B2B manufacturers do not always need full ecommerce. See how customer self service, ecommerce, and the middle ground fit different digital buying needs.

For manufacturers, B2B ecommerce strategies are as varied as the markets they serve. Every manufacturer’s distribution relationships work differently, and that has a huge impact on which strategies are appropriate at a given organization.

Whether it’s ECC or S/4HANA, your business lives in SAP ERP. If you’re going to do B2B ecommerce—and you should—then clearly, these two systems will need to share data through a reliable integration.

A recent webinar from SAP Insider offers a comprehensive checklist of key tasks for launching S/4HANA. The webinar breaks the process down into 3 phases—“Ready, Set, Go, and Win”—and gives details on each phase. It’s a fantastic resource for anyone facing an S/4HANA implementation.

For some organizations, B2B ecommerce is the impossible dream. How do you get from phone, fax, and email orders to a world-class B2B ecommerce experience?

For SAP companies, one thing looms on the horizon: migrating from ECC to S/4HANA. This is a huge undertaking, and it requires the full attention of the IT department.

SAP’s recent CX Live event, in New York, offered an in-depth perspective on the question of composable commerce. Gartner speaks highly of this architecture, while Forrester’s 2023 Commerce Predictions report offers caveats about composable commerce.

There’s a big shift underway in manufacturing customer service. When it comes to routine inquiries about pricing, orders, and invoices, some customers are tired of phone, fax, and email interaction. They want self-service, which usually means a B2B portal.

Manufacturers struggle to define best practices in B2B eCommerce. There's plenty of digital ink spilled on the topic, but most of it covers the needs of distributors, wholesalers and retailers who are trying to get into B2B. Those scenarios are vastly different from the challenges that manufacturers face.

B2B marketplaces are experiencing skyrocketing growth. As DigitalCommerce360 reports, marketplace sales are projected to grow 130.1% in 2022, to $130 billion—up from $56.5 billion in 2021.

COVID placed a moratorium on in-person selling. Manufacturers scrambled to launch self-service B2B portals that allowed customers to place orders, track orders, and get real-time pricing and availability.

Manufacturers need to launch B2B customer portals––yet challenges abound. Competing internal priorities, lack of resources, and looming upgrades to S/4HANA can scuttle a B2B portal project.