Today’s B2B buyers expect the same levels of service and convenience offered by the retail sector – both offline and online. In New Zealand, Southeast Asia and India, for example, 81% of professional buyers “expect a consumer-grade digital experience” from B2B websites. For manufacturers, distributors and legacy brands with long-established traditional supply chains and little background or expertise in ecommerce, this can be especially challenging.
It’s a challenge the most successful businesses have recognized they need to meet. Especially as a combination of factors – ranging from the rise of B2B mobile commerce to the collaborative nature of purchases and the increasing number of digital natives and millennials in the workforce – means the B2B sector’s move online is only set to accelerate in the years ahead.
The good news is the global phenomenon of B2B ecommerce represents a huge opportunity. In the second-leading manufacturing nation, China, the B2B ecommerce industry’s value is set to reach US$350 billion by 2024.Forrester forecasts that US B2B ecommerce will be worth $1.8 trillion by 2023.
