6 July 2023
Most of us have engaged in eCommerce one way or another and are likely to frequent our tried and tested online providers for years to come. We can navigate B2C eCommerce comfortably and enjoy the ease of finding great products, seamless services, and fast delivery. In fact, the eCommerce user experience (UX) continues to get better, faster, easier, and more efficient.
But what about B2B eCommerce? It is a massive marketplace that continues to grow at a staggering rate. According to Grand View Research’s paper Business-to-Business E-commerce Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report, the B2B eCommerce size, valued at USD 7,907.07 billion in 2022, is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.2% from 2023 to 2030.
Says the report: Technological proliferation, such as the application of cloud technology and artificial intelligence, has enabled the B2B e-commerce market to offer improved customer experience. The internet has emerged as a tool for connecting buyers and sellers more effectively. Internet capabilities have a profound impact on an organisation’s value chain.
“Manufacturers like Schneider Electric are in an emerging and central role of this trend. We are focusing on understanding the drivers of adoption to enable us to succeed in this evolving and disrupting channel. Importantly our value chain partners are strategically placed to benefit the most from this growth opportunity,” says Ahmed El-Besary, Vice President, Channel Sales & Marketing. Anglophone Africa, MEA at Schneider Electric.
“We are also finding that businesses are expecting an always on, always available omnichannel service. This means, that we must respond and interact with our partners in
real -time, whether through online chat, messaging apps, mobile in-app support and so forth; the response needs be swift and efficient,” he adds.
The B2B eCommerce growth is also driven by heightened expectations; increasingly business buyers want information to be easily searchable and presented in a transparent, consistent, and engaging manner.
“The partnership model is evolving; together with our valued partners we need to improve the B2B eCommerce experience by generating more demand and creating a seamless customer experience across all channels,” comments El-Besary.
Schneider Electric is dedicated to understanding the customers and their eCommerce buying experience. “In the Anglophone Africa region we are working towards creating a B2B eCommerce website that provides both distributors and businesses with a sophisticated interface, providing access to large and broad offer families and enriched data.
“In turn, enriched data provides high quality and high quantity information, pictures, important product descriptions, and exhaustive datasheets. All of this make the user’s eCommerce seamless and enjoyable,” concludes El-Besary.
