e-commerce. Your company might care about something different. But if you don\u2019t have a clear understanding of your needs, you\u2019ll solve the wrong problem.After all, 27 percent of B2B transactions are expected to move online by 2020. You need to be there if you want to meet and exceed customer expectations, empower your sales force, create efficiencies, and build competitive advantage.Now that we understand our stakeholders\u2019 needs, let\u2019s examine our capabilities.      Best examples of B2B e-commerce: Companies winning the game                B2B buyers have changed. How are companies keeping up? Here are five brands that provide shining examples of B2B e-commerce.      Perform a realistic self-assessmentIf your organization isn\u2019t ready to tackle e-commerce, it doesn\u2019t matter how well you understand why you need a solution. You won\u2019t have the support, resources, or strategic alignment to get the job done.What are your current capabilities? Do you have people who can run with an e-commerce project, to set it up or own the platform once it\u2019s live?Do you understand your current processes (sales, service, inventory, fulfillment, etc.) such that they can be automated through e-commerce, or at least supported and made more efficient?\u00a0 With e-commerce, your customers can track their orders, address questions online (product, technical, installation, and otherwise), and generally self-service. In turn, you get a new level of insight and analytics on your customers\u2019 preferences.If you\u2019ve got your internal resources lined up, great. But is e-commerce central to your company\u2019s overall strategy? If it isn\u2019t a priority, you increase the odds of failure. Strategy alignment is a must before embarking on a platform search.Answer these questionsHere\u2019s a quick checklist for you:Do you understand your company\u2019s overall strategy and competitive differentiators?Have you assessed your current resources (and identified the resource gaps)?Have you clearly defined and outlined your e-commerce opportunity?Have you documented your system requirements?Do you have a detailed and objective platform selection process?If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you\u2019re not ready to select a platform. Retrench.But if you have five “yes” answers, you\u2019re ready. You can select a platform that will last you seven to 10 years (at least).It\u2019s time to start preparing for growth.  Every digital moment matters.Are you making the most of them?1,000 business leaders dish on how to stand out from the crowd with a great CX. 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