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2013
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E-COMMERCE REPORT
A Radical Transformation: B2B Commerce is Learning from B2C, Developing
More Touchpoints, Becoming More Consistent and More Complex
INTERSHOP, FALL 2013
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INTRODUCTION
Many companies have long overlooked the full potential of
online commerce. For the majority of businesses, the process
of bidding, negotiating, ordering, and drawing up contracts has
been conducted by telephone, through ERP systems or catalogs,
or directly with sales representatives. Major changes in channel
strategies are afoot. An increasing number of organizations are
beginning to embrace the potential of electronic and mobile
commerce, while adopting innovations and experience from
B2C commerce.
The world of B2B commerce is thus undergoing radical transformation. Just as there are many different factors driving this
change, there are many different ways in which businesses can profit from it. What really matters is the ability to recognize the
associated challenges and opportunities, evaluate them for ones own organization, and draw the right conclusions that are
sustainable in the long term.
The Intershop E-Commerce Report for 2013 provides a basis for that. It includes significantly more information than the material
presented here and we would be delighted to share our additional insights with you, e.g., on specific regions and/or industries.
Simply get in touch and together we can better understandand utilizethe ongoing transformation in B2B commerce.
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Contents
2
Introduction
...........................................................
4
...........................................................
The transformation of B2B commerce
...........................................................
Developing and designing the future of B2B commerce
14
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22
Summary
...........................................................
Closing remarks by Jochen Moll, Intershop
22
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About this study: Research methodology
24
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75%
............................................................
4
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B2B goes mobile
There are geographic and industry-specific variations in the touchpoints that companies use to present their products and services
to customers. There is, however, one touchpoint that is growing in importance everywhere: mobile.
Just over half of all companies surveyed currently use mobile touchpoints (including mobile stores and apps). Almost half of
the remaining organizations are already planning a mobile presence, we can expect to see approximately 75% of all surveyed
companies using mobile touchpoints, ahead of catalogs (48%) and telemarketing (45%).
Website
51%
48%
Catalogue
45%
Physical stores
45%
45%
The most important channels in Germany (after websites) are catalogs and dealers (both 52%) while the US leads with self-service
B2B online stores (53% compared with only 30% in the Nordic countries). In the UK, the main channels are telemarketing (62%) and
physical stores (57%), while the Benelux countries rely heavily on catalog-based marketing (58%).
Viewed by industry, the automotive sector scores highest for catalog-based marketing (60%) and physical stores (60%). The most
important touchpoints in the telecommunications sector are telemarketing (51%) and mobile (46%). In the industrial/high-tech
and pharmaceutical sectors, the majority of sales are through self-service B2B online stores (52% and 60%, respectively).
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5
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MORE CONTACT
OPTIONS: ONE IN THREE
COMPANIES WILL ADD
MORE CUSTOMER
TOUCHPOINTS
48%
25%
Online marketplaces
19%
19%
Call center
19%
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6
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Vision: More touchpoints, more consistency, more customer focus
Asked about their vision for B2B commerce, almost one-third of respondents (31%) mentioned the integration of new touchpoints,
such as mobile apps for order entry, order history, and status, as well as apps for sales representatives. Approximately one-fifth (22%
and 21%, respectively) want to add online and offline touchpoints to create a more consistent shopping experience or enable
self-service ordering with a consistent purchasing experience across multiple touchpoints.
31%
22%
21%
...........
10%
Adding more touchpoints is only half the battle. To be successful, companies need to create a consistent customer experience
across all of their touchpoints.
According to the Intershop E-Commerce Report for 2012, almost 50% of retailers surveyed believed they could increase
conversion rates and shopping cart values by using consistent marketing across multiple touchpoints. This is also true in B2B
commerce, since business buyers increasingly expect the same levels of service they are accustomed to from B2C retailers.
Companies that use this opportunity can boost customer satisfaction and, even more importantly, secure the potential for
future growth.
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57%
51%
44%
43%
42%
34%
27%
2%
............................................................
Regionally, the United States is again the pioneer: Nearly three-fourths (72%) of U.S. respondents indicated that B2B transactions are
moving from offline channels to online commerce and self-service. Nearly two-thirds (63) believed that B2B commerce is adopting
best practices from the B2C sector.
Pharmaceuticals is the sector with the most dynamic B2B commerce transformation. In this industry, 77% of respondents agreed
with the statement that B2B commerce is shifting from offline to online and self-service.
....
? ....
....
B2B
...........................
B2C
?
