Accenture and hybris Study Finds B2B Suppliers Are Investing in E-Commerce to Deliver Better Purchasing Experience for Business Buyers

As the volume of business-to-business (B2B) purchases being made online continues to grow, B2B suppliers are responding by expanding their e-commerce platforms and overall omni-channel capabilities, according to new research from Accenture (NYSE:ACN) and hybris software, an SAP company.

Fifty-two percent of business buyers expect at least half of their purchases to be made online in three years’ time, as shown in the study “Building The B2B Omni-Channel Commerce Platform Of The Future,” conducted by Forrester Consulting in North America, France, Germany and the United Kingdom on behalf of Accenture and hybris. To view the research infographic, please click here.

The study also found that consumer shopping habits are influencing how B2B purchasers expect to buy from suppliers. Already, nearly half of business buyers (49 percent) prefer making work-related purchases on the same websites they use for personal purchases. Consequently, the study also found that 83 percent of B2B suppliers surveyed are either in the process of implementing or upgrading their e-commerce suite or planning to do so within six months.

“Business buyers are coming online with high expectations across the board,” said Brigid Fyr, managing director for North America omni-channel commerce, Accenture Interactive, part of Accenture Digital. “With three out of four buyers stating they would buy again from a supplier with an easy-to-use website, sellers have a large opportunity for growth by focusing on making the entire purchasing experience as easy as ordering a book online or downloading music onto a smartphone.”

How Business Suppliers Meet Buyers’ Expectations

When asked to cite the top features or functions they would most like from suppliers in the selling process, most business buyers chose enhanced search functionality on their website (60 percent), followed by showing ratings and reviews of products and services (58 percent) and improved personalized product or service recommendations on their website (50 percent). Additionally, nearly seven out of 10 business buyers (69 percent) prefer to use direct, instant online forms of payment, such as credit cards or payment systems, rather than purchase orders and invoices.

According to the study, suppliers are listening: In the next 18 months, nearly half (48 percent) are planning to improve search functionality on their website, and four out of 10 (42 percent) are planning to enhance personalized product or service recommendations for their business customers. Already, 86 percent of B2B sellers allow customers to use credit or debit cards when making a purchase, and 79 percent allow online payment services.

Omni-Channel Efforts Are Driving Investment in Technology

Two-thirds of B2B suppliers (66 percent) acknowledge that shifting customer expectations are driving their technology investments in omni-channel initiatives, such as implementing or upgrading e-commerce platforms and mobile services. More than eight out of 10 B2B companies (83 percent) agree that an omni-channel strategy is critical to a company’s long-term success by driving more sales and profit. Additionally, 85 percent recognize technology investment decisions will be centered on the omni-channel strategy.

Importantly, B2B sellers are also beginning to look beyond e-commerce and omni-channel to the technologies that will drive the future of their businesses. When asked to identify the areas in which their companies would invest in the future, nearly two-thirds of sellers (62 percent) cited automated pricing options, while the use of wearable computing in distribution centers to increase the efficiency of the supply chain process was cited by nearly half (49 percent).

“Business suppliers have made a good start adapting to changing buying patterns,” said Brian Walker, Chief Strategy Officer at hybris. “Now it will be important for them to ensure a truly seamless experience for their customers at all times and on all touchpoints. For instance, if a customer starts a process at their desk but has to leave for a meeting, their sales journey has to move with them via a digital device, offering minimal fuss around payment, shipping and other purchase options. For many B2B suppliers, this will require significant integration efforts – of back-end and fulfillment systems, as well as with their call centers and popular social media platforms.”

Challenges Enhancing the Digital Buying Experience

The study indicates that most challenges suppliers face when enhancing digital customer-facing channels are related to organization and structure. Survey respondents said the biggest barrier to implementing an omni-channel approach is a difficulty in integrating back-office technology across channels (cited by 44 percent of suppliers), followed by difficulty in sharing customer data and analytics across the organization (42 percent); limits by distribution partners, franchises or wholesale customers (40 percent), and conflict between channel organizations (36 percent). These challenges are similar to what retailers face when trying to implement omni-channel capabilities, as Accenture and hybris found in a study focused on consumer businesses.

“Today’s consumer is digitally enabled and demands a relevant and seamless omni-channel experience from brands – both inside and out of the office,” said Bob Barr, managing director for North America digital transformation and operations, Accenture Interactive. “For companies, this means they not only need to harness digital technologies, they also need to align their company’s culture and organization around offering the best, most customer-centric offerings possible. The B2B companies that calibrate their organizations around their customer and focus on providing digital and seamless omni-channel experiences will seize a strong foothold in securing buyer loyalty.”

About the study

For the study, “Building the B2B Omni-Channel Commerce Platform of the Future,” commissioned by Accenture and hybris software, Forrester Consulting surveyed 930 buyers of B2B products online and 526 executives selling to businesses across the United States, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom from July to September 2014. Survey respondents were from companies with at least 1,000 employees.

For further information on this research, please join an upcoming webinar with Accenture, hybris, and featuring Forrester, on 20 November at 11:00ET/16:00UK/17:00CET and register here.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 305,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About Accenture Interactive

Accenture Interactive, which is part of Accenture Digital, helps the world’s leading brands delight their customers and drive superior marketing performance across the full multichannel customer experience. As part of Accenture Digital, Accenture Interactive works with over 28,000 Accenture professionals dedicated to serving marketing and digital clients to offer integrated, industrialized and industry-driven digital transformation and marketing services. Follow @AccentureSocial or visit accenture.com/interactive.

About hybris software

hybris software, an SAP Company, helps businesses around the globe sell more goods, services and digital content through every touchpoint, channel and device. hybris delivers OmniCommerce™: state-of-the-art master data management for commerce and unified commerce processes that give a business a single view of its customers, products and orders, and its customers a single view of the business. hybris' omni-channel software is built on a single platform, based on open standards, that is agile to support limitless innovation, efficient to drive the best TCO, and scalable and extensible to be the last commerce platform companies will ever need. Both principal industry analyst firms rank hybris as a "leader" and list its commerce platform among the top two or three in the market. The same software is available on-premise, on-demand and managed hosted, giving merchants of all sizes maximum flexibility. Over 500 companies have chosen hybris, including global B2B sites W.W.Grainger, Rexel, General Electric, Thomson Reuters and 3M as well as consumer brands Toys"R"Us UK, Metro, