Things to look for in a B2B Marketplace Software

Apparently, the B2C sector has been at the forefront of the eCommerce transformation across most industries, taking away the limelight. Significantly, it is the global B2B eCommerce market that is actually valued more than five times. According to Statista, it is projected to reach CAGR in excess of 18% by 2028. 

The growth of the sector is expected given that for B2B eCommerce the appeal transcends beyond just cost benefits and wider product/consumer base. Popular B2B platforms have effectively set up global supply chains, redefined procurement for merchants, streamlined operations like inventory and sales, aggregated fragmented markets, and a lot more. 

At the heart of this transformation has been technology.

Technology that understands the intricacies of B2B, its needs, and key drivers that foster better user experiences, and eventually lead to growth. Since B2B eCommerce platforms extend benefits beyond B2C, they need to offer the right tools to the users to execute their strategies.

In this blog, we will explore some key features that B2B platforms need to offer their users to foster effective business dealings.

What is B2B eCommerce Marketplace? 

A B2B eCommerce marketplace is an online platform like Alibaba that connects businesses with other businesses to sell their products and services.  It is set up and launched by a business that is an intermediary. It invites third-party sellers to sell to the buyers on the platform. Such platforms typically connect businesses as part of a supply chain. So manufacturers, distributors, brand retailers, wholesalers, and other businesses use a B2B marketplace to procure their requirements from other businesses.

Key Growth Drivers in B2B eCommerce Marketplace Software

The difference in online B2B interactions when compared to B2C is that the buyer is a business entity, and for them, the purchase triggers vary greatly from end consumers.  Sales for the B2B buyers are prioritized by factors such as ROI, and the long-term value the product or service adds to the business. The sellers, therefore, prepare for the sales process with a more informative, and flexible strategy. Some key drivers that are integral to B2B eCommerce are as follows.

1. Flexibility

With the possibility of greater volumes involved, B2B interactions may involve a flexible strategy from the sellers. Pricing, order delivery date, payment terms, and other variables can be subject to the buyer and the order volume.

2. Long-term value

B2B is more long-term relations driven. Time is invested in arriving at the product most suited to the business goals ― implying a longer sales cycle, but after that, chances of repeat orders are much higher.

3. Data

The more the better. Because of the possible sustained importance of the product/service. B2B buyers use the maximum data available in the form of descriptions, compliance certificates, dimensions, performance, and other pivotal parameters to arrive at purchase decisions.

4. Globalization

The current era truly belongs to globalization. With the rise of countries like China, Vietnam, and now to some extent India, global supply chains have been redefined. With these countries offering a higher value-to-quality ratio, an increasing proportion of procurement is shifting eastwards, calling for digital facilitators. eCommerce here plays a pivotal role, as demonstrated by the rise of the likes of Alibaba. 

5. Multi-channel strategies 

B2B interactions still largely remain business relations driven. While eCommerce plays a key role of a facilitator, many B2B transaction closures still rely on real-world interactions. Hence, multi-channel has increasingly grown in significance in the B2B space.

6. Custom Processes

B2B sales can be dynamic, with each sale potentially bringing in additional variables of prices, taxes, order specifications, logistics requirements, and more. For instance, requirements from a retail store would be different from a wholesaler’s.

Key B2B ecommerce Marketplace Features

Based on the key drivers you can identify the essential requirements that would be needed in your B2B eCommerce platform. These requirements are met by features that allow the primary platform participants to interact and carry out their roles.

1. Request For Quote (RFQ)

The RFQ functionality allows sellers to stay open for price negotiations. The buyers ask for price estimates by submitting a quote form. The sellers can then respond to these requests with pricing, delivery, and payment terms.

2. Direct communication channel

Direct communication channels allow sellers or buyers can communicate and mutually agree with the terms and conditions regarding the order.