The most important factor according to respondents are customer expectations (81%). This is closely followed by a number of
similarly weighted drivers, including the fact that customers are now applying B2C expectations when using B2B commerce (70%).
This is a classic example of what is being termed the consumerization of IT. Across the board, survey respondents agreed that the
world of B2B commerce is evolving fast, and that B2C trends are being reflected in the B2B environment.
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9
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Customer demand/expectations
Developing technology, permitting what was
impossible before
74%
73%
72%
71%
71%
71%
70%
Logistics/demand chain
Supplier/supply chain
Board/shareholder expectations
68%
64%
62%
Among the factors specific to e-commerce are the possibilities offered by new technologies (74%), the use of mobile devices
and social networking (71%), and the fact that business buyers communicate with their peers across various offline and online
touchpoints and consult multiple sources of information during the decision-making process (73%). The latter factor is particularly
important in the pharmaceutical sector (90%).
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10
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Major challenges
Given the radical changes in B2B commerce, it is hardly surprising that almost all of the organizations surveyed (96%) are facing
challenges. Half of them find it difficult to provide intuitive and user-friendly interfaces for multiple touchpoints, such as B2B online
stores, mobile apps, etc. A similar number (48%) stated that it is difficult to manage complex organizational structures, such as
different user roles, multiple business models, multiple commerce touchpoints, and multiple data domainsparticularly in the
high-tech sector (60%). In addition, almost half of all respondents faced the challenge of convincing their offline customers to use
e-commerce and self-service, as well as providing flexible and responsive customer service. This task is viewed as particularly difficult
in the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors (67% and 57%, respectively).
UNNECESSARY CONCERNS?
COMPANIES THAT HAVE YET TO ENTER THE WORLD
OF E-COMMERCE SEE GREATER OBSTACLES THAN
COMPANIES THAT ARE ALREADY ACTIVE ONLINE
There is, however, one clear point of difference between respondents. More than half (61%) of companies that are currently planning
to introduce online commerce think convincing existing customers to make the switch to online and self-service alternatives will be
a challenge. Among companies that already have an online presence, only 45% considered this to be a challenge. The latter group of
companies appear to have better marketing and more powerful touchpoints through which they can stimulate customers to shop
online. In fact, the majority of these organizations have probably already overcome this particular challenge.
In addition, there are significant differences with regard to returns and inventory management. Half of the organizations that are
not yet online anticipate problems, while only 31% of businesses that are already online have concerns. As we can see, the reality of
online selling can often differ greatly from prior expectationsusually in a positive way.
50%
48%
47%
46%
33%
32%
14%
11
4%
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12
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49%
44%
43%
41%
38%
37%
37%
33%
33%
33%
31%
................
28%
3%
Organizations that develop their B2B commerce channels now and offer a consumer-like experience will be well placed to
compete in their markets. However, it is also important that they master the complex requirements and specific characteristics
of the new touchpoints.
The effort will be worth it in the long run. In a separate survey, Intershop looked at the percentage of revenue that B2B
organizations invest in e-commerce each year and compared this with how e-commerce contributes to total annual revenue.
The findings showed that organizations get back more than they put in, and that e-commerce delivers a good return
on investment.
13
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77%
75%
74%
73%
72%
71%
70%
68%
Personalization
A/B testing
57%
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14
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When considering their B2B e-commerce site, 55% of organizations would like to enable B2B buyers to better manage routine orders,
for example, by setting up automatic re-ordering using the previous orderalready a standard feature on many B2C websites.
In addition, 51% would like to give customers the ability to access the B2B store directly from an ERP system, including all the
familiar buying features. In the retail and pharmaceutical sectors in particular, companies would like to enable their B2B customers
to customize the storefront based on their own purchasing policies.
55%
51%
44%
43%
40%
37%
36%
26%
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15
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16
.............................................................
3%
This is a good thing and its something we are
trying to encourage
21%
63%
13%
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17
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6%
17%
50%
28%
No
Of those organizations that say mobile commerce will be important in the next 12 months, a total of 65% are planning to create a
mobile-optimized store version that allows business buyers to view products, to purchase, to access their account profile, and to
track orders. 56% would like to develop a mobile app that enables business buyers to view products, negotiate prices, buy more
easily, and track their orders.
.........
Adding more touchpoints is only half the battle. To be successful, companies need to create a consistent customer experience
across all of their touchpoints.
