Manufacturers' Edition: Buyer-Seller Disconnect, B2B Marketplaces, AI eCommerce Trends | Mark Brohan

Summary

Dans cet épisode de Bite by, Mark Brohan, Senior Vice President au Digital Commerce 360, partage ses perspectives sur la transformation digitale du commerce B2B, en particulier pour les fabricants. Il met en lumière la croissance d'un fossé entre acheteurs et vendeurs dans le secteur manufacturier, et comment cela affecte les ventes et la satisfaction des acheteurs. Il discute également des tendances émergentes dans le commerce électronique B2B, des opportunités des marchés B2B et de l'importance d'une stratégie digitale complète, incluant l'adoption de technologies telles que l'IA et les marchés en ligne pour répondre aux exigences croissantes des acheteurs modernes.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Le marché B2B est en train de changer radicalement avec l'adoption croissante de l'e-commerce et des technologies numériques.
• 🔍 Mark Brohan, Senior Vice President de B2B et de la recherche de marché chez Digital Commerce 360, observe une évolution significative des achats et des ventes dans le secteur manufacturier.
• 📈 L'impact de la pandémie de COVID-19 a été un catalyseur pour l'adoption de l'e-commerce B2B, forçant les entreprises à interagir davantage en ligne.
• 🛍️ Une génération plus jeune de gestionnaires et d'acheteurs cherche à procéder aux achats de manière plus autonome et numérique, mettant un accent sur l'expérience utilisateur.
• 📱 L'expérience client est devenue un élément clé pour les acheteurs B2B, qui attendent une interaction fluide et une présence digitale constante des vendeurs.
• 🏭 Les fabricants sont confrontés à des défis pour s'adapter à cette transformation numérique, notamment en ce qui concerne l'intégration multi-canal et la logistique de dernière mile.
• 💡 L'adoption de l'e-commerce par les fabricants doit aller au-delà de simplement avoir un site web; cela implique une compréhension complète de l'intégration des canaux et de la stratégie numérique globale.
• 🛒 Les marchés B2B sont une opportunité en émergence pour les fabricants, offrant une plateforme pour connecter acheteurs et vendeurs de manière digitale et efficace.
• 🌟 L'Inde est un exemple notable de leadership dans l'adoption et le développement de marchés B2B, avec une croissance rapide dans ce secteur.
• 🤖 L'IA et les technologies connexes deviennent de plus en plus pertinentes pour l'e-commerce, offrant des opportunités d'optimisation et de personnalisation.
• 📈 L'adoption d'AI dans l'e-commerce est en train de gagner du terrain, avec des applications spécifiques comme l'assistant de commande et la prédiction des besoins en stock.

Q & A

Quel est le rôle de Mark Brohan dans le secteur du commerce électronique B2B ?

Mark Brohan est le Senior Vice President et chercheur en marché au sein de Digital Commerce 360, où il est reconnu pour son travail exceptionnel en tant que journaliste et chercheur, observant et analysant les tendances changeantes du secteur du commerce électronique.

Quelle est la spécialisation de Digital Commerce 360 ?

Digital Commerce 360 est une autorité leader en recherche sur le commerce électronique, offrant des perspectives approfondies et des données dans divers secteurs tels que le détail, le commerce électronique B2B, la fabrication, et leur analyse couvre tous les continents.

Quels sont les changements que Mark a observés dans le commerce électronique B2B pour les fabricants?

Mark a observé que la pandémie de COVID-19 a changé la manière dont les acheteurs et les vendeurs interagissent sur Internet, conduisant à une augmentation de l'interaction en ligne et à une demande croissante d'expérience utilisateur de la part des acheteurs, qui cherchent à procéder de manière plus autonome et numérique.

Quelle est la principale préoccupation des acheteurs B2B actuels, selon Mark?

Les acheteurs B2B actuels, en particulier les jeunes générations de gestionnaires et d'équipes, cherchent à obtenir une expérience utilisateur améliorée des vendeurs et une interaction en ligne plus autonome et digitale à travers tous les canaux et les points de contact.

Quels sont les défis auxquels sont confrontés les fabricants dans l'adoption du commerce électronique B2B?

Les fabricants sont confrontés à des défis tels que l'intégration multi-canal omnichannel, la compréhension de la nouvelle dynamique de vente digitale, et l'adoption de nouvelles technologies de logistique de dernière mile pour répondre aux demandes des acheteurs numériques.

Quelle est la différence fondamentale entre le commerce électronique B2B et B2C, selon Mark?

Selon Mark, le commerce électronique B2B et B2C sont deux entités différentes, ayant peu de choses en commun, car le B2B est défini par l'engagement du marché acheteur-vendeur et est beaucoup plus complexe et spécifique à chaque secteur d'activité.

Quels sont les avantages et les inconvénients des plateformes de marché B2B pour les fabricants?

Les avantages incluent la nouvelle exposition aux marchés et la génération de revenus, tandis que les inconvénients peuvent inclure les coûts d'adhésion et les frais de fonctionnement, ainsi que la perte de contrôle sur l'expérience client et les données.

Quelle est la stratégie que les fabricants devraient adopter pour réussir sur les plateformes de marché B2B?

Les fabricants devraient déterminer ce qui est le plus approprié pour leur organisation en termes de génération de revenus, d'acquisition de nouveaux canaux et de développement de marchés, puis planifier en conséquence pour atteindre ces objectifs.

Quel est l'impact du COVID-19 sur les habitudes d'achat des entreprises?

Le COVID-19 a considérablement changé la manière dont les entreprises font affaire, en favorisant l'interaction en ligne et en加速 le recours au commerce électronique pour les transactions B2B.

Comment les plateformes de marché B2B peuvent-elles aider les fabricants à atteindre de nouveaux marchés?

Les plateformes de marché B2B peuvent aider les fabricants à atteindre de nouveaux marchés en leur offrant une nouvelle plateforme de vente, en les connectant avec de nouveaux clients potentiels et en leur permettant d'exposer leurs produits à une audience plus large.

Quels sont les indicateurs clés que les fabricants devraient surveiller lors de l'adoption de la technologie d'IA dans le commerce électronique?

