The biggest challenge B2B e-commerce operations face now is the increasing expectation of their customers when they visit their sites. The functionality and useability of these sites has not kept pace with B2C e-commerce sites and the customers experience is not sufficiently good.
Why is this important?
We are all consumers and the vast majority of us regularly use online retailing for purchasing items for ourselves, our partners or our children. These B2C sites are extremely easy to use and give us a great shopping experience. However, this is not the case with business-based sites.
Driven by old technology
Whilst B2C ecommerce sites have significant investment and quickly adopt and deploy new technology, the same cannot be said of B2B. Too many sites are driven by old ERP systems for their back-end and these simply cannot support the developments that B2C routinely deliver. This means that customers get a less than optimal shopping experience.
What are the options?
There are a small number of possible options available to B2B ecommerce sites:
- Optimise what you've currently got: this is a reasonable option but it will be limited. The older your ERP system - and most companies really typically upgrade these systems every decade or so - you will only be able to deliver limited improvements. If your sector is competitive then you might be quickly left behind in this channel.
- Update e-commerce technology: this is slightly better and will give customers a better shopping experience. However, it will still be limited by the ability of the ERP platform to deliver more quickly and more flexibly. Sticking to this will probably require more investment over time.
- Update both ERP and webstore technology: this is the best option as it will allow your site to become nimble and up to date. It will also give future flexibility as the architecture is already in place to allow fast deployment of developments. It will keep you at the forefront of your sector and allow greater share of online shopping channels (which are increasingly important in B2B)
- Do nothing: this is an option but we would not recommend it. If you've decided that e-commerce is an important sales channel then investment and development is required.
Getting ERP and ecommerce integrations right
The integration between these two systems is critical for a fully functioning B2B online store now and in the future. It allows for a great user experience - equivalent to the B2C sites we all know and use - and allows for future development too. If an online channel is important to your business then this is something you will need to address.
This is too difficult
Online retailing is here to stay and if you consider this is too difficult then you can get help with 3rd party integrations with ERP systems.
If you liked this blog then you might also like this previous blog too: http://inbound.itqsolutions.net/blog/what-to-look-for-in-an-e-commerce-solution