eProcurement establishing itself as the New Normal
▻ A few months ago we analysed the five main reasons why companies are seeking new eProcurement solutions. We took a look at how digitalisation is reshaping the market, being a not only a booster for efficiency, productivity and transparency in daily operations, but also a way to reduce geographic distances and guarantee immediacy in communications without sacrificing human interactions. An aspect, the latter, which 70% of B2B buyers still consider fundamental.
Historically, the online channel wasn’t valued as a core sales strategy for B2B enterprises. When they existed, most of websites used to be shop windows or catalogs, intended more for showcasing products rather than actual total-package marketplaces. Despite getting off to a slower start compared to their B2C counterparts, B2B eCommerces are rapidly catching on as the buyers’ demographic changes, carrying new procurement habits along.
In today’s world, 74% of B2B buyers admittedly research at least half of their work-related purchases online. Since suppliers must be where their customers are, the B2B sector is evolving: back in 2015, a Google survey was already warning that the new B2B audience was younger and online, with about a half of all B2B researchers being millennials.
In this regard, it’s always worth mentioning that behind a buyer lies an individual that habitually surfs the most popular eCommerces to buy personal stuff and that, during the pandemic era, the popularity of this practice sky-rocked. Individuals instinctively replicate their B2C online personal habits even when they find themselves in a B2B context. They look for the same user experiences, the same itineraries, same signals, same reference points: up to eight times out of ten, customer experience impacts B2B buying decision more than price and actual offering.
This is the reason why at Sino LifeScience we decided to recreate a B2C-focused eProcurement platform that allows B2B buyers to easily sign in and quickly become acquainted with the intuitive environment. We managed to make this possible without sacrificing some B2B features we value of paramount importance, such as the possibility to privately negotiate individual sales conditions or to promptly get in touch with our sales team that can take care of the whole purchasing cycle.
According to estimates made by Forrester on the US market, business-to-business eCommerce is forecasted to rise with a 10% compound annual growth rate over the next few years, highlighting the endless potential for B2B digital businesses. Data explain why eProcurement is definitely going to establish itself as the New Normal even for the small and medium-sized enterprises of our industry, as online search tools enable modern customers to research, find and purchase ingredients easier than ever before.