Les fabricants devraient surveiller l'adoption de la technologie d'IA dans des domaines tels que la personnalisation, la gestion de la chaîne d'approvisionnement, les recommandations de produits, et évaluer comment ces technologies peuvent résoudre des problèmes spécifiques au sein de leur entreprise ou saisir des opportunités.

Quel exemple concret a donné Mark d'une entreprise utilisant l'IA pour améliorer son processus d'achat et de vente?

Mark a mentionné Pittsburgh Paint qui a utilisé l'IA pour simplifier le processus d'achat de peintures pour les ateliers de réparation automobile, en créant une application IA qui facilite la détermination des besoins en peintures et en l'intégrant avec le processus d'e-commerce.

Quelle est la durée moyenne de retour sur investissement (ROI) pour une entreprise qui lance une plateforme de marché B2B, selon Mark?

Selon Mark, la durée de retour sur investissement (ROI) pour une entreprise qui lance une plateforme de marché B2B est généralement de 3 à 5 ans, une période considérée comme longue par rapport aux attentes initiales.

Quels sont les principaux obstacles à l'adoption des plateformes de marché B2B par les clients existants?

Les principaux obstacles à l'adoption des plateformes de marché B2B incluent la nécessité de changer les habitudes d'achat établies, la conversion des transactions papier en transactions numériques, et l'apprentissage du nouveau système de commande et de gestion de marché.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Introduction à l'émission et présentation de Mark Brohan

L'émission 'Bite by' traite de l'e-commerce et de la transformation digitale. Mark Brohan, Senior Vice President de la recherche B2B et du marché à Digital Commerce 360, est invité pour discuter des tendances en évolution rapide dans le secteur de l'e-commerce. Son expertise en recherche journalistique est reconnue pour être cruciale pour les entreprises cherchant à s'adapter et à grandir dans le commerce électronique et les marchés numériques.

05:01

🌐 Impact du COVID-19 sur le commerce électronique B2B

Mark Brohan observe une évolution significative des interactions acheteurs-vendeurs dans le secteur manufacturier suite à la pandémie de COVID-19. Le confinement a entraîné un recours accru à Internet et au commerce électronique pour les transactions commerciales. Cette tendance s'observe dans tous les marchés mondiaux, et les jeunes gestionnaires d'organisation cherchent à procéder de manière plus autonome et numérique.

10:03

🛍️ Exigences croissantes des acheteurs B2B envers les vendeurs

Les acheteurs B2B, de plus en plus jeunes et orientés vers le numérique, exigent une expérience utilisateur améliorée des vendeurs et une présence cohérente sur tous les canaux de vente. Les entreprises du monde entier se débattent avec la nécessité de répondre à ces exigences, en intégrant les canaux physiques et numériques, et en offrant des outils et des partenaires adéquats pour faciliter les transactions complexes.

15:03

🏭 Défis pour les fabricants dans la transformation digitale

Les fabricants sont confrontés à de nombreux défis pour comprendre et intégrer la transformation digitale dans leur modèle commercial. Ils doivent gérer l'intégration de multiples canaux de vente, comprendre les nouvelles attentes des acheteurs en matière de logistique et de gestion des commandes, et surmonter les obstacles internes à l'adoption de nouvelles technologies et stratégies commerciales.

20:05

📈 Opportunités des marchés B2B pour les fabricants

Les marchés B2B émergent comme une opportunité significative pour les fabricants, notamment en Inde où le développement des marketplaces est plus avancé que dans d'autres régions du monde. Ces plateformes offrent aux entreprises la possibilité d'atteindre de nouveaux marchés et d'audiences, tout en répondant aux exigences croissantes des acheteurs en termes de transaction numérique.

25:06

🛒 Stratégie des marketplaces pour les fabricants

Les fabricants doivent élaborer une stratégie de marketplace en fonction de leurs objectifs organisationnels. Que ce soit pour générer de nouvelles revenus, atteindre de nouveaux marchés ou simplement suivre une tendance, ils doivent évaluer les coûts et les bénéfices associés à chaque plateforme de marketplace, et décider si cela s'aligne sur leurs stratégies commerciales globales.

30:06

🤖 L'importance de l'IA dans le commerce électronique

L'IA est une technologie en évolution rapide qui commence à être intégrée dans divers aspects du commerce électronique, allant de la personnalisation des produits aux systèmes de recommandation et de gestion d'approvisionnement. L'IA est sur le point de devenir mainstream et de réinventer les processus commerciaux existants.

35:08

🔧 Succès des marketplaces et de l'IA dans le secteur制造

Les entreprises comme Bay Fastener utilisent les marketplaces pour élargir leur portée et améliorer l'expérience client. Malgré les défis de l'adoption et des retours sur investissement à long terme, ces stratégies montrent un potentiel de réussite. L'IA est également utilisée avec succès pour améliorer les processus opérationnels, comme illustré par l'exemple de Pittsburgh Paint qui a déployé une application IA pour faciliter la commande de peintures.

40:09

🚀 Conclusion et perspectives d'avenir pour les fabricants

Mark Brohan conclut en soulignant que les stratégies de marketplace et l'adoption de l'IA sont des changements majeurs qui affecteront l'industrie manufacturière. Bien que ces changements puissent prendre du temps, ils sont essentiels pour rester compétitif et répondre aux besoins des clients du futur.

Keywords

💡AI

AI, ou Intelligence Artificielle, fait référence à la capacité des machines à imiter l'intelligence humaine, en apprenant de l'expérience et en effectuant des tâches qui nécessitent généralement l'ingéniosité humaine. Dans le contexte de cette vidéo, l'AI est utilisée pour améliorer l'expérience utilisateur, la personnalisation des produits, la gestion des commandes et l'optimisation de la chaîne d'approvisionnement, montrant ainsi son importance croissante dans le secteur du commerce électronique.

💡Transformation numérique

La transformation numérique est le processus par lequel les entreprises adoptent et intègrent les technologies numériques pour améliorer leurs opérations, leur efficacité et leur engagement avec les clients. Le script met en évidence l'importance de cette transformation, en particulier pour les fabricants qui cherchent à s'adapter aux nouvelles attentes des consommateurs et aux canaux de vente en ligne.

💡B2B (Business-to-Business)

B2B fait référence au commerce entre entreprises. Dans la vidéo, l'accent est mis sur l'évolution des achats B2B et des transformations numériques, notamment pour les fabricants qui cherchent à se connecter avec d'autres entreprises de manière plus efficace et par le biais de plateformes en ligne.

💡Marchés électroniques B2B

Les marchés électroniques B2B sont des plateformes en ligne qui rassemblent les acheteurs et les vendeurs d'affaires pour la négociation et la transaction de biens et de services. Dans le script, les marchés électroniques B2B sont présentés comme un canal de vente en pleine croissance et comme un moyen pour les fabricants de toucher de nouveaux marchés et d'augmenter leur visibilité.

💡Déconnexion entre acheteurs et vendeurs

Le script mentionne une 'déconnexion croissante' entre les acheteurs et les vendeurs dans le secteur manufacturier, ce qui affecte les ventes, la satisfaction des acheteurs et la fidélité à long terme. Cela met en lumière le besoin pour les entreprises de trouver de nouvelles façons de se connecter et de répondre aux besoins de leurs clients.

💡Expérience utilisateur

L'expérience utilisateur (UX) est l'ensemble des interactions d'un utilisateur avec un produit ou un service. Dans le contexte de la vidéo, l'expérience utilisateur est soulignée comme un élément clé pour les acheteurs B2B, qui cherchent des expériences plus personnalisées et des processus d'achat plus fluides.

💡Canaux de vente multiplateformes

Les canaux de vente multiplateformes font référence à l'utilisation de plusieurs plateformes ou méthodes pour vendre des produits, allant des sites Web dédiés aux marchés électroniques et aux systèmes de gestion des relations avec les clients (CRM). Le script indique que les entreprises doivent intégrer ces canaux pour répondre aux attentes des acheteurs modernes.

💡Tendances du commerce électronique

Les tendances du commerce électronique sont les changements et les développements qui influencent le secteur du e-commerce. Le script explore des tendances spécifiques comme l'augmentation de l'utilisation des technologies numériques et des marchés électroniques, et comment ces tendances impactent le secteur de la production.

💡Plateformes technologiques

Les plateformes technologiques sont les infrastructures utilisées pour permettre le commerce électronique et les transactions en ligne. Elles peuvent inclure des sites Web de commerce électronique, des systèmes de gestion des commandes et des solutions de logistique. Le script met en avant l'importance de ces plateformes pour permettre aux entreprises de s'adapter au commerce moderne.

💡Stratégie de marketplace

Une stratégie de marketplace est un plan d'affaires qui décrit comment une entreprise utilisera les marchés électroniques pour vendre ses produits ou services. Dans le script, il est question de la nécessité pour les fabricants de développer une telle stratégie pour rester compétitifs et atteindre de nouveaux clients.

Highlights

Mark Brohan, Senior Vice President of B2B and market research at Digital Commerce 360, discusses the impact of COVID-19 on B2B e-commerce.

E-commerce has fundamentally changed how buyers and sellers interact, especially in the manufacturing sector.

Younger organizational managers are driving a shift towards more digital and self-service procurement methods.

Manufacturers are facing challenges in adapting to the new digital-first B2B buyers' expectations.

The importance of a comprehensive digital strategy that goes beyond just having an e-commerce platform.

Manufacturers struggle with understanding the integration of multiple digital sales channels.

The rise of B2B marketplaces as a significant digital sales channel.

India is leading in the advancement of B2B marketplaces across various verticals.

Amazon Business has rapidly gained market share in the B2B e-commerce space.

The future of B2B marketplaces is promising, with significant growth expected.

Manufacturers need to decide on the right marketplace strategy that aligns with their business goals.

The challenge for manufacturers is to build customer loyalty while selling through third-party marketplaces.

AI and generative AI are becoming increasingly important in e-commerce, with applications in various areas such as personalization and supply chain management.

Pittsburgh Paint's use of AI to streamline the ordering process for body shops is an innovative application of technology in manufacturing.

AI is expected to become mainstream in e-commerce, affecting multiple touchpoints in the business digital technology ecosystem.

Manufacturers and distributors are encouraged to experiment with AI to find solutions to specific e-commerce challenges.

Bay Fastener's successful launch of a marketplace, highlighting the long-term commitment and strategy needed for such initiatives.

Transcripts

[Music]

