B2B e-commerce

B2B e-commerce (also written as e-Commerce, eCommerce or similar variants), short for business-to-business, electronic commerce, is selling products or services between businesses through the internet via an online sales portal. In general, it is used to improve efficiency for companies. Instead of processing orders manually – by telephone or e-mail – with e-commerce orders can be processed digitally.

Supply chains are distinctive for B2B transactions. They involve companies providing (sub) components or raw materials from one to another, and only one B2C transaction – the sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single B2C transaction.

Other differences between B2B and B2C can be:

Generally, B2B and B2C web stores both have search, navigation, detailed product information and personal account history pages. However, in some ways B2B greatly differs from B2C. Most B2B businesses have complex ordering processes, large collections of attributes and elaborate back-end systems. Moreover, in a B2B scenario, buying is part the customers’ job. He needs to make sure he buys all necessary products or components for keeping his company up and running. Thirdly, since organizations can be very large, they need a lot of products or components to keep their business going. Therefore, B2B buyers often place large orders. B2B purchases are also characterized by recurring orders instead of single purchases. Because of that, companies make deals based on their monthly or even yearly demand. They closely collaborate with each other, and each B2B customer can have its specific prices for certain products. Lastly, multiple people are involved in B2B purchases. For instance, a company can have multiple buyers or buying centers. They are responsible for finding the right products and making the right deal with resellers. Because multiple people are involved in a single deal, B2B is more fact based instead of based on emotions. It’s not about the nicest packaging, but the best deal for the company. In general, ratio is leading.

The characteristics mentioned above can be summarized as follows:

B2B transactions can be processed online in various ways, of which Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and B2B e-commerce are most often used. Although EDI and B2B e-commerce both have their own, distinctive features, they are often mixed up.

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