Advantages of B2B Wholesale E-commerce

While many traditional B2B companies are shifting into online business, B2B wholesale ecommerce is also increasing. We’ll take a look deeper into the advantages of e-commerce for wholesalers in B2B.

What exactly is B2B wholesale e-commerce?

Wholesale ecommerce occurs when a company uses an ecommerce model to sell its products in bulk at a discounted price to another business to then resell. In general, a wholesaler acts as an intermediary between the producer and retailer or distributor. The primary benefit for wholesalers is the fact that they decreases the overall costs of running a business. When you sell items at a large scale, businesses will be able to benefit from larger orders and decrease marketing expenses. This usually results in higher profits per unit and if you’ve never been selling this way before Wholesale can be a great way to add another revenue stream into your mix of sales.

The most popular kind Wholesale arrangement that is most commonly used between retailers and producers. Wholesalers can also sell to other wholesalers and some wholesalers even offer direct sales to customers, such as Costco. Traditionally, however, you’re selling to any person other than the consumer. For instance, you may sell to:

Physical stores
Distributors and retailers
Partner websites or reseller sites
Universities and schools
Conferences and tradeshows

Today, a lot of retail ecommerce companies are selling wholesale in order to increase their growth, without making a significant cost investment, or taking huge risk. Actually, with the most suitable B2B E-commerce platform, businesses who are contemplating going wholesale can provide wholesale-specific prices and automate the entire procedure from signing up to the checkout and much more.

For more information, contact OrderCentral.

The B2B Wholesale Buying Journey is changing

Like other industries digitization is changing the way B2B wholesale buyers look for and purchase products and services. B2B customers today expect to be able to buy items online. This is logical considering that wholesale customers, like everybody else, are used to purchasing personal items online.

A new study from McKinsey reports 77% of B2B decision makers believe they are interested in purchasing new, self-service or remote purchases more than $50,000. This highlights how the access of information on the internet has changed the way B2B buyers search for and buy products. This shift towards an internet-based B2B purchase experience restricts wholesalers’ opportunities to influence purchasing purchases in the real world.

Consider, for instance you’re searching for an updated dishwasher for your home. What would you do? Most likely, you’ll look online. You’ll search for reviews, specifications and prices. Then, particularly in these days of pandemics you’ll likely make an online purchase to have your brand new dishwasher delivered to your house.

It’s now a standard method of buying items and Covid has helped accelerate this trend further. Consumers do their research and compare prices online, and then put lots of items into their buying experience online. This is also true of wholesale B2B customers.

B2B Buyers of the Millennial Generation Expect Digital Service

The shift to digital purchasing habits could be attributed to the increasing amount of millennials at the workforce. In 2020, nearly 50% of buyers in B2B are millennials and very involved in purchasing. According to an DemandGen Report, 44% of millennials believed they were the main decision-maker and 33% considered themselves to be the primary buyers in their purchasing decisions. Making sure you cater to online B2B buyers, particularly the millennials, is vital to be successful in B2B wholesale e-commerce.

6 Advantages of Ecommerce for B2B Wholesalers

E-commerce Saves Time and Resources

One of the biggest advantages that wholesale sales offer is automation. It will take less time to handle orders via phone and email, and you can focus more focused on the strategic requirements of your company. Utilizing an e-commerce platform to sell goods can also be a fantastic way to streamline manual processes that are time-consuming for wholesalers. With the proper platform, things like accounting and managing inventory can be completed with apps instead of manually.

Wholesale Ecommerce Accelerates Your Growth

Wholesale online sales are the most efficient way to boost business growth. If you’re a manufacturer selling wholesale can boost the quantity of products sold and reduce the cost per unit which can increase your profits. The bulk shipping of your products to fewer customers will reduce fulfillment costs.

Ecommerce makes your business location-independent

Wholesale e-commerce companies aren’t restricted by place of business. With a store online it is possible to connect with customers across the globe through your website as well as social media and marketplaces. The omnichannel approach means that your customers will have more chances to reach you while they shift between channels and devices.

Your Website is now an Data Goldmine

One of the main advantages of selling online is the huge amount of data it permits you to gather. If you own an e-commerce website, you have access to extremely detailed customer information and insight. The data you collect can be utilized to improve your marketing strategies and pricing, mix of products, and many more. The combination of this information with feedback from your sales staff and your customer service representatives will provide you with more insight into the needs of your customers.

Wholesale Ecommerce enables personalization

E-commerce not only allows you to offer self-service options for your customers however, you can also utilize personalization to enhance the experience of your customers. Being able to serve your customers online means that you can observe their habits and preferences, allowing you to give them the best service. For example pricing lists that are customized and catalogs could allow customers to sign up to your site and place orders for the products they are looking for without waiting for a sales representative to contact them.

With Ecommerce, You Are Able to Sell via Mobile Devices

Wholesale B2B buyers are frequently active. They might not spend their entire day at a desk or laptop. They rely instead on mobile phones for information on the products they’re interested in while they travel or at an employment site. Similar to other customers, B2B wholesale buyers want it to be quick and easy to make the purchases they’ll need.

The most important takeaways

In the current rapidly evolving ecommerce environment, B2B companies need to alter their priorities and strategies to ensure that B2B buyers receive the same quality of service and personalized experience they’ve become accustomed to in B2C buying experiences.

As we’ve learned, there are many advantages for B2B wholesalers that move into an e-commerce business model. These benefits include however, they aren’t only limited to:

E-commerce helps save time and money.
Wholesale e-commerce accelerates your business growth
Ecommerce lets your business be independent of location
Your website is transformed into a goldmine of data
Wholesale ecommerce enables personalization
Through e-commerce, you can make sales on mobile devices

With the help of an online platform that allows you to create a consumer-like shopping experience for B2B customers and integrate with your current systems to provide seamless order management, you’ll be able drive the growth of your business to a new level.

But, the transition away from the traditional channels of sales to an online business model may seem like an overwhelming undertaking. If you are considering this transition there are numerous aspects to consider to ensure you don’t get stuck and get the most value from your investment. A trusted partner can assist you in navigating the complexities of modern-day e-commerce.

While many traditional B2B companies are shifting into online business, B2B wholesale ecommerce is also increasing. We’ll take a look deeper into the advantages of e-commerce for wholesalers in B2B. What exactly is B2B wholesale e-commerce? Wholesale ecommerce occurs when a company uses an ecommerce model to sell its products in bulk at a discounted…