3. Product Catalog Management

Detailed product information is the cornerstone of B2B purchase decisions. Product Catalog allows the marketplace operators and sellers to add detailed product information along with relevant media like images and videos. Moreover, to allow buyers to efficiently search for the product, Product Catalogs can assist the users in categorizing the product precisely

4. Data Migration

The import feature allows easy migration of data by the marketplace operators. This can help in easier and faster marketplace set-up.

5. Services and Products

B2B marketplaces can potentially connect users from across the supply chain, offering finished and unfinished products. Allowing sellers to offer services linked with the products or exclusively broadens the scope of the marketplace, and makes it a comprehensive platform for the users.

6. Custom Invoice

Since orders can vary in the B2B domain, offering flexibility to the sellers with features like Custom Invoice fosters streamlined B2B interactions.

7. Option to Hide product prices

Sellers can implement their pricing strategy with ease, by hiding the prices of the products or services they offer on the platform.

8. Bulk Order Management

B2B sellers may want an ecosystem that encourages bulk orders. Their pricing, sales efforts, packaging and logistics (if in-house is preferred) will be modeled around it.  Optional features of bulk discounts and minimum order quantity can allow sellers to focus efforts towards higher volume sales.

9. Buy Online and Pay In Store 

BOPIS is an important feature in B2B industries relying on real world interactions for the final closure of business deals. It allows buyers to buy online and collect and pay physically, after meeting with the sellers. 

10. Multilingual and Multi-currency 

Global trade underpins transactions between businesses in varying currencies and languages. Here features like mutli currency and multilingual help businesses from different countries transact with each other seamlessly. 

11. RTL Support 

Fostered by positive policy-making,  the Middle East growing in significance as a central hub for global trade. RTL support in your B2B eCommerce platform will help audiences in these regions to use the platform seamlessly.

How B2B eCommerce Software can Meet Complete User Needs

Apart from rich features, there are other facets of a B2B eCommerce platform solutions that play a key role in the success of the marketplace brand. eCommerce is a holistic experience, and it is facilitated by how users interact and engage with the eCommerce platform. For these needs, the B2B platform requires the following: 

1. UI/UX 

To curate rich experiences for the users, an intuitive UI/UX is the key. A purpose-driven UI/UX drives user engagement/ leading to a richer and fuller user experience. Moreover, in a B2B eCommerce marketplace, this also enhances the efficiency of the workflows. 

2. Performance 

In today’s technology-driven world, users are tech-savvy, but they also lack sustained attention spans. Hence, a high-performing B2B website will be pivotal to an enriched user experience. 

3. Security 

As technology keeps improving, so do online risks. Online eCommerce platforms of today need to be robust and built with a reliable tech stack. Moreover, compliance with the latest security protocols like GDPR is important as well. 

How can a B2B eCommerce Platform Facilitate Seamless Business Operations? 

Integral to the success of B2B eCommerce is the ability of the marketplace business to support the business operations on the platform. Apart from sales, an eCommerce business has multiple other business functions. In an eCommerce marketplace, these are the prerogatives of the Admin, assigned by the business. Some of these are: 

• Logistics: eCommerce fulfillment on an eCommerce platform encapsulates multiple workflows. 
• Taxation: A B2B eCommerce business has to account for varying tax structure/rules across the states, regions, and countries in, which it operates. 
• Accounting: The accounting and bookkeeping of the business need to be managed 
• Marketing: The marketing of an eCommerce business involves multiple activities like content marketing, PPC, affiliate marketing, email marketing, and others. 
• Secure payments: An eCommerce business needs to facilitate secure payments. 

These are some business functions a B2B business has to manage. However, with so much going on, businesses need assistance. This is where third-party business solutions come in. These give eCommerce businesses much-needed help to manage their business functions. 

Some examples are Shipstation (fulfillment), Mailchimp (email marketing), Avalara (Taxation), and many more. That said, if these solutions act independently, they would add more responsibilities rather than cutting them. So these have to be integrated with the B2B eCommerce platform. 

So, this is something to look for in a B2B marketplace software. A capable B2B eCommerce marketplace platform solution will offer key business solutions and payment gateways integrated within its system. 

How can the B2B Solution Support the Entire eCommerce Lifecycle 

Entrepreneurs just starting with an eCommerce business will conduct research when they will look for the ideal eCommerce marketplace solution. However, at that time, their vision can be restricted to immediate goals, rather than taking a holistic perspective. That is why many startups choose solutions with recurring costs and feature restrictions, only to plan migration as their business grows. 

To avoid such scenarios, when you are considering the things to look for in a B2B marketplace software, you should view it from the perspective of the entire eCommerce lifecycle of the business. Some of these are as follows: 

1. Scalability 

B2B marketplaces can scale quickly with transactions increasing by value and volume. Hence scalability is an important aspect of B2B eCommerce solutions, especially for the long term. However, apart from just capability of the solution, it is important to note that some solutions can come with restrictions. Do keep that in mind while considering the best eCommerce solution. 

2. Pricing 

B2B eCommerce is a competitive industry where success hinges on managing overheads prudently. Here margins are detrimental to business outcomes. In such scenarios excessive business overheads can eat into margins and hence the business competitiveness. To remain competitive, prioritize B2B eCommerce solutions that don’t come with recurring charges. 

3. Good Support from the team 

After your business launches in the industry, you will get feedback regarding the needs of the users in the industry. Moreover, there are scenarios where a competitor adds features in the platform that are gaining customer traction. You will need to respond as well. So, while choosing key things to look for in the B2B eCommerce platform, prioritize reliable support from the solution provider. 

Launch a Purpose-Built B2B eCommerce Marketplace with Yo!Kart B2B

eCommerce success hinges on user traction. Build a platform that has key B2B features as mentioned above. Yo!Kart B2B is a B2B eCommerce marketplace solution that is engineered to drive fulfilling user journeys with key platform features. Let’s see some of these features in the video shared below.

Just like these features, Yo!Kart B2B ecommerce software is ingrained with essential eCommerce functionalities, business APIs & payment gateways pre-integrated out of the box. Moreover, an intuitive UI/UX, and logic-driven workflows, are all encapsulated in a value-driven package.

Conclusion

The online space is thriving.  To win in the space, businesses need contemporary eCommerce marketplace software that caters to the specific needs of this space. Businesses considering to launch their eCommerce platform in the space need to observe key things to look for in a B2B marketplace software.

This includes the right B2B- specific features to complement essential eCommerce functionalities. Moreover, the solution should have the ability to gain traction with your target audience and also have the right virtues to support the entire eCommerce lifecycle. We recommend Yo!Kart B2B has rich functionalities and is available with source code for lifetime ownership. 

FAQ’s

Q 1. What is a B2B marketplace software? 

Ans: A B2B marketplace software is a turnkey solution that can help you in setting up your B2B eCommerce platform. 

Q 2. Which is the best B2B marketplace software? 

Ans: The best B2B marketplace software has the right B2B- specific features and essential eCommerce functionalities. It should be user-friendly that the target audience prefers. Moreover, it should be able to support the business through the entire eCommerce lifecycle. We recommend Yo!Kart B2B has rich functionalities and is available with source code for lifetime ownership. 

Q 3. What are the top 5 B2B features for B2B eCommerce platforms? 

Ans: The top 5 features for B2B eCommerce platforms are as follows: 

1. RFQ module 
2. Minimum Order Quantity 
3. Bulk Order discounts 
4. Custom invoicing with part payments 
5. Buyer-seller communication channels 

Q 4. Why is flexibility important in B2B eCommerce Marketplace Software?

Ans: Flexibility allows eCommerce businesses to have business Agility. First, a flexible feature set allows you to cater to a wide range of user needs. Next, it also helps in further customization of the eCommerce solution to specific business requirements like integration with the CRM of the business, if there is a need to do so. 

Q 5. How can I choose the right B2B eCommerce marketplace platform?

Ans: To choose the right B2B eCommerce marketplace eCommerce software, prioritize factors such as B2B specific features, customizability, scalability, pricing structure, and the level of support provided by the team to ensure long term success.