Every problem is a gift—without problems we would not grow.”

– Anthony Robbins

When it comes to driving wholesale revenue in your business, you cannot afford to have mediocre B2B ordering platform. A good B2B eCommerce solution provider must eradicate all your existing B2B ordering problems, so that you focus on building relationships with your customers. Trust me, you do not grow struggling with the same problems every year; you grow by eliminating them constantly.

First of all, I want you to ask yourself a few questions:

1. What if your B2B ordering is so easy, convenient, and transparent that most of your retailers or wholesale customers just want to buy online from you?
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2. What if your sales rep team focus more on getting new customers or building relationships because your B2B ordering software does most of the ordering online?
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3. What if you never have to invest in printing a single sheet of paper because your catalogue and other related papers are effectively visible as well as accessible in a better way online?
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4. What if most of your accounts team is not required because all the business is taking place online and syncing the transactions with your accounting software automatically?

Before expecting anything from your solution provider, it is important that you define your needs such as integration from other platforms like SAP, Oracle ERP etc., number of people who will be using the software, and many more.

I will leave more questions to your imagination. Also, you can find answers to some 'questions that you haven’t even thought of’ here: B2B E-Commerce: Decoding The Business ROI & Impact

Expectations from a B2B eCommerce Solution Provider

Specific to B2B processes

B2C eCommerce software like Magento, Shopify etc. is sold and retrofitted to function like a B2B eCommerce. These platforms are great for end consumers but they lack the necessary features to manage B2B wholesale process use-cases. B2C selling is all about discovery and assortments whereas building a relationship with a customer to buy bulk quantities on a regular basis, omni-channel sales approach with both sales rep and online ordering including personalised pricing, products and promotions is B2B wholesale. Can you see the stark difference of business here? Still, some people are able to believe that B2C eCommerce solutions can be used for B2B wholesale. I have written an entire blog on this one topic, so find out here in detail: Why B2C e-commerce platforms won't work for B2B.‍

API Integration

A seamless integration with your existing IT system is the quality of a good software solution. Software solution should provide API with documentation to integrate with your IT or ERP system.

Customer success

A good B2B eCommerce solution provider should have separate customer onboarding and success team which aligns your goals and expectations with the solution so that you get the value of your investment into B2B eCommerce solution.

Mobile compatibility

The productivity of your sales rep team will increase as soon as they can access the software on their smartphones. Also, customers will buy and engage more from you if they can place order from the convenience of their smartphone. Mobile compatibility is a great advantage, if unlocked, can scale your wholesale business leaps and bounds.

Better UI/UX

We are talking about building relationships here. Unlike B2C, you do not need new customers every day. You need a healthy and transparent relationship with your existing customers to retain them. Hence, your wholesale software solution must focus on creating a very powerful and engaging customer experience. UI/UX must be so impressive & convenient that even a 5 year old can do business with you through it.‍

Latest technology stack

In order to stay ahead of everyone today, one must invest in the latest technology. Your solution provider must be learning and sharing industry trends with you regularly. This ensures that the software must be updated on regular intervals to ensure that you have the best learnings and practices in industry. After all, who wants to spend resources on finding new software every 2 years.

Ensuring scalability & security

A good software results in good growth as well as profits. It is always better if your solution provider has some experience because it helps in scaling your business better as well as faster. Scalability and security should be happening on auto-run by your B2B eCommerce software.‍‍

Feedback oriented

B2B eCommerce providers should be very good listeners. With a helpful and responsive customer support team fielding questions and prioritising ongoing product roadmaps, you’ll be set up with a B2B ordering software that continues to grow and learn—and meet your expectations over time.

Now, I am sure that you have a good enough idea to find out the right software solution provider for your wholesale business. B2B eCommerce is one of the most important investments in your company’s future, so it’s not a decision that you’ll want to make lightly.

Conclusion

The B2B eCommerce solution provider you choose should

• Have a stable and scalable B2B-specific platform that meets your specifications
• Recognize the importance of your business with customer success process.
• Have an open ear toward industry trends and your business pain points

At Edistera, we are constantly working to create the best B2B eCommerce Cloud for wholesale industry. If you want to know more about our B2B eCommerce, feel free to schedule a demo with us.