M-commerce will be a major destabilizing element of the B2B market. Many companies have been working on the development of better procurement solutions for the past two decades, but B2B e-commerce has fallen far behind B2C in this respect. 2021 will act as a tipping point for many B2B sellers who seemed unconcerned with how they sell online.
First Of All: Why Is B2B M-Commerce Taking So Long To Implement?
The rapid ascent of e-commerce was a direct consequence of its accessibility, but now its most important purpose is the strategic compiling of user data. In B2B, there was no initial incentive to work on the implementation and improvement of these services due to the scarcity of competitors. The current state of the B2B market couldn’t be more different, which has created a window of opportunity for innovators.
Another particularity of the market refers to B2B sales solutions and price disclosure. Gaining access to a price list is a daunting task even when clients do not need a custom quote. B2B companies are hesitant to disclose their prices in order to be able to negotiate different price points with different customers.
Buyers want it to be easier and faster to find out the cost of products and services. Under this kind of pressure, the market is moving towards full disclosure, but sellers are slowing down the process significantly.
What Is The Role Of M-Commerce In B2B Sales?
The most important difference between B2B and B2C sales is that in B2B the product customers purchase is part of a larger process within their organization: it is either a consumable, a raw material, or a product that can be ordered from and replicated by other manufacturers as well.
In this context, e-commerce itself becomes a service that provides added value. Up until this point, acquisition applications have been widely ignored, but different providers have begun to understand that m-commerce is a differentiating service that should be treated with the same care and consideration as the products on offer.
M-Commerce As A Service In 2021
The companies that implemented desktop e-commerce apps, particularly password-protected versions, will transition towards m-commerce because it constitutes an opportunity to develop a new system and try out a novel approach.
Order functions will be adapted to align with buyer intent. For example, a raw materials provider can offer amazing added value by allowing a loyal customer to repeat previous purchases. This makes the task easier to delegate and speeds up the entire process.
M-Commerce Effectively Decentralizes The Procurement Process
When working with B2B sales systems, mandatory customer login is a problematic aspect. In contrast to B2C, where customers can use guest check-out services, obligatory log-in can jeopardize the user conversion process. People find it difficult to deal with cascading notifications and approval processes in order to be able to complete a purchase.
M-commerce makes it easier to gain access to the sales system because mobile apps are inherently more secure. They function by identifying the user’s mobile device, therefore it is simpler to implement more relaxed authentication processes. These allow users to come back to the app at a later time when the order status has changed or to approve several requests at once.
This will essentially decentralize the procurement process. Many tasks pertaining to it will no longer require close attention. The easier it is to make a purchase, the more time users have to focus on more crucial tasks.
Upcoming Challenges For B2B M-Commerce Implementation
Simply creating a shop that aligns with B2C standards as a B2B seller does not provide added value on mobile devices. Providing an amazing virtual shopping experience requires a significant financial investment, and it is safe to assume that a lot of market contenders will spend their money without managing to differentiate themselves from competitors through added value.
B2B companies find it harder to mobilize and conduct user research in order to gain a deeper understanding of user needs. This is not in the least bit surprising, as their fortes lie elsewhere. But how absurd is it that the IT department responsible for the digital products never communicates with the customers who use them? This missing link is precisely the type of process which brings added value to m-commerce as a service.
The other major challenge stems from the fact that these apps must integrate different processes from buyer and seller alike. This means that the system needs to be conceptualized so as to ensure that the two separate interfaces are logically linked. An iterative, user-centered design process is necessary in order to successfully accomplish this feat. IT departments within B2B companies are not typically accustomed to iterative processes.
Who Will Win The Race On B2B M-Commerce Implementation
Taking into account previous conclusions, it’s very likely that larger companies will find it harder to mobilize in a timely manner to implement a B2B m-commerce solution. If their development process won’t be centered around user needs, B2B sellers are bound to launch overly-complicated apps that act as digital renditions of the flaws in the sales process.
Mid-sized companies have the adaptability and the budget necessary for the development of robust and efficient M-Commerce applications. They will be the winners of the race to innovation.
A different category of winners will be B2B marketplaces. They will most likely be developed by startups that will create procurement applications for various B2B niches, bringing the offers of several sellers to one platform and offering high-quality smart services.
Widespread implementation of m-commerce services is a complicated, time-consuming process. In the following 2 to 3 years, when innovators will have already validated the models they have launched, their spectacular growth will disrupt B2B markets.
