Omnichannel B2B for Manufacturers & Distributors
When you approach omnichannel ecommerce from a B2B perspective, everything looks different. The needs of a B2B manufacturer or distributor are totally different from a B2C business. The trouble is finding a solution that’s truly built for B2B.
In the world of omnichannel B2B, what sets Corevist Commerce apart? A real-time integration to SAP. That’s the key. Your business data lives in SAP, so omnichannel B2B ecommerce must reflect the state of your ERP system—ideally, in real time.
Here’s what that looks like.
Real-Time Inventory Availability
You’ve already established SAP ERP as the system of record for business data. It only makes sense to leverage that data for your omnichannel B2B ecommerce store. With a real-time integration to SAP, you get inventory availability that’s 100% accurate up to the moment—because it loads from SAP in real time, as your customer shops in the ecommerce store.
Real-time inventory availability can take many forms. You can show the exact number from SAP, or you can provide an available to promise calculation so your customer sees the quantity they can order from you (which may differ from the total quantity in stock).
When you show accurate inventory/ATP data to your omnichannel B2B buyers, they’ll walk away with a better customer experience because they know what to expect. That makes you Easier To Do Business With.
Real-Time Business Rules Enforcement
In the world of omnichannel B2B, not every customer is allowed to buy every product. Your SAP system may contain products for multiple markets. How do you split that out so customers see only what you want them to see?
Actually, a good omnichannel B2B solution will have this capability ready to build out and customize for your business. A solution like Corevist Commerce can suppress products that aren’t appropriate for the market in which you’re launching ecommerce.
But that’s not the only way an omnichannel ecommerce solution should enforce your business rules. It’s also in things like minimum quantity or rounding. If a product is only available in pallets of 10, you need to enforce ordering in multiples of 10. Omnichannel B2B should include support for the unique business rules that govern how your products are purchased.
Accurate Contract Pricing
You’ve negotiated contract pricing with each of your customers. That contract pricing lives in SAP, and it could vary from account to account. That’s why it’s critical that your omnichannel B2B solution include support for contract pricing.
It’s crucial that the right pricing appears when the user logs in. That’s why a good omnichannel B2B solution will include mapping between an ecommerce user and an SAP sold-to. This ensures that when a B2B buyer logs in to ecommerce, they see the pricing data, straight from SAP, that’s accurate and up-to-date for their company.
When your B2B buyers get accurate pricing on any device, you eliminate friction and stress in the buying process and become Easier To Do Business With.
100% Error-Free Orders Posted to SAP
Here’s where a good omnichannel B2B solution trumps phone/fax/email for order placement: it only accepts 100% error-free orders to post to SAP.
How? By returning error messages, in real time, as the user assembles their order.
For example, if the user types in an SKU that no longer exists (or isn’t available in that sales area), an omnichannel B2B solution like Corevist Commerce will display a message telling the user that the product is unavailable.
The same goes for products that are ordered in the wrong quantity. Anything that would force a CSR to adjust an error is automatically kicked out by our ecommerce software. That means once the user places the order, you can rest assured that it’s 100% SAP-accurate and error free. It makes you Easier To Do Business With, reduces the burden on your CSRs, and gives your customers full control over their orders.
Payments Integrated to SAP
It’s not enough to assemble the order and place it through ecommerce. If you’re giving your customers the power of self-service in this area, you should also give them the ability to pay through self-service. In omnichannel B2B, that usually means payment by invoice, but it could also mean credit card or ACH transfer.
A good omnichannel B2B solution should include support for the payment methods of your choice. And those payment methods should be integrated to SAP in real time. That way, once your customer has processed a payment, your financial data in SAP is accurate and up-to-the-minute. This eliminates friction and manual work for your accounting department.
Real-Time Order Tracking with SAP Data
The omnichannel B2B experience doesn’t end with order placement. Your B2B buyers want to know when their order has shipped, where it is now, and when it will arrive. A complete omnichannel B2B solution should include self-service order tracking for your internal users and your customers.
Why is this so important? Because it eliminates phone calls and emails to customer service, which frees up your CSRs to perform higher-value tasks. Plus it puts order tracking back in the hands of your customers. By giving them full transparency into the status of their orders, it creates buyer confidence and increases customer satisfaction.
Why Omnichannel B2B?
Satisfy evolving buyer expectations
B2B is changing. With Millennials advancing in their careers and becoming procurement managers and professional buyers, they bring the digital-first mindset with them. The self-service generation wants self-service, omnichannel B2B. When you give it to them, you become Easier To Do Business With by eliminating friction in the buying process.
Offer self-service ordering from any device
B2B roles are complex. A procurement manager may walk the factory floor, assembling orders on a company tablet. Back at her office, it may be more convenient to make adjustments to that order on her desktop computer. When she can access omnichannel ecommerce on her phone, too, that means she can place and check orders from anywhere. When you offer this kind of flexibility, with omnichannel B2B that works on any device, you meet the needs of today’s busy B2B professionals.
Integrate marketing and promotions to the buyer experience
Looking for a larger share of wallet with your most valuable accounts? Omnichannel B2B allows you to run targeted, personalized promotions within the ecommerce store. With well-crafted promotions that are relevant to the major products your customer has (or buys regularly), you can increase the value of every customer interaction.
Prepare your business for the future of commerce
The future of commerce is here, and it’s omnichannel B2B. When you launch an ecommerce solution now, you future-proof your business for the digital age. Omnichannel ecommerce allows you to sell through self-service, on your buyer’s schedule. When you eliminate friction in the buying process, you become Easier To Do Business With. That’s a huge benefit.