A Look at How B2C is Influencing B2B eCommerce

With businesses looking to get a share of the mindspace of the customer, it is B2C ecommerce that attracts the most attention in the eye of the media. But across the world, it is B2B ecommerce that is driving sales. But the explosion of B2B ecommerce has meant that some quintessential B2C characteristics have spilled over to the B2B market as well. This article takes a look at both these models and some of their commonalities.

The B2B space

In the one to many B2B ecommerce business model, companies have their own online B2B store in which customers can purchase goods. This is a simple model but requires a well-oiled, sophisticated supply chain infrastructure to back it. 

 

B2B online sales isn’t going anywhere, it is here to stay for the long run. And the growth of B2B ecommerce is mainly going to come from the surge in mobile phone buying across the world. This has set off a race among companies to put out mobile versions of their products as the smartphone era has got people buying and selling with abandon at the touch of a screen.

The B2C impact?

In the many-to-many model, many companies join to form an extensive private network, or a marketplace that is open to suppliers of all hues. Now, this is administered by a third-party who has the expertise necessary to see it through. 

 

Studies have shown that B2B companies can greatly reduce their costs if only they guided customers to an online ecommerce environment that is self-service oriented. But the crucial difference between B2B and B2C comes with fluctuation of prices. With customer-specific prices and discounts that vary based on who is selling how much, B2C has much more of unpredictable price changes than its content counterpart. 

 

So how exactly has B2C influenced B2B ecommerce? Well, in many important areas:

• Customization
• Making catalogs more attractive
• Inventory availability in real time

With facilities like real-time inventory availability, B2B has made itself more attractive to the lay businessman because it does away with unnecessary third-party links in the supply chain. Add customer reviews to customization and personalization and you get an almost B2C-like environment!