B2B Ecommerce

Overview

Business to business (B2B) ecommerce, also known as e-biz, is the exchange of products, services, and information between businesses online. B2B integrates systems and business processes to transform business between partners, suppliers, and customers. B2B allows businesses to purchase and order products online from other businesses and reduces transactions costs. A benefit is that a company's sales team and account managers can concentrate on generating new business.

B2B websites include the following: company web sites, product supply and procurement exchanges, specialized or vertical industry portals, brokering sites, and information sites. The value of B2B ecommerce varies depending on the supply chain strategy and the competitive environment that a company faces.

There are many ways in which a company interacts with its customers and suppliers. The interactions involve executing a transaction, determining optimal prices, discovering available supplies and unmet demands, supplying products, and planning for new and existing products.

There are three distinct applications for B2B ecommerce: reduced transaction charges, improved market efficiencies, and enhanced supply chain efficiencies. Examples of B2B business models include buy-side models, sell-side models, and e-marketplace models.

Benefits

B2B ecommerce strategy can reduce operational costs, increase sales, and strengthen relationships between trading partners. These websites can help expand your presence in the marketplace and lower your procurement costs while handling an unlimited number of products. While B2B ecommerce reduces human intervention, overhead expenses, and errors, it also increases efficiency and advertising exposure.

How It Works

Ecommerce allows business transactions between two or more parties to occur electronically. Industry buyers and sellers may choose to establish networks for the exchange of goods and services on an Internet-based marketplace. These marketplaces are built on technologies including Extensible Markup Language (XML), which facilitate data exchange, orders, purchases, and payments. A B2B system exchanges server programs and encoded files while communicating with other businesses.

There are two types of B2B websites: vertical and horizontal. A vertical B2B ecommerce website is designed to meet the needs of a specific industry, and helps build connections between business communities in order to generate new business. A horizontal ecommerce website can be used by any company that is involved in buying and selling products or services.