FMCG organizations that have lived and breathed into legacy systems for years, it’s never easy for them to say goodbye to the old, clunky systems. The harsh reality is that the existing systems are unable to meet modern customers’ needs. This is the story of B2B FMCG sellers struggling to survive and thrive in a sea of changing market trends, technology innovation, and customer preferences.
That’s why- B2B sellers are now looking for a next-gen solution that helps them differentiate themselves in the market and stay on the top of the customers’ minds. The tech savvy FMCG leaders realize the need for digital change to maximize business efficiency, deliver superior customer experiences, and seize an extra edge in the competitive market. The B2B ecommerce software solutions address the digital need perfectly.
59% of B2B buyers are millennials who expect effortless online buying experiences while making the purchases.
The B2B Ecommerce marketplaces-like Amazon are vying for customer attention and market share. The latest pandemic catalyzed the need for having the best B2B ecommerce solutions that are driving the digital shift.
Briefly, having B2B ecommerce software solutions is a must-have for FMCG businesses. When it comes to replacing the legacy system with a modern B2B Ecommerce solution, the B2B businesses get confused with the capabilities that an Ecommerce store should have.
What Are Capabilities That Modern Ecommerce Solution Must Have?
- Self-service management capabilities
- Order management capabilities
- Buying experience
- Product content experience
How Are FMCG Businesses Utilizing These Capabilities?
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Self-service model
In B2B FMCG businesses, with technological progress, the B2B buyers expect to do things on their own. This expectation has evolved into a need wherein they don’t like to get in touch with customer support or account managers to handle account-related and other things. The FMCG businesses enable the self-service features in the Ecommerce solutions that enables B2B buyers to set up the account, access invoices, manage purchase workflows, view roles and permissions granted, and see their contracts.
A point in the case:
The FMCG products have a short shelf life which makes it necessary for B2B buyers to get the freshest product. Otherwise, by the time the product reaches to end-user, the product may have rotten or not in usable form. It makes it essential for B2B buyers to access products, which B2B Ecommerce software solutions enable through a self-service portal.
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Automation of order management
The FMCG products are sold quickly and in huge quantities. When FMCG organizations operate conventionally, it becomes difficult for the sales team to input data and manage orders. Also, it wastes their valuable time that they spent on strengthening customer relationships. The best B2B ecommerce solutions streamline the order management by automating the complete fulfillment process from order placement to its final delivery.
The automation featured in the software speeds up the buying process. It allows B2B buyers to order in bulk, repeat orders, contract prices, and others, which makes them spend less time searching for products and checkout.
A point in the case: the FMCG buyers frequently order the products in quantity. Traditionally, they waste a lot of time repetitively adding and ordering the products. The Ecommerce solution accelerates the buying process with reordering capabilities. It enables viewing purchase history and repeating the orders multiple times hassle-free.
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Simplifying the buying experience
B2B sales are different from the B2C sales process. B2B selling involves different quotes for different stakeholders having unique requirements, which means the contract will be different. The old systems are incapable of handling it smoothly, which results in bad experiences. Similar to B2C buyers, the B2B buyers need to serve individually.
The B2B Ecommerce software solution enables personalized experience delivery based on the unique needs of the buyers and customizes catalogs as per the contracts and product availability.
A point in the case:
FMCG businesses won’t sell all the items to the FMCG buyers of the different regions because the items with short shelf-life when reaching the B2B buyer of distant location may get wasted. With no system in place, it’s difficult to display which items are available to the buyers of a particular location. The modern Ecommerce solution enables the dynamic display of products alongside tailored content based on the buyers’ region.
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Provide complete product details
Every buyer is very much concerned about the things they purchase. The FMCG products have a lot of variety with a few differences available. It is essential to provide the complete details of the product precisely. Ecommerce solutions facilitate product-related content such as documents, images, videos, manuals, manufacturing/expiry dates, and other info that helps buyers make the right decision. This transparency builds buyers’ trust in the brand.
How Does Liferay Technology Help in Driving Digital Change?
Liferay provides advanced technological solutions that transform the way B2B organizations sell. It features various tools and solutions that empower sales reps, enable a self-service model, simplify buying experience, and up the content management a notch.
The Liferay DXP commerce solutions resolve all the digital experience-related problems that B2B organizations have been facing for a long time. Liferay DXP commerce solutions turn sales reps into sales consultants by providing access to customers’ accounts and activities. The account-based sales tools powered by AI technology enable sales reps to get to know about variations in customer ordering proactively. The data-driven insights help reach out, and immediately offer value to the buyer.
The Liferay DXP commerce order management system removes complexity from the ordering and approval process through automated workflows, multiple payment methods, and custom role-based ordering options. The simplified ordering and seamless reordering facility make it easy for B2B buyers to from the FMCG businesses. The product browsing and digital catalog tools under the Liferay DXP commerce order management system make searching and accessing information about the items a breeze.
The Liferay consulting services are available 24/7, which help businesses to resolve the problems they face with Liferay solutions or tools implementation or upgrade.
Summing it up
The B2B businesses have experienced waves of unpredictability during the pandemic. Hopefully, B2B Ecommerce software solutions have helped them get ahead of the pack and deliver wow experiences to the customers. Liferay DXP platform stands out as the life raft for drowning B2B businesses.
Liferay DXP platform features Liferay DXP commerce solutions, Liferay DXP commerce order management system, Liferay consulting services, and other tools that B2B Ecommerce businesses leverage to grow their revenue and nurture customer relationships.
If you are ready to roll out digital transformation organization-wide using the Liferay DXP platform, the certified and experienced developers can help you make the strategic decision through Liferay consulting services.