According to the Intershop E-Commerce Report for 2012, almost 50% of retailers surveyed believed they could increase
conversion rates and shopping cart values by using consistent marketing across multiple touchpoints. This is also true in B2B
commerce, since business buyers increasingly expect the same levels of service they are accustomed to from B2C retailers.
Companies that use this opportunity can boost customer satisfaction and, even more importantly, secure the potential for
future growth.
18
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Complexity: B2B customer service and cross-touchpoint functionality
Most organizations use more than one touchpoint to communicate with their B2B customers. These include telephone contact
(88%), e-mail (80%), and chat functionality (59%). The latter is particularly widespread in the United States at 76%. In Germany,
companies rely more on telephone contact (95%), while chat is much less common (33%).
Most organizations consider it importantthat their customer service representatives can access order and account information
e.g., order status data (78%) and technical support information (75%)and edit the customer account page (75%).
For 74%, it is important to provide B2B customers with access to user guides, upgrades, downloads, news, press releases, and FAQs.
In the high-tech and pharmaceutical sectors, this proportion is even higher (80% and 83%, respectively).
Of all the possible multi-touchpoint services that organizations can provide, purchase online, pick up in store is the most popular:
68% offer this service already or are planning to offer it. Purchase online, return in-store is another service that many companies
either already offer or would like to offer (54%). Proper consideration must be given here to the way in which the technologies
used at these touchpoints are integrated.
Just over half (51%) have or plan to implement a store locator. Not surprisingly, the store locator is more important (62%) to
companies that have already found mobile commerce important for over six months.
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19
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68%
54%
51%
Store locator
Mobile coupons
37%
29%
Print QR-codes
None
13%
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20
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To support B2B commerce across multiple touchpoints, almost all (97%) organizations surveyed have plans to add new functionalities
to their commerce platform. Accordingly, 59% plan to include features for tracking order status online. The next most popular services
are the ability to search shared and in-store inventories (48%), order routing (47%), and online ordering with in-store collection (44%).
In the automotive and pharmaceutical industries, cross-border fulfillment was another important new feature, with 60% and 53%
respectively planning to implement the capability.
59%
48%
Order routing
47%
44%
44%
40%
3%
None of these
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SUMMARY
The dramatic transformation of B2B commerce is impossible to overlook. B2C commerce trends drive progressive organizations to
advance their online B2B platforms while laggards slog through bureaucracy, complexity or simply the reluctance to change.
Whatever the current attitudes, online commerce is here to stay, and mobile commerce continues to gain acceptance. There is a
long list of factors driving B2B transformation that must be considered. They include the B2C experience and resulting expectations
among business buyers and their colleagues, the sharing of opinions about that experience, social networks, mobile applications,
the response from competitors, and of course the technical capabilities of the latest e-commerce solutions. Addressing all of these
factors while achieving corporate growth targets is one of the most significant challenges facing modern enterprises.
In order to succeed, organizations must create an appealing B2B shopping environment, implement as many touchpoints as
possible in a way that is intuitive, user-friendly, and consistent, and master the complex systems required for these offerings while
streamlining internal processes. And they must do it all faster and better than their competitors. Often it is possible to apply concepts,
experience, and technologies from the world of B2C commerce. Although not always interpreted in the same way, the term used to
describe this development is consumerization.
In many respects, American companies and the pharmaceutical industry already appear to be one step ahead. Although each
market and sector has its own specific requirements, it may be worth studying these two in greater detail as they could well offer a
glimpse into the future.
Along with many other findings, this report confirms that the ability to recognize challenges, find appropriate solutions in a timely
fashion, and adapt accordingly is key to achieving a strong competitive edgeand with it the opportunity to help shape the future
of B2B commerce.
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22
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.....
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mobile commerce?
What action do organizations plan to take to develop their B2B offerings over the next 12 months?
The study was conducted by Vanson Bourne, a market research company specializing in technology.
Vanson Bourne interviewed 400 senior IT and business decision makers from merchants with a B2B focus and annual online revenues
ranging from $1 million to more than $100 million, in April and May 2013.
75% of respondents came from the following sectors, which were selected on account of the relative maturity of their sales models:
automotive (30), industrial/high-tech (88), retail (89), pharmaceuticals (30), and telecommunication (63). The remaining 25% came
from other sectors. 120 interviews were conducted in the USA, 60 each in the UK, France, Germany, and Nordics, while 40 were
conducted in the Benelux countries.
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Intershop Communications AG
Intershop Tower, 07740 Jena, Germany
Phone: +49 3641 50-0
fax: +49 3641 50-1111
info@intershop.com
www.intershop.com
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