B2B eCommerce continues to be a misunderstood technology. Many businesses either ignore B2B eCommerce or shy away from it because they do not understand it. B2B eCommerce is a fuzzy thing to get your hands around. B2B eCommerce is fuzzy because people cannot see it or touch it like you can with computer hardware or software.
B2B eCommerce Definition. B2B eCommerce in its essence is an interface, an electronic interface between two or more businesses to exchange business documents.
Challenge in Determining the Value of a B2B Interface. It is hard to place a real value on B2B eCommerce. It is just a collection of electronic data interfaces. Is there really any value to this fuzzy technology? What value can you place on a B2B electronic data interface like you can place a value on a piece of hardware or a software license?
B2B “Interfaces” Are Key For Businesses to be Competitive. For most of us a “interface” is usually forgotten unless it is not working. When it is not working everyone notices. An example of an interface not working is an unplugged computer. B2B eCommerce is the same way for businesses. Without at least some electronic data interchanges between suppliers and customers, most medium and large businesses would not be competitive and would go out of business. B2B eCommerce is critical for a business to maximize the value of its internal assets and to leverage external business relationships.
Not just “plugging in” your business, but supercharging it. B2B eCommerce is a little more than “plugging in” your business. It is more like supercharging your business and maximizing the use of your internal assets and your external business relationships. Many businesses do not use B2B eCommerce interfaces such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or other methods to exchange electronic documents with suppliers and customers. If you are a small business, this may be fine, but if you are medium or large business this is costly. Not using B2B eCommerce costs businesses in a lot of ways. The three largest costs include increased labor to process business documents, increased time-to-market cycle, and increased payment cycle. Read more about the Missed Opportunities of B2B eCommerce.
For many it is easiest to ignore or find excuses to not do B2B eCommerce because it requires change to the way you do business. Implementing B2B eCommerce is all about change: changes in technology, changes in processes, and change in people. Because change is costly and sometimes risky coupled with a technology that is hard to understand, many businesses do not take the initiative to maximize or optimize their use of B2B eCommerce. B2B eCommerce just becomes that “fuzzy” technology that you just want to shy away from unless you just have to do it.