Key findings from THE 2019 U.S. B2B ECOMMERCE MARKET REPORT Technology and competition drive rapid growth and innovation in how companies do business online B2BecNews, a Digital Commerce 360 brand SPONSORED BY:OVERVIEW SIZING UP B2B ECOMMERCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Definitions of terms 5 THE ADVANCE OF B2B ECOMMERCE WEBSITES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ABOUT OUR SPONSORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 SPONSORED Q E-procurement software that allows companies to purchase electronically from approved sellers, either via their websites or electronic catalogs, and industry-specific and more general online networks and exchanges where registered buyers and sellers do business; ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS ACCOUNT FOR A MAJORITY OF B2B SALES Percentage of 2018 U.S. B2B sales by purchasing method Source: B2BecNews EDI 32.5% E-procurement/ networks 11.0% Ecommerce sites 7.2% Manual transactions 49.3%©Copyright 2019 B2BecNews (a Digital Commerce 360 brand) once the buyer clicks to make a purchase, the transaction is completed in the procurement software, updating the financial and inventory records of both buyer and seller. E-procurement also includes exchanges, a vertical-industry or general business/industrial “many-to-many” internet network where businesses can buy and sell goods and services directly online based on the available inventory and price set by the seller or at a quantity level and price negotiated electronically between a buyer and seller. These include such vertical industry networks as GHX (Global Health Exchange), Exostar (covering such industries as aerospace/defense, energy, chemicals, life sciences and healthcare separately) and Oildex. It also includes sales through more general “many-to-many” internet networks such as SAP Ariba. B2B ecommerce: As used in this report, includes all sales through ecommerce sites and e-procurement channels. It does not include sales via EDI. Electronic transactions: Includes all sales through electronic channels, including ecommerce sites, e-procurement systems and EDI.Whats new in B2B ecommerce? B2B buyers are demanding automation, which is a huge win for sellers because it allows them to significantly lower their cost of serving their customers. Gone are the days of orders via phone, fax, email and portals. The B2B market has become more competitive in recent years as corporate buyers seek to increase operational efficiency and optimize procurement processes. B2B sellers are expected to innovate to win new business and maintain their existing customer base. How would you describe todays average B2B ecommerce buyer? Buyers want the ability to choose products, have purchases approved and dispatch data to their ERP and financial platforms seamlessly. 41% of corporate buyers are under the age of 40, and that percentage will only increase. The younger corporate buyers are familiar with fast and efficient B2C commerce and are looking for the same efficiencies in their professional lives. They increasingly prefer to use B2B ecommerce solutions rather than email or more traditional procurement workflows. What B2B ecommerce challenges do manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors currently face? Many dont provide ecommerce as an option to their customers. In fact, 80% of manufacturers and distributors process orders by hand. But most buyers do use procurement and ERP software, so the sales process is typically a complex dance involving a lot of manual data entry and back-and-forth document exchanges. This is inefficient, a waste of employee time and staggeringly expensive compared to the more modern tools that are available. What strategies can they implement to overcome these challenges? They need an ecommerce system that is equipped with punchout capabilities that can integrate the distributors online catalog with the back-office systems of buyers, allowing order data to be transferred between buyer and seller platforms quickly and efficiently. Automation accelerates transactions. To achieve this, they should partner with a vendor that specializes in providing e-procurement, ERP and commerce technologies, as well as order management systems. What kind of partner should they look for? One that provides agnostic middleware and takes a modular approach that mitigates and harmonizes specifically the interaction of data points between e-procurement and commerce. These services allow B2B sellers to seamlessly transact punchout, purchase orders, invoices and other elements based upon customer abilities and requirements. What should B2B sellers know about the current B2B ecommerce landscape? B2B sellers who dont offer streamlined systems are at a competitive disadvantage. Building an online version of your B2B catalog isnt enough; many buyers also demand automation fueled by integrations with their procurement, ERP, CRM and inventory systems. Manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors must create an e-business team that includes stakeholders from sales, marketing and IT because the B2B channel will no longer respond to a siloed approach. And the e-procurement channel in itself is a monster. B2B sellers must align internal resources and partner with a third-party vendor that knows, understands, and can bring value and scalability to your organizations efforts and abilities. SPONSORED ARTICLE An executive conversation with Brady Behrman, CEO, PunchOut2Go8 ©Copyright 2019 B2BecNews (a Digital Commerce 360 brand) & Vertical Web Media LLC. All rights reserved. Data as of March of 2019. sales. Those annual sales could reach as much as $25 billion within the next few years, former Forrester Research analyst John Bruno, now a vice president with Elastic Path, and investment analyst Colin Sebastian of R.W. Baird & Co. said in separate reports last fall, basing their projections on their own research. While some B2B ecommerce pioneers have been selling online for years, thats not the case for many manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. Thats apparent from separate surveys B2BecNews conducted in 2018 of 150 manufacturers and 126 distributors and wholesalers. Of the 276 total EDI and many e-procurement systems are designed to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers that have a prior relationship. But online shopping has trained business buyers that they should be able to search the web to research products, compare prices, find new suppliers and purchase from those suppliers websites. Despite the complexity of many business transactions, business buyers increasingly expect B2B ecommerce sites to deliver the same convenience and ease of use of retail websites they use in their personal life. Thats a big reason many manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers that sell wholesale are dedicating significant resources to launching and enhancing their ecommerce sites. Another echo of consumer ecommerce has been the growth in online marketplaces where many suppliers can sell to businesses, a process thats been accelerated by the 2015 launch of Amazon Business. Fear of Amazon is a not insignificant factor in driving many businesses to invest in B2B ecommerce. Competitors have reason to fear Amazon Business, which is growing at breakneck speed. Amazon said in late 2018 that Amazon Business was on track to surpass $10 billion in annualized THE ADVANCE OF B2B ECOMMERCE WEBSITES GETTING INTO THE GAME When do you plan on launching your B2B ecommerce site? (For companies not currently operating an ecommerce site)6 months 6 months 1 to 2 No plans or less to 1 year years to launch Source: B2BecNews, 2018 survey of 276 manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors 35.2% 23.4% 16.4% 25.0%