Is Your Website a Slacker? The Value of Integrated e-Commerce in Wholesale Distribution

Did you know that 89% of companies compete based on the customer experience? E-Commerce is more than shopping! It is a strategy and not a transaction. B2B customers now want the same sophistication as that found on B2C websites.  For wholesale distribution companies to succeed in today’s digital world, they must have a competitive e-Commerce platform.

What are the requirements such a platform must meet to ensure companies like yours thrive?  The list is long, but the top requirements are:

• Go Mobile: Using responsive web design, your site automatically adjusts screen sizes and capabilities to different devices – computers, mobile phones or tablets.
• Make it Relevant and Personalized: Provides a single system of record for customer information, interactions and transactions. Using NetSuite, you can segment customers to drive engaging and personalized shopping experiences, marketing campaigns and promotions.
• Increase Order Value: Dynamic merchandising makes it easy to present upsell and cross-sell options to your customers and suggest related products based on your specific merchant-driven rules, including browsing behavior, items in a cart, best sellers or higher margins.
• Focus on User Engagement: Your business can offer an appealing B2C-like customer experience with:
  • faceted navigation which enables shoppers to find products by categories and attributes
  • site-search which provides capabilities like type ahead recommendations and customized search criteria settings to optimize results,
  • searchandising which promotes products in search results based on search keywords and phrase
  • product imagery which showcases products with an enhanced product gallery and zooming capabilities
  • social sharing which increases user engagement by allowing content to be shared on popular social networks
  • rating and reviews which enable brand enthusiasts to share their insights and experiences about products

What does the online B2B buying experience look like? It’s user-friendly, well merchandized, secure, has a quick and seamless checkout path, works from any device, has facets (the ability to drill into the exact item based on user selectable fields) and relevant ”Google-Like” search. In other words, it is very similar to the B2C digital transaction.

If your company does not have an e-Commerce platform or if it’s not effective, you are not alone. A digital paradox exists:

• 98% of B2B sellers value the importance of delivering a high-quality buying experience — one that is convenient, efficient and saves time-to their buyers.
• The same 98% of B2B sellers also face challenges in delivering a superior buying experience.

Common challenges with meeting the everchanging customer digital demands include:

• Complex implementation and maintenance
• Lack of technical resources
• Technical issues
• Lack of knowledge or expertise
• Long implantation time
• High implementation and maintenance costs

Fortunately, the utilization of a modern e-Commerce platform can overcome these challenges. A unified commerce solution delivers the world class experience customers expect from companies of all sizes.  The modern platform focuses on the customer including the front-end experience, fulfillment, abandoned carts and more.

To keep your business growing, it is essential to have your software applications-including your e-commerce platform- integrated around a single codebase, database and integrated business process. A cloud-based system (no hardware requirements and no IT staff needed to manage hardware), has a lower total cost of ownership, includes world class hosting and security services, continual updates and 99.9+% uptime yieldings, tremendous cost savings and improved business productivity.

Remember, when a customer’s expectations are not met, it is very easy for them to find your competitor online in a matter of seconds. Don’t be like the Blockbuster Video from the 1980’s!  To learn more about how NetSuite can help you streamline your business processes, provide real-time analytics and insights to your organization and improve your profitability please contact us at info@meridianbusiness.com or 913-481-7309.