Covid-19 and the Transformation of B2B to B2B2C

The world we live in, while often turbulent, has been turned on its head recently.

Highly variable demand for goods and services, uncertain supply of critical materials, and constrained labor and resource capacity in manufacturing and logistics are resulting in critical shortages for medical equipment and consumer necessities. These unparalleled supply chain disruptions are major contributors to the current global economic environment.

Thankfully, many companies are stepping up to handle the most urgent situation.

Change from B2B to B2B2C

Covid-19 has changed the way we work, shop or entertain. Businesses across every industry are now looking for creative ways to fulfill customer demand as efficiently and profitably as they can. One Industry that is changing fast is B2B and moving at fast pace onto B2B2C.

Pure Play B2B sales models are fast becoming obsolete and turning into B2B2C (Business to Business to Customer) model.

OEMs and FMCG companies traditionally had a B2B Model, shipping their products to wholesalers, retailers, distributors or dealers who in turn interfaced with the customer. The traditional B2B Model is channel driven and thus linear with inherent inefficiencies. 

A leading Indian manufacturer, seller and exporter of plywoods is now transforming itself into B2B2C model where they have now forayed into e-commerce space, mobile apps for customer engagement and having their own experience store. 

Some retailers have identified opportunities for e-commerce orders that can be shipped from a local store, or they offer pick-up from a store instead of shipping from a distribution center. Others look to introduce flexibility on sourcing from vendors by introducing item substitution and shipment splitting.

However as one forays into this space - a benchmark of customer experience in e-commerce space is already set by Amazon. “The last best experience that anyone has anywhere, becomes the minimum expectation for the experience they want everywhere” #greatquote #BridgetVanKralingen. 

One of the few quotes that so much resonates and relevant in 2014 and increasingly more relevant today. And anyone that falls short of that last best experience set by Amazon leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Even before one buy, you know when you will get it delivered and the delivery happens on that day or before each time and every time. Once I needed to buy a Mobile from a leading brand and went to their Online store for the same. Once ordered, I got a mail after 24 hours acknowledging the order is placed with no update on a probable delivery date. And that prompted me to cancel the order i and go back to my all season mate Amazon and its all because of the last best experience.

If we go deep into RCA, what could have gone wrong with this ? The leading OEM brand was actually much better placed than Amazon with multiple retailers around my geo location while Amazon had to ship all the way from Delhi. 

While Covid19 has altered the way consumers shop, retailers - both online and physical are attempting different models to capture consumer sentiment and preference and its the experience that’s stands between success and failure. 

They didn’t have a system which can give a real time inventory visibility of their retailers, dealers and distributors which resulted in a lost order. Its for the same reason we experience frequent stock-outs in most e-commerce sites. 

Some key asks from consumers include 

1. Ability to view accurate, real-time inventory while browsing from any channel 

2. Provide fast, on-time delivery with the ability to track status and get updates from any channel 

3. Make order changes on the fly (split shipments, locations, arrival date) from any channel 4. Choice of pick-up in store or return to store 4. Seamless Returns. 

IBM with its Sterling Order Management Solution helps in bridging this gap and thus stands #1 with twice the market share from the nearest competitor.

To know more about IBM Sterling Order Management and IBM Sterling Control Tower visit https://www.ibm.com/in-en/products/order-management https://www.ibm.com/in-en/products/inventory-control-tower

N.B. : The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies, or opinions.