[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/08\/20\/the-top-10-e-commerce-capabilities-to-drive-the-most-online-success\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/08\/20\/the-top-10-e-commerce-capabilities-to-drive-the-most-online-success\/","headline":"B2B: Top 10 e-commerce capabilities to drive the most online success","name":"B2B: Top 10 e-commerce capabilities to drive the most online success","description":"Today\u2019s B2B customer increasingly interacts online and when doing so, they expect the same retail experience as when shopping for themselves.","datePublished":"2018-08-20","dateModified":"2023-03-23","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/kevin-murray\/#Person","name":"Kevin Murray","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/kevin-murray\/","identifier":240,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ca17440174fba364f85d5dfd0855a9ec58f7fb5f2ebaa9663778cf74dc2b904?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ca17440174fba364f85d5dfd0855a9ec58f7fb5f2ebaa9663778cf74dc2b904?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\/2018\/08\/thumbnail-84c376603a19d55a45efe694d8ebbe0f.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/thumbnail-84c376603a19d55a45efe694d8ebbe0f.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/08\/20\/the-top-10-e-commerce-capabilities-to-drive-the-most-online-success\/","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"]},"Wholesale Distribution"],"wordCount":865,"keywords":["B2B","E-commerce","SAP Partners","What Is E-commerce"],"articleBody":"The growth of online sales is apparently the greatest business concern for wholesalers, but very few would be able to list even three of the top 10 e-commerce capabilities available to them. While it\u2019s clear that wholesalers largely realize the importance of delivering a multichannel commerce experience, very few are able to offer their customers fully functional e-commerce.It\u2019s no longer enough to provide on the most basic e-commerce functionality \u2013 today\u2019s B2B customer increasingly interacts online and when doing so, they expect the same retail experience as when shopping for themselves.To deliver the online experience business buyers demand, electrical wholesalers need to adopt\u00a0strategies that incorporate approaches and best practice from their B2C counterparts.This means not only being able to support self-serve and full-service buying across online and offline touchpoints, but also delivering personalized digital commerce experiences and offering innovative fulfillment options.However,\u00a0B2B is not simply a copy of B2C commerce, which predominantly focuses on providing a rich and\u00a0engaging experience.As an electrical wholesaler moving into e-commerce, success starts with a foundation of an easy shopping experience. With this in mind, we have put together a guide of the top ten things to look for in a B2B e-commerce platform.Here is a summary of our top top 10 e-commerce capabilities that leverage online selling to drive growth:1. Real-time, customer specific pricingIndividual pricing lists need to be available to your customers across all buying channels, in real time.\u00a0This\u00a0means having a system that supports continual\u00a0price changes at an individual SKU level that\u00a0could be different for each customer accessing\u00a0the system.2. Quick order & reorder\/auto-replenishmentDue to the high frequency of component\u00a0ordering, your customers frequently know\u00a0exactly what they want and increasingly depend\u00a0on eCommerce to quickly locate and purchase\u00a0the products they need. These customers need\u00a0to be able to easily enter in a long list of items\u00a0they want to purchase, but also to be able to\u00a0bulk order items they have recently ordered.3. Bundle and tiered pricingMany products offered by electrical wholesalers\u00a0are very low cost and often it isn\u2019t worth listing\u00a0or selling products unless they are grouped into\u00a0larger bundles or tiers of packs.\u00a0The B2B commerce platform therefore needs to allow\u00a0the business to group and price products in\u00a0a way where they can be easily marketed,\u00a0merchandised and purchased.4. Future stock availabilityVisibility of overall stock and Available To\u00a0Promise rules are critical in managing the\u00a0supply chain. Without this, customers may\u00a0decide to abandon their shopping journeys or\u00a0not come back to shop at all, even though thewholesaler is about to receive stock imminently.5. Customer self-service and administrationCorporate buyers will often have customer hierarchies for approval workflows and processes. Ensure your system has the capabilities to empower customers to build and configure their own users, cost center hierarchy and workflow. This means they can administer the buying limits and approvals themselves, reducing administration and overall costs for you.6. Invoice and credit reportingB2B customers have lots of needs related to\u00a0reporting on order invoicing, returns and credits.\u00a0\u00a0The cost to manually gather and send this data to your\u00a0customers can be high. Make sure that the\u00a0system automates the sending of reports and allows customers to access the data themselves.7. Procurement integrationAs digital transformation continues to\u00a0occur across the electrical wholesale sector,\u00a0businesses will need to provide technical\u00a0integration support to their customers to be able\u00a0to facilitate the use of their own procurementsystems in the purchase process. Those that offer this facility earlier than their competition will capitalize on acquiring new large account customers.8. PersonalizationThe top priority of B2B retailers is to create a unique and personalized experience through innovation in technologies. Delivering tailored experiences have been shown to have a direct impact on conversionrates and customer loyalty.9. Contextual assistanceProviding support to a customer base during\u00a0their buying process is a key expectation of\u00a0electrical wholesalers.\u00a0Enabling your representatives to login to the\u00a0same system as the customer and share the\u00a0completion of their basket, giving them the\u00a0same experience the customer is having, will\u00a0help resolve issues much more effectively and\u00a0quickly.10. CloudYour focus should be on\u00a0driving revenue and reducing costs, rather\u00a0than producing and managing technical\u00a0infrastructure. Harnessing cloud-based systems\u00a0provides cost savings and flexibility to the\u00a0business.Summing up the top 10 e-commerce capabilitiesEvolving with the market\u2019s changing needs is important to ensure your business survives and thrives.\u00a0It is imperative that electrical wholesalers respond quickly to retain their share of the business.Today\u2019s leading B2B commerce suites consolidate the management\u00a0of multiple business models, channels and markets onto a single platform, giving you many more\u00a0complex capabilities like the ability to manage complex pricing, quote workflows, advanced product\u00a0configuration, branded microsites and even global inventory allocation.  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. Get the details\u00a0HERE.\u00a0This post was first published on Greenlight Commerce, and is syndicated here with permission."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2018","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"20","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/\/08\/\/20\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"B2B: Top 10 e-commerce capabilities to drive the most online success","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2018\/08\/20\/the-top-10-e-commerce-capabilities-to-drive-the-most-online-success\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]