Benefits that drive the ROI of a new eCommerce platform

B2B eCommerce has never been more important. Even before the corona pandemic sparked more online purchases, leading analysts predicted massive industry growth. Given the good results of early adopters, other B2B sellers are also exploring digital opportunities to gain a better market position.

As with any investment, ROI plays a central role in a new eCommerce platform. In this blog article, we take a closer look at that ROI and highlight the key financial and operational benefits of a B2B eCommerce platform.

Less costs per order

Accepting and processing an offline order costs an organization on average between 50 and 150 euros. With a B2B eCommerce platform you reduce these expenses by 25 percent. At the same time, you deliver a self-service model that many customers are looking for. Modern web shops give customers the ability to view stocks in real time, place and change orders, view shipping statuses and place repeat orders.

As an organization, you spend less time on order management and salespeople become product experts and advisors who can focus on value-enhancing results. The bottom line? Significant savings on labor costs and a happier customer.

Less operational costs

Ensure good integration between your eCommerce solution and other important business processes and systems. The result? Automated data flows and less error-prone manual processes, allowing you to process orders faster and take customer service to the next level. Integrating data channels automates repetitive and manual tasks, saving you significant operational costs.

More orders and a higher order value

eCommerce goes hand in hand with the collection of data. By carefully studying that information and thus discovering patterns in the purchasing behavior of customers, you increase both the number of orders and the average order value. Personalization is an important factor in this. Customers respond positively to personalized offers. Examples are cross-selling and up-selling, which increase the average order value (AOV) and generate additional revenue.

B2B eCommerce improves your customer service

In a typical, more traditional sales setting, we often see the following pattern: A customer service representative looks up the availability of a product in the ERP system, places an order and helps other members of the team through the same system. That is possible, but the problem is that ERP systems often do not have a user-friendly interface. A good e-commerce platform does have that and presents the right services in a user-friendly jacket.

In addition, in an ERP system often not all data is quickly available, where a customer has much more data at his disposal through the webshop. So you can end up in the situation that the customer has better information than one of your employees.

Look for an eCommerce solution that offers the possibility to also facilitate the customer service or account management role. This ensures a better customer experience. A great asset, since the customer experience (more than price) is the distinguishing factor these days.

Reach more customers

According to Forrester, 30 percent of buyers make half of all purchases online. Investing in eCommerce means reaching a new and larger segment of the market. Buyers also increasingly research and compare a product online. With an easily navigable eCommerce platform you have gold in your hands in that respect.

Data as the basis for new insights

Modern customers place high demands on a seller's services. Requirements that are also continuously evolving. In order to meet those requirements, you have to avoid mistakes or at least solve them quickly and properly. Errors such as delivering an incorrect or incomplete order quickly cause customers to lose interest in your brand.

With a good B2B eCommerce platform you automate processes and use data (the oil of the new economy) as the basis for better customer service. The integration with ERP, CMS and PIM systems also provides a good overview of all aspects of your business. This way you build a strong foundation for better business decisions, you always stay up-to-date and you consistently deliver on your promises to the customer.

Conclusion

When making an ROI calculation for an eCommerce platform, it is important to include as many factors as possible in the equation. The reality is that customers are increasingly choosing eCommerce as their preferred business channel. Ultimately, digital selling adds value for everyone involved, whether they are sales representatives, suppliers or end customers

An ROI calculation is ultimately only as effective as the data you put into it. Start with an initial basic forecast and adjust it based on current data at the next ROI calculation. This way you gradually discover new revenue models, opportunities for cost savings and ways to improve the productivity of your staff. This helps enormously in evaluating various scenarios and focusing your strategy. Ultimately, you will automatically find the path to the ideal solution.