Digital evolution: Impact on growth, reach and potential of B2B E-commerce

The digital disruption of B2C e-commerce was trending. The brick-and-mortar stores, which had been in business for years, suddenly had new and robust competition. But what didn't come in that fascinating picture of digital evolution was the seemingly offline interaction between sellers and their complex channels. Despite the benefits, the retail industry failed to realise the potential of B2B e-commerce. The pandemic was all set to change this perspective!

Today, it is pretty clear that the future of B2B e-commerce is digital. The slowly and silently brewing digital evolution in the B2B sector has opened doors for many possibilities. Sellers unaccustomed with doing business online are awe-struck at the possibility of setting up their digital shops within minutes. And a fascinating part is that the digital revolution in B2B ecommerce doesn't translate to setting up a mere website.

It's more about using the machine learning technique to optimise the entire supply chain so as to transcend geographic barriers. Many B2B players are relying on artificial intelligence, big data, and business analytics to create an omnichannel experience. Digital presence is not their goal. These tech-savvy players want to optimise all the touchpoints and enter into the realm of automation which translates into customer satisfaction and brand-loyalty.

What drove this digitisation was the multiple digital options to manoeuvre supply chains. The pocket-friendly business model and higher profit margin drove the digitisation to the next level. The ecommerce industry realised that digitization is more than a phase. Beyond the supply chain automation, Innovative fintech services like buy now pay later also attracted the B2B platforms.

Additionally, B2B companies have long followed the practice of setting prices on a cost-plus basis, with a blanket increase every year irrespective of the demand. Now, many players leverage digital tools and data sets to analyse industry trends and set a customised price per the demand.

This is just one example. The many benefits of digital solutions have helped businesses increase revenues and focus on building strategies to personalize the entire business transaction. The potential of B2B businesses, including ecommerce, has grown so exponentially that the industry's spending is expected to grow multi-fold in the coming years. In fact, B2B ecommerce players raised a whopping $2 billion in 2021 alone on the back of strong digitisation.

A growing number of tech platforms have started facilitating customised and hyper-personalised solution designed to solve all the pain points under one roof. While digital adoption is certainly a giant leap, it is only the stepping stone to what's to come next. There are still a large number of B2B businesses, specially in the MSMEs, that shy away from digitisation and rely on manual business practices to operate business but this picture shall change soon.

India's B2B ecommerce presents $1 trillion opportunities in the coming years for large enterprises and startups. In the coming years, we will see an entirely new B2B ecommerce, equipped with tools to automate business operations, anticipate growth factors, and make informed decisions. It is sure to change the face of the entire ecommerce industry as we know it today.

(Inputs from Ankit Gupta, Director & CEO at ExportersIndia.com)