welcome folks welcome back to bite by

ecomerce for those who are uh watching

us for the first time we share curated

stories around AI eCommerce and digital

transformation to guide global

businesses in their digital

transformation

Journey joining us today is Mark brohan

senior Vice president and of B2B and

market research at digital Commerce

360 Mark is known for his exceptional

work as a journalistic researcher keenly

observing and analyzing the Ever

Changing Trends in the e-commerce sector

his his insights have been pivotal for

businesses looking to adapt and grow in

the digital Commerce and Market places

so thank you Mark for joining us today

oh well thanks thank you for having me

great also a quick background on digital

Commerce 360 you must be knowing it

still you know I'll just reinforce it

once digital Commerce 360 is a leading

Authority in e-commerce research they

provide in-depth insights and data

across various sectors including retail

B2B e-commerce manufacturing and their

reports and Analysis cover all

continents of the earth so do watch out

for their reports they have been a great

source of of learning for us in all the

business decisions that we make wow

we're

busy yeah thank you for that Mark so uh

you know in this episode we will Deep

dive into some of the insights that uh

Mark has been observing around B2B

e-commerce digital transformation

specifically for

manufacturers what has changed and some

what a few trends that he's looking that

he sees will come up very uh

dominantly and uh with that context I

think Mark I would like to allude to one

of your recent talks that I saw which

was predominantly about the growing

disconnect that you have observed

between buyers and sellers in the

manufacturing sector which if I quote

your words has been impacting sales but

also buyer satisfaction and long-term

loyalty could you highlight what those

uh what does growing disconnect is and

maybe some root causes of

this there's a there's a lot to unpack

but there's but there's distinct trends

that apply to any you you can pick a

global market it applies to it some of

the issues are the same in North America

as in India as in Europe as in China

which is that four years ago when the

world dealt with you know the covid-19

uh pandemic it basically changed the way

it fundamentally changed the way we do

business as organizations and that

wasn't just a US Trend although we we

probably write about the US the most

because that's our home audience here

but having said that in businesso

business e-commerce covid-19 changed the

way the very way that buyers and sellers

interact for business over the Internet

it's fundamentally Chang changed it I

mean the reasons were obvious and a lot

of companies have long had the memo on

this but the point is when other

channels shut down but business did take

place what was the Avenue open to them

internet and e-commerce so in business

in business to Consumer online retailing

as we call it you know that uh that's

been a fact of life for 20 years but

depending upon the market businessto

business e-commerce is bigger broader

complex Messier more niche more singular

just name the name the terminology here

but the fact of the matter was four

years ago the sea changed hit where

buyers are now interacting with sellers

ever more so than before and that began

the sea change that we're seeing today

what that means is is that a younger

generation of of organizational managers

they could be teams uh they could be

single directors but more more Comm

their teams and this does not vary

across Global region you've got younger

buying groups or younger buyers that are

looking to procure goods and services

for their

organizationally in digitally driven

more selfservice ways so that's not to

say that a multi-channel or Omni Channel

B2B sales organization is going to

change overnight what that does mean is

that that change is rapidly coming where

eCommerce is becoming the Preferred

channel but every single channel from a

branch to EDI to uh to to reps is all

becoming digitally driven digitally

native and digitally originated so the C

change is is that anything having to do

with the buying and selling interaction

today is going to begin and end with

some point with some touch point on

digital and where companies today across

the globe by the way are struggling is

it's not just an e-commerce channel it's

not just a branch Channel all of these

channels and it ranges from three to

five to seven to 10 all of these

interact across the buyer seller

spectrum and all that is digitally

driven so in short these younger more

self-service digitally driven buyers

what they want is an increased user

experience from Sellers and they want

them to cross all the channels and all

the touch points they do business with

and they're very exacting in that uh we

have research that shows just how short

of attention span these B2B buyers have

if if they don't see what they want

across the board from uh you know from

the sellers so I mean it's not just the

lowest price you know do you have the do

you have the terms do you have the tools

do you have the uh uh the the requisite

number of uh of uh of Partners I would I

would work with all of that comes into

play for these complex transactions so

to answer the questions so Sly to the

point it's all changing it's all being

digitally driven and the buyers today

are much more demanding online than ever

before and many struggle and many and

many sellers big manufacturers small

distribution companies retailers across

the globe that sell to primarily a

business audience they are flat out

wrestling with this not all of it but at

least part of it so big sea change going

on and what that means is whether it's

India or the us or someplace in Europe

or even 10 Buck two that there's going

to be winners and losers and we're

seeing that happen quite a bit so lot

going on here a lot to un pack too as as

I must say thank you Mark so you

highlighted those very key insights

which is uh the new buyers the new B2B

buyers to be specific are digital first

they want self-serving modes they want a

great experience and you know all the

obvious changes and a lot of things have

changed so how how can

manufacturers cater to this changed

behavior and you know attack this

discontent you know head first well you

know it's a a couple of things I mean

the term B2B or businessto business

e-commerce has nothing in common I don't

think

with business to Consumer e-commerce

they're two different Critters they

happen to share the name e-commerce but

in business it is much more it's much

more defined by buyer seller Market

audience engagement so my point is

buying a ched engine or par for ched

engine is much different than buying you

know replacement headlights for your you

know for the for the factory floor kind

of thing so there's there's different

proclivities different nuances whole

different ways of doing business

depending upon the industry so it's all

different fundamentally from business to

business with the exception of the

overarching trends of what the buyers

want online and what sellers must

deliver and manufacturers are a case in

point and a lot of Manufacturers are

struggling with with this issue because

they may have figured out three things

they may have figured out that they've

got an e-commerce site or they've got

their best catalog with their best

pricing behind a firewall that can take

an online order which is what many

manufacturers and distribution companies

call e-commerce and they know that very

well they've lived that very well maybe

they've done it for years or they're far

enough enough long where they think they

know that channel but the thing is

that's only one channel manufacturers

have very standard distribution lines so

you know these are manufacturing

companies big and small

they they may have been doing the same

the same way of business BR the same

distribution crowd you know to send

product out to the masses for a 100

years 50 years 60 years not uncommon so

manufacturers are challenged by many

things for for

starters uh they may understand what

they think is their e-commerce Channel

but they don't understand that

multipoint Omni Channel sales

integration digitally driven Matrix I

just talked about so buyers and sellers

intermix with a manufacturer online

across many different venues and a lot

of manufacturing companies big and small

are

are trying to figure out how that is

because that's what the customers want

so they got the memo I mean an Indian

manufacturers has got the same Memo from

their digital buyers an American

manufacturer did so it's all kind of

universal but where're manufacturers as

a group and it's hard to generalize as a

group where they're struggling is trying

to understand the channel integration as

it applies to their customer base all

they know is their customer base is much

more digitally native these days they

want much more tools cross Channel

interaction with these digital channels

harder to do easier said than done the

other question

is in online retail and business

consumer e-commerce retailers have been

shipping to customers and consumers for

25 years so they know what that is they

know about Last Mile Logistics and

ontime delivery and transparency into

into Parcels that don't get picked up or

go missing and all that type of thing

because they've done this they that's

their learning curve manufacturers are

brand new to this manufacturers

typically deal in big big big big orders

you know and when you're shipping

something off to a single company and

it's only a few items and it's a you

know high volume low ticket item that's

a whole new set of Last Mile Logistics

order management order fulfillment that

a traditional manufacturer is not used

to but on the end but the thing is

that's

changing because that's what the digital

customers want so the final the final

challenge is where a lot of

manufacturing companies primarily tend

to fail is that

they they they can't see the for for

through the trees across the Enterprise

maybe the supply chain guys get digital

transformation maybe the e-commerce team

gets everything digital if you will but

maybe the sales team does not or let's

say the North American team know is is

they're front and center plugged into

e-commerce but guess what you know the

uh you know the deli branch is not the

group they just bought in Mumbai is just

not the London office that runs all the

European operations is not there on

board yet so there's a lot of internal

challenges that are preventing many

manufacturing companies distribution

companies of all sizes from having a one

siiz

fits-all strategy that's right for us

and and where they tend to kind of go

wrong

is they talk to their customers yes hear

what the customer wants yes but then the

thing is where many companies fail big

and small is they seem to think that the

technology is what they need if they buy

the new platform that's all said but if

you don't think about the platform in

terms of how it relates to your back end

and your data which is messy or to the

whole new front end of last M Logistics

order fulfillment order management you

have not thought through the entire

comprehensive digital strategy so a lot

of people in the US for the most part

I'll because I we talk about them we

talk to them the most where they fail if

they see technology as the strategy as

the e-commerce strategy it's not

technology is not the business strategy

and that's where a lot of companies are

are struggling to figure out how to get

it right with their audience Their

audience has told them I want this give

me this you give me this I'll give you

so much business I'll become a loyal

customer so they hear that but delivery

depending upon who you are and where

you're at in your in your in your growth

cycle easier said than done yeah I I I

love that statement where you say your

e-commerce platform isn't your strategy

it's just a technology that enables you

to do a lot more that you weren but it's

not your

strategy and adding on to that part I

mean you you mentioned

that the you know manufacturers should

adopt mult all the multi- channel so you

have your your portal your website in

some cases there are specific

Marketplace

now you know marketplaces when it comes

to b2c we all have great

examples in some cases I heard you I

heard you speak about how B2B

marketplaces are also a great

opportunity which lies out there and not

all manufacturers are capturing

it what you know could you tell us about

B2B marketplaces as an opportunity for

manufacturers actually a very very

interesting location to watch for B2B

marketplaces is

India

India

India is on the cusp of being more

advanced with B2B marketplaces across

more verticals than the us or Europe and

there there is reason for that because

e-commerce I mean I I I was I actually

came to Mumbai 12 years ago to deliver a

keynote on online retailing e-commerce

so I got to kind of Meet the market up

close in person up close in person and

e-commerce was late to India you know

but then because it LeapFrog from you

know land from a landline to a mobile

environment that set India up for doing

e-commerce pretty fast pretty far kind

of far reaching given you know the uh

the the mobile base and and frankly the

population size so BC made some critical

mass pretty quick if you will and

because businesses are following kind of

the same overarching theme Indian B2B

Commerce is a lot more aggressive than

other parts of the world including

Europe maybe parts of the US if you will

so using using uh India as an example

there's an emerging Global pocket of

marketplaces coming out of India I

forget who the company was but it's one

of your leading steel companies they

just launched a global Marketplace for

Metals you know so B2B marketplaces are

the fastest growing mainstream digital

sales Channel I have seen in years of

covering any kind of e-commerce because

why is that uh the concept is not new

it's been around for 20 25 plus years my

colleague Paul and I were kind of

writing about the initial ones that fail

back in the early 2000s you know if you

will so uh good idea but the technology

wasn't even close but once again you

know Co shifted everything so when supp

supply chain problems erupted in China

at the start of covid that that sent a

lot of companies is looking into

sourcing product wherever they could and

over the course of the last two or three

four years that facilitated this

momentum of this B2B Marketplace

explosion across the globe across niches

I'll use the us as a as a prime example

five years ago six years ago I counted

75 of them that's it we knew them pretty

good you know because we just we it was

it was not that big a market uh I

counted

250 two years ago I counted 500 this

year in the US I I will count a thousand

I've been telling people I will count a

thousand B2B

marketplaces across the US inside two

years and I know I'm right on that now

why is that because the model is taking

cross the model is a B2B Marketplace is

a term and a B2B Marketplace can be

defined as any kind of platform in some

degree that brings together digital

buyers and sellers for the exchange of

some kind of transaction and I'm telling

you there could be eight nine 10 5 6 4 3

12 different versions of what somebody

calls their Marketplace but in the end

it's a platform for bringing together

buyers and sellers in some kind of

market and then adding you know the

product mix and the tools that those

buyers want to do business with those

sellers so so it's as simple as that but

it's all digitally driven and Amazon

business might be the biggest example of

that I have never seen a faster B2B

e-commerce company across any Spectrum

come across this this what Amazon does

for a living right it's it's why they're

Amazon but you know they took market

share away in the industrial supply

business quicker than anybody ever

thought and considering that nobody

controls the line share of any kind of

sales in B2B Commerce here which is a

$2.6 trillion Doll Market this year

Amazon business grabbed one% in two

years now the fact I want to unpack that

for just a sec the fact that Sony gain

1% market share in two years by itself

May mean nothing but in a market where

you're talking trillions of dollars and

one company can put together a 1% share

in something in that short of time

that's amazing metric and it shows you

how big the future for these

marketplaces can be and if you get your

your Niche right like Amazon's doing how

big you can get so there's a permanent

shift happening if you will marketplaces

whether it's India or Europe or or North

America are going to become not just a

third whe nice to have sales channel

it's going to become as important to

your to your business as your e-commerce

site that's not a prediction and that's

just the way things are going to be so

the the strategy there is figuring out

just like our technology plan our

business strategy plan a lot of

companies are wrestling with what

Marketplace strategy is right for me is

it one is it many stay tuned they need

to find out but you know that is going

to do nothing but growth and now will

all these marketplaces be around in a

couple years I don't know it's the wild

west over here a lot of money was

flowing into it the last couple years

now investors are kind of tightening the

curves and asking you know for bigger

return but you know for two the last two

years get some money throw it against

the wall see if it sticks if it does

stick let's grow it so there's been some

some some

fantastic uh uh marketplaces that that

did just that and they're doing just

fine but a lot of Boneyard uh names

coming up too meaning they won't be

around for long but it's fun to cover

it's the wild westers we like to say

so so very nicely put mark on one side

you on one side you have those digital

first self Ser you know PE uh buyers who

are looking for self- serving modes on

the other hand you have those growing

marketplaces where there is a proven way

of doing business because the B2 the new

buyers need it and now there is a there

is this huge question in front of

Manufacturers which Market place or

marketplaces should I opt for are there

any pros are there any cons because you

are putting out your goods your private

information out there for everybody to

see not just your buyers but also your

competition I'm sure that is going to be

a huge

concern how would you advise

manufacturers to choose the right Market

please overcome these concerns to ensure

that they are there out there in near

future as well and not

get and not like you said do not be

those losers out there because there are

going to be some wieners winers out

there yeah I mean I mean to bring it

down the simplest terms it's basically

what do you want to be when you grow up

I mean the reasons that a manufacturer

would Embrace any Marketplace let alone

one two or three has got to be decided

by the organizations as to what's right

for you I mean for many companies

manufacturing companies it's uh we want

we want a new place to sell product we

want new we want new exposure to new

marketpl to New Markets if you will we

want new audiences we want to generate

Revenue but uh it not it it might not be

just all those it could be a mixture of

all of those if you will so only a

manufacturer will have to know where it

thinks the marketplace can best serve as

a new distribution sales point for its

organization and the prime reasons are

for doing that I mean a lot of people on

Amazon business you know they will they

will scream bloody

murder about the cost of doing business

on Amazon business because it's Amazon

you go there because you know that they

will get your product to pretty much who

they say they are you know but the WAP

against Amazon on the marketplace side

is they want too much they take over

your business you know uh and for any

reasons that if you don't do something

they'll kick you off and you've given

them all this and by the way blah blah

blah it's expensive but Amazon does that

because you do business on Amazon

business because you want because

they've got the audience you think you

want are you willing to pay the entry

fee and the ongoing fee to engage with

that audience in a way it's going to

sell you where you think you want to be

so the conundrum is a lot of

Manufacturers generally they may select

Amazon business or even Amazon or or or

Amazon Marketplace itself if you will to

go and sell what their what their

products are and they may find that

overall their revenue increases because

they're selling through a platform like

Amazon but when you do the cost analysis

of all the overheads that gets tacked

onto that Marketplace

transaction it's not as profitable as

you want so becomes a conundrum you know

I'm getting more Revenue but is this

Revenue generating the profits I thought

this is it generating that the profit of

the ROI I need it to be to sell on a new

venue like this so I mean that's just

one comp that's just one microc comp of

a very complicated equation that a

manufacturing company has to use you

know to uh you know to figure out what

it wants to do but I got to tell you you

know I uh uh we cover them all you know

eBay and Amazon and Alibaba and a host

of others

Alibaba uh when Amazon went big I like

to say Alibaba went small you know when

they came across to the us as an example

to sell you know their Marketplace to an

American Business

audience they looked at Amazon and

Amazon had the Enterprise customers

pretty well locked up or a pretty good

base in there so you know what they went

for the small the medium-sized business

owner and they're making some really

good Headway in reaching that small

business buyer here in the States

including manufacturing companies that

want to sell to a global audience and I

gotta tell you manufa they alibaba's

done a really really nice job of putting

together a suite of intuitive tools that

uh that makes it easy for these

companies to use that platform they they

I went out there to a show that they did

and I keynoted in in September they

rolled out a new online sourcing tool

for an Alibaba seller a small us

business owner let's say that made

sourcing product from over 200,000

manufacturers across the globe actually

pretty easy was very intuitive it's one

of the best a it's one of the best

applications I've seen by anybody in

quite some time so my point to you is

these marketplaces will Pro proliferate

but the ones that are going to last are

going to be the ones that provide that

user experience tied to the range of

buyers and sellers these folks want to

do business with that's what's going to

make or break a Marketplace model for

manufacturing company do you have what I

want to do and the tools to do it by

simple as

that these are great points Mark and

that got me thinking is is there a way

for manufacturers to while use

marketplaces as a channel to grow to

still retain or build that customer base

you know build a loyal customer base if

I may is there a way they could do this

because that's one of the concerns

because you are selling on a platform

whether it's Alibaba whether it's Amazon

they own the whole customer experience

and they know the customer so hence the

the incentives and the

commissions is there a way you use those

platforms as part of your strategy but

still figure out a way to build that

loyal customer base are there any tricks

yeah that's a good question here here's

a couple things kind of going on here

big picture-wise and once again it's

ubiquitous across the market the same

issue is is in North America Europe

China timb two India it's the same and

here's one back to our to our

Marketplace strategy there is a

disconnect between what companies say

they want to do and what they're

actually going to do so here's a case in

point uh you know we do surveys a lot of

them I quote a lot of surveys in fact

I'm kind of writing on up from McKenzie

after we're off the uh the podcast here

and you know do you see AI as being a a

a big thing for your company oh yes we

do says 80% of companies do you intend

to make e-commerce a big part of your

digital transformation plan going

forward oh yes we are 55% said yes mean

those kind of stats right so the intent

is there but then the latest numbers I'm

seeing is that because of and maybe I

I'll stick to the US here business

spending in the US is in a funk you know

you can talk about Job rates and

unemployment rate the thing is but you

know business technology spending in the

US has been in a fun for the better part

of a year and

frankly us manufacturers and

distribution companies ended the year on

a uh on a uh on a bad note I mean the

sales it was negative sales not positive

so business spending is down uh

technology spending is being kicked the

can down the road so my point to you is

despite the fact these companies are

saying that yes these are Big digital

transformation priorities for the

Enterprise the disconnect is that

instead of this happening this year it's

being kicked down the road for maybe two

more years so my point to you is that

the SE change is

coming the C change will dictate that as

a Manufacturing Company you flat out

will have to have a marketpl strategy

right for you in some capacity

but that might not happen this year

because of budget because of internal uh

conflict over what it's going to mean or

company buying or assess of those so

there's this big lag time and it's

coming it's a c change even tsunami but

you know it's not going to happen

today but it's shifting more quickly

across the timeline I've ever seen

across the years I've been doing this so

that's the key point which

is 18 18 months two years from now

you'll see a lot more of the commonality

of a Marketplace strategy or digital

transformation spending or companies big

small otherwise doing better with

multiple sales Channel Integrations are

tied to digital transformation of the

art today because of reasons I just

cited it's underway the fire is lit but

the timeline is not the next six months

it's the next two to three

years so it's going to be tougher for

manufacturers to because of the limited

spending and for because of the concerns

in the business environment whether it's

their own website their own B2B website

or whether it's

marketplaces it's still going to be a

struggle for them to build that loyalty

with their customers yeah there's a

couple things kind of going on I mean it

uh I call it popping the hood you know

on a car like a car you know you pop the

hood and there's something wrong down

there but you know you gota look at the

engine all you know is the car is not

running so there's when you when you

kind of Pop the C when you kind of Pop

the uh the hood on the car to kind of

use that analogy to see what's going on

about some of the I just talked about is

not only is there kind of a lag in

business spending tied to eCommerce

development projects they're being

delayed because of cost reasons and so

many other ones you know there's a

different you know there's new

technologies that are coming into play

now so Legacy is out Cloud's in you know

sass is in Cloud SAS tied to AI is very

much definitely in but you know

connected Commerce to use a term

headless Commerce to use a term all of

these are becoming the new debate about

what does this mean to my e-commerce

technology and platform strategy do I

need this do I not need this what do I

do so not only are there buyer demands

that are increasing on the

organization prompting them to have this

internal discussion about resources and

we what we can do now versus later the

other part of the equation is now you've

got new Technologies like headless and

connected and AI coming on board here

and you got to figure

out is that right for me and if so where

does that fit in if it does you know but

uh e-commerce has a way of changing the

technology whiteboard wipe it away it's

technology of course right so it's

pretty fast moving but it's fast moving

in a way that presents unique challenges

in this day and time to manufacturers

and distribution companies

so it all figures out but there's a lot

of is it nice to have versus must have

technology going on behind the scenes

and that takes time to evaluate you know

so that brings on to me that brings me

to the next important question and you

you know you did allude to that as

well is AI or specific to be generative

AI a good to have technology or a must

have technology for

manufacturers

uh there is a uh AI is here it's been

around for 20 years I mean yeah it's

just machine learning so you uh if

you've talked to a chat box on an

e-commerce site which you've done

probably for many years depending upon

where you live that's AI you know

personalization is AI that's been around

forever so what you're seeing here is to

boil it down yes AI is real AI will

become even more real AI will become

even more present in e-commerce across

14 different touch points of the

business digital technology ecosystem in

other words it'll it'll show up in

marketing customer service CRM order

fulfillment order management last

Logistics platform supply chain

procurement on down the road

so there's all of this bubbling along

here if you will but it's not holistic

yet it's not mainstream so

where you're seeing it is where it's it

where it's actually being used first

which is

personalization Supply Chain

management uh product recommendation

tied back to

personalization or some or some aspect

of marketing and Merchandising so that's

not a new memo that's been around for

three or four years but that but that's

kind of the the starting point for a lot

of companies to figure out what else can

we do with this stuff and that is a

uh as unique to a company as to what

they do for a living here's a perfect

example Pittsburgh Paint is very known

globally but you know they're one of the

oldest paint manufacturers here in the

US and uh they sell a lot of paint to

body shops that fix your poor car that

got in an accident you know and I was

talking to the chief digital officer

over there at PPG a few few months ago

and said hey all this AI stuff

uh any applications for actual

e-commerce you guys are doing he said

you bet uh a pint of

paint in a body shop I said well that's

interesting what do you mean so to boil

it down

apparently for a body shop to order

paint from manufacturer like Pittsburgh

Paint it's a very involved process

because apparently there's a lot that

goes into even a small amount of paint

that goes on your car it's very custom

very expensive very this very that and

before apparently was a very manual

process to figure out I need this much

and this quantity to do this this this

and you know and and get a shift here so

Pittsburgh Paint actually came up with

an AI application that made the whole uh

that made the whole ordering of this

paint easier to do to figure out to

order and then as the last part of the

equation they brought e-commerce into it

so instead of like an AI tool just kind

of planning out what you need how you

need what's going to look like all that

they tied it together with the

configuration of it the quantity of it

the logistics of it and then now go

ahead and order it so that's one of the

first examples I've heard about from

mainstream manufacturing where uh an AI

application came to bear with between

both order management orderful fillment

supply chain processing and e-commerce

but that's where you're going to see

this kind of application uh come up

because for for PPG apparently was a

problem so their Tech guys got together

and found that AI was a solution to that

problem and I think that's where you're

going to see more of this become

mainstream as individual organizations

figure out how they can use these new

technology to apply and fix some kind of

e-commerce problem or realize an

opportunity within within with

organization we don't know yet it's too

new for it's too new for for all this

but we're going to cover it we're going

to cover it it'll be fun to cover so

that that was an interesting one I mean

uh specifically because it was uh very

specific to

manufacturing I the the typical use

cases that I have seen and you know I'm

referring to one of the used cases of AI

that we deployed recently was a very uh

simple and basic one but really helped

our uh customer which was we deployed a

a support bot an AI bought which

basically automated routine order

queries that is all it that if you ask

it where's my order it would just tell

you the your order is in transit what's

the status of my order this is the state

of status of your order that is all it

did but for for the customer it it saved

close to 20 to 25% of their sales reps

time so for them they loved it so I I

like here's here's another example

there's a $2.2 billion Distribution

Company called partstown located here in

my hometown of Chicago and they serve

you know restaurants and and Food

Service operators that's what they they

sell like equipment you know like pots

and pans and all kinds of stuff far

beyond that but that's what they

do they just rolled out what they call

their Parts predictor and all it is it's

an AI application laid over an enhanced

search function that helps you find and

configure the order quicker faster

better cheaper so it saves you time and

money getting what you need so that is

the first iteration of where AI from a

distribution standpoint is going to

happen I mean that's just one example

but I think we've written about several

of the same type of things so if you

look at one of the places where

mainstream AI will pretend to beat the

e-commerce is it might be a second tier

chat box with advanced search

functionality

beneath the main search box behind a

login portal where if you know what you

want or you need it to configure faster

cheaper better to re you know to replace

something that's where you're going to

see iterations of AI come into place in

the next 12- 18 months because we're

talking to a lot of companies now that

are kind of piloting that so those are

the first true examples that I've seen

you know From The Trenches here where AI

is being applied directly to e-commerce

and not just sales marketing

personalization or

merchandising you know but

this it's hard to generalize because

it's going to be all over the place I

mean I

count we count what the digital

ecosystem is there's 14 different pieces

of Technology from from a PIN to a

platform to a CRM to order management

they connect to a spoken Hub that that's

called digital technology if you will

there's 14 of them so is AI gonna show

up in all 14 you

bet soon as it post to later but yeah so

it's fun to watch all this stuff is it

mainstream yet no is on the is on the

way to becoming mainstream depending

upon how you f Define mainstream the

answer is yes the short answer is a lot

of experimenting going on but it's going

to become mainstream yeah you know it's

going to reinvent how things gets done

just depending upon what your view of

the world is on it so great so you

already answered one of my questions

which was about an interesting success

story using AI so I have one final one

because we touched upon that at the

start which is any uh could you share

one success story of a

manufacturer using Marketplace as a

strategy and actually succeeding in it a

short one you want an example of a

manufacturing company that's actually

using a Marketplace to succeed yeah B2B

Marketplace which could be part of their

goto Market strategy or you know one of

their channels for example I'll do you

one better there's a uh there's a

company in Upstate New York they're

called Bay Fastener and they're a

Distribution Company and 60% of the

manufacturers in the fastor industry

sell through this Distribution Company

in other words they've been around for

63 years so you know they've got

fantastic ties if you will to

manufacturers that make Fasteners and

screws and bolts and all that stuff and

uh they've been selling online for years

I mean Michael eckinger is the CT the

you know the CTO out there and we've

been talking to him for years about this

stuff I point them for a

reason I couldn't think of a better

company poised to launch a Marketplace

than base systems and they did and they

had the tea leaves going in they had 60%

of all the

manufacturers

uh that was flowing product through

their company they had the reach to of

the entire industry thus they formed the

marketplace so the te leaves were good

now here's where it got

interesting they spent two years

building the

platform building out the marketplace

strategy and launching it and Michael is

honest because he's going to tell you

that the payback for a Marketplace

operation is three to five years longer

than they initially thought oh it's that

long a play

so I said well why is that and one of

the reason the slowest reasons is

onboarding customers you know because

they do business with the entire faster

industry so yeah they've got the

manufacturing they got they got the

product they can ship through the

marketplace just come place the order

not that

simple one of their biggest challenges

was onboarding customers for this you

know so uh the orders might you're

talking people the fax orders in and

you're having to kind of walk them

through why a Marketplace strategy might

be easier so to Michael's point might

take a day or a few hours for a small

guy to figure out how to switch over his

manual orders to digital through the

marketplace but what if you're what if

you're a much larger company placing

much bigger orders and what you've done

for Generations is all paper it takes

time it's not just a new way of thinking

it's converting all of that into a

digital transaction flowing through

Marketplace so in the end it's a win-win

for everybody but Michael's point is the

timeline for doing that has has

convinced them that the ROI on doing a

Marketplace is 3 to five years out

versus 1 to two so it's not for the

faint hearted it's not for those who

don't have resources and B if you want a

fast

Roi you're not going to get it so that

was very eye- opening I thought but

that's a good example of of one company

specifically and what their expectations

and results are for a Marketplace but

you know what they've been at it for

three years now and they're getting

there nice it's just taking longer than

they ever thought possible because it's

it's a new it's a new way of doing

things takes time so so so the

technology may take two years to build

because it's an industrial but the

adoption the change in the their

customers behavior is 3 to five years

exactly interesting my question was

slightly different but this is

definitely interesting uh what what I

was trying to understand is if a company

had to sell via a third party

Marketplace let's say Alibaba or

Amazon is you know any success story

where companies have

succeeded doing that

and how would you advise manufacturers

on getting started with this with you

know Marketplace and AI as the new tech

that their buyers are actively asking

for I'm kind of blanking on on a

specific company if I had a little bit

longer I could we can certainly come

back there if we do this again but I I'm

blank on a specific company because we

cover marketplaces so much but to answer

your final

question it all comes down to just basic

blocking and tackling what do you want

any participation in the marketplace to

do if it's to generate new Revenue then

think through that you know look at the

economics of the marketplace figure out

if this particular Marketplace or or

several has what she want to get you the

the revenue you think you want to

generate through this and do from that

but if

your if your primary goal is different

which might be for many companies it's

acquiring new channels it's acquiring

new markets it's going after new new

areas to sell things and that's

different than just we need to kind of

generate more Revenue the two can be

tied together but it's just basic

blocking and tackling you've got to

decide what is right for your

organization and then plan accordingly

to fit what's right for your

organization as simple as that that

seems pretty generic and and plain

spoken easier said than

done easier said than done I gotta tell

you it takes time to do all that you

know doing due diligence on a new

channel and a new company a new platform

it's a lot it's a lot of time and effort

you know

so yeah diamond comp's got deci it's up

to them to do it I think it is a lot of

companies are doing it but you know what

it it comes down to what's right for you

so understood anyway uh mark thank I

mean you know that was my last questions

and I won't you know keep busy with us

because you mentioned that you had

another appointment so thank you for

your time today mark it was great

understanding the the huge disconnect

that you had you have regularly pointed

it out in the in the B2B buying and

selling specifically with respect to

manufacturing your your insights on

marketplaces and that interesting Ai and

Marketplace story I'm sure our our

audience is going to love it so thank

you again I love doing this and thank

you for having me I appreciate the

opportunity thank you very much and

we'll love to have you soon for another

so I'm going to ask our audience to

suggest another topic after you know

listening to this so happy to have you I

like to say I'm a bad Penny I keep

showing up so I me happy to do it just

name the time and place look forward to

it awesome awesome right thank you much

thank you all right take care