Integration helps 1-800-Flowers better support B2B customers - Learn more in our webinar

Personalized Shopping Paves the Way for B2B Growth

This blog explores how B2B Connected Commerce solutions provide an integrated shopping and purchasing experience that meets the high bar set by the B2C market.

Tom Roberts

CMO

Back in 2015, a Forrester article on ‘Winning In the Age of the Customer’ announced ‘the age of the customer is here.’ Now, almost a decade later, success in B2C (business to consumer) means giving customers a super-targeted and personal shopping experience.

These customer expectations are inevitably starting to inhabit the B2B space. Buyers are coming to demand the same high-quality experience from their B2B transactions as they get from their favorite B2C eCommerce sites.

Those responsible for choosing suppliers start to favor those that offer a B2C level of efficient, seamless, targeted customer experience.

Not only is this critical to winning new business, but existing customers with a better or easier experience are proven to buy more. Forbes reports that “Companies with a customer experience mindset drive revenue 4-8% higher than the rest of their industries.” We can expect this effect to be increasingly reflected in the B2B space, as digital commerce continues to grow.

How B2B Connected Commerce wins business

A recent Forbes article , ‘5 B2B eCommerce Trends to Watch’ includes ‘offering a consumer grade sales experience’, ‘elevating the customer experience’ and ‘automating key business processes’ as three of the key investment trends for B2B leaders.

In the ‘age of the customer,’ winning business is about finding new ways to enhance the experience that B2B suppliers give their buyers. B2B Connected Commerce, which bridges the gap between supplier eCommerce systems and buyer eProcurement/ERP solutions, is a key enabler for delivering the elevated, personalized experience customers expect.

B2B Connected Commerce solutions provide a competitive edge and often decide which supplier gains a larger share of a customer’s spend. It allows suppliers to give their customers a B2C-like experience by:

  • Offering negotiated pricing
  • Accessing real-time inventory levels
  • Centralizing spend

Connecting eProcurement and eCommerce platforms in real time ensures the information the buyer is working with is always accurate, up-to-date, and tailored to their requirements. Every transaction in the purchase to pay (P2P) process flows transparently and reliably across platforms.

A connected B2B PunchOut catalog behaves exactly like any B2C eCommerce site, by seamlessly integrating the buyer and supplier components of ordering from the catalog.

Approvals are streamlined, and purchase orders and invoices are managed through an automated process that eliminates or minimizes the errors and delays that happen in a manual or semi-automated process.

B2B Connected Commerce with Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

In the realm of B2B connected commerce, Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) plays a pivotal role in delivering top-notch capabilities for the ‘age of the customer.’

This approach to B2B connected commerce is characterized by a commitment to:

  • Developing, optimizing, and supporting streamlined process flows
  • Ensuring compliance and currency across evolving customer eCommerce and eProcurement platforms

Leading companies partner with specialized software firms such as TradeCentric to build, scale, and maintain these integrations for a more seamless experience.

What’s next?

To find out more about how TradeCentric can help you deliver a personalized B2B shopping experience that can win business for your organization, follow us on LinkedIn, or contact us.

Featured content

The latest news, reports and resources for B2B connected commerce.

understanding headless commerce punchout

Nigel Taylor

Blog

Understanding Headless Commerce & PunchOut

Explore how businesses are leveraging headless commerce and PunchOut to enhance their B2B shopping experience.
Read more: Understanding Headless Commerce & PunchOut

TradeCentric

Reports

PunchOut: The Future of B2B Transactions

This white paper explores the power of PunchOut, including how it's set up, the challenges it solves, and the benefits for both suppliers and their customers.
Read more: PunchOut: The Future of B2B Transactions
one hand using trackpad on laptop to view punchout catalog concepts

TradeCentric

Blog

PunchOut Catalog: What It Is and How It Works

PunchOut is a connection between a buyer's eProcurement solution and a supplier's eCommerce shopping cart. PunchOut helps suppliers provide real-time catalog pricing and availability to their buyers.
Read more: PunchOut Catalog: What It Is and How It Works

Stay up-to-date on the latest B2B trends

Get B2B connected commerce news and insights delivered monthly to your inbox.