Manufacturers: Does Your Tech Meet Expectations for B2B eCommerce?

Manufacturers must upgrade their B2B eCommerce capabilities to match B2C experiences or risk losing 70% of their customers.

After a lengthy decline, US manufacturing growth finally outpaced the world in 2022. Analysts now predict that certain sectors of manufacturing, aided by technologies like AI, robotics, IoT, and big data analytics, will more than double by 2030. 

This rise in growth comes with a corresponding increase in customer expectations. To stay competitive, manufacturers must now provide a seamless B2C experience to their B2B eCommerce customers. 

Not sure how to do that? The experts at Platform Technology Advisors are here to help. We’ve done the research for you – and this article summarizes the most important points we found. Consider this your first stop as you start planning your manufacturing business’s eCommerce future. 

The Current State of Affairs in B2B eCommerce

A recent McKinsey & Company survey delivered the sobering news that more than 70% of businesses will happily consider other vendors if their current vendor cannot meet their critical “must-haves” in their shopping experienceor if their customer experience is poor. 

We’ll discuss those “must-haves” in detail momentarily, but overall, your customers demand a fast, accurate, self-serve shopping and customer service experience that is accessible 24/7 from any channel. 

To meet these requirements, your competitors are turning toward technology that delivers a faster, better, and more personalized customer experience powered by modern ERP solutions that provide true unified commerce capacity. 

These systems do away with old-fashioned duplicate data entry and siloed information in favor of a speedy, accurate transaction that results in higher levels of customer satisfaction. 

Discover How a Commerce-Enabled ERP Works

What, Specifically, Do Customers Demand? 

“Faster,” “Better,” “More Accurate…” You hear these terms in every blog, but what do they really mean when it comes to your manufacturing business’s customers and what they insist on from your B2B eCommerce store?

According to McKinsey & Company, customers expect that you deliver a few simultaneous “must-dos:” 

• Updated Product Availability Shown Online

74% of customers want their vendor to show up-to-date product availability as part of the shopping experience. Unified commerce must seamlessly or natively integrate with top eCommerce platforms, including Amazon, Shopify, BigCommerce, or Magento, so data collection is automatic from every channel, and the ERP inventory data is updated instantly. 

This “single-source” view ensures that customers and salespeople always have access to the latest availability information, enabling them to drive informed purchasing decisions. 

• A True Omnichannel Experience

72% of customers demand a consistent experience across channels with the ability to purchase from any channel anytime. In addition to integrating with the top eCommerce platforms, your ERP should seamlessly support every other sales method within one unified system, including online, mobile, and in-person sales. 

This requires accurate order capture regardless of the sales channel —even for orders originating as multichannel or omnichannel— and seamless payment options so customers can efficiently complete transactions from any channel. 

• Real-Time, 24/7 Customer Service

72% of customers mandate that their vendors provide around-the-clock customer service, which is a challenging proposition for most small and midsized manufacturers. Fortunately, the automation and personalization capabilities found in modern B2B eCommerce-enabled ERP make this achievable for even very small manufacturers. 

Today’s ERPs empower B2B customers with an always-available customer self-service option that includes unique pricing per customer, the ability to view all orders from all sales channels, up-to-date tracking information, and seamless returns across channels. 

This is in addition to the customer service capabilities you expect from your ERP, such as the ability to easily manage and view all customer interactions and maintain complete visibility into support issues and resolutions. 

Is It Time to Update Your Technology? 

Remember, 70% of businesses stated they would happily consider other vendors if their current vendor couldn’t meet their critical “must-haves” or delivers a less-than-ideal shopping experience. 

In other words, if your current tech isn’t delivering the feel of a B2C transaction for every one of your B2B eCommerce customers, your company may only retain 30% of your current clients.

Your competitors will be happy to serve the ones who left you, and those competitors will lead the companies that rise to success on our current manufacturing growth trend. 

Yesterday’s siloed systems and legacy ERP can’t keep up with the modern business landscape. So, if that’s what you have, it’s time to consider new technology. 

Discover what to look for when choosing your new commerce-enabled ERP when you download this white paperpresented by Platform Technology Advisors and Acumatica. 

You will learn about: 

• How each part of an ERP should work together to enhance the customer experience
• 100+ features to look for in a commerce-enabled solution
• The pillars of modern web technology that truly do future-proof your ERP investment

Access the White Paper Now and Get Started on Your Path to B2B eCommerce Success

The team at Platform Technology Advisors provides 30 years of accounting and wealth management expertise to help you fully understand what you’re getting in accounting and ERP software, along with why it’s so important for your business – all while advising you each step of the way. Contact us to learn more.