B2B eCommerce for OEMs

How can B2B eCommerce help OEMs?

In the eCommerce world, B2B eCommerce is relatively a younger technology. However, the global B2B eCommerce market size has been valued at USD 6.64 trillion and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.7% from 2021 to 2028. The shift in consumer preferences due to the pandemic has given a push to the B2B businesses to invest in eCommerce technologies. Manufacturing & Automobile companies across the world must seize this opportunity to provide accessibility, affordability & availability of their products to their customers.

Overcoming the Resistance

Manufacturing/Automobile businesses face a challenge in implementing B2B eCommerce when it comes to selling aftermarket parts because gathering thousands of parts from the ERP system & displaying them in a meaningful way for the customers will be difficult. This poses a primary roadblock for the manufacturers to implement B2B eCommerce. For B2B businesses, this may seem like a huge blocker, and delaying the B2B eCommerce implementation may seem like an appropriate thing to do till the data is complete & time is right. But given the situation & change in consumer preferences, all the competitors are aggressively moving towards implementing eCommerce technologies, especially in the B2B industry.

Below are a few benefits of implementing B2B eCommerce –

Making Brand Distribution More Agile
Manufacturing companies will have to resolve the legacy problems that surfaced due to the pandemic. They should rebuild their supply chain distribution process with a focus on agility. Implementing B2B eCommerce will help them in reducing TAT in most of the stages like make-to-order, plant-to-port, etc. by automating cyclic tasks and reducing manual efforts.


Scale up Faster
Manufacturers following traditional sales/distribution models will face challenges when they are impacted by the demand. B2B eCommerce will enable them to reduce costs through cloud solutions. The flexible costing models B2B eCommerce firms follow will allow the manufacturers to scale effortlessly with minute marginal costs when there is an increase in demand.


Optimize logistics costs
B2B eCommerce platforms will streamline the process and keep all the stakeholders – logistic partners, manufacturers, distributors & end customers – in alignment. This will allow all the stakeholders to get real-time visibility of their respective logistic capacities and plan things ahead to keep the costs to a minimum.


B2B Logistics


Reduce expansion costs
Penetrating new markets/geographies is both a time taking and costly activity. Particularly for manufacturing companies, they need to keep the cost of building distribution networks & on-ground assets in mind while expanding into new geographies. B2B eCommerce will enable the manufacturers to connect with digital supply chain networks easily and support the local workforce at the same time.


B2B eCommerce is the way to go post COVID-19
When things go back to normal post-COVID-19, returning to old ways of operating the business will keep the manufacturers vulnerable to the adversities experienced during COVID. According to the research by McKinsey, 90% of B2B decision-makers expect remote/digital sales model to stick around in the long run and believe that the remote model is as effective or even more than the pre-COVID/traditional model. Adding to that, going back to the pre-COVID sales model will be even more difficult with only 20-30% of B2B buyers would ever want to interact with sales reps in person.

Driven by the shift in consumer purchasing behavior, the B2B eCommerce industry is witnessing skyrocketing growth. With all the above compelling reasons, OEMs must think in lines of making B2B eCommerce a priority for their business. Having an eCommerce expert at the C-level will kick start the journey of digital transformation. Another key stakeholder in this journey would be the implementation partner. Choosing a partner with good B2B eCommerce implementation experience will make all the difference in making the transformation a successful one.


Make B2B eCommerce a priority for your business. Schedule a call with our eCommerce experts today to learn more about how we can help you in your digital transformation journey.

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