Manufacturers' Edition: Buyer-Seller Disconnect, B2B Marketplaces, AI eCommerce Trends | Mark Brohan
Summary
TLDRDans 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
😀 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.
🌐 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.
🛍️ 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.
🏭 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.
📈 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.
🛒 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.
🤖 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.
🔧 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.
🚀 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡AI
💡Transformation numérique
💡B2B (Business-to-Business)
💡Marchés électroniques B2B
💡Déconnexion entre acheteurs et vendeurs
💡Expérience utilisateur
💡Canaux de vente multiplateformes
💡Tendances du commerce électronique
💡Plateformes technologiques
💡Stratégie de marketplace
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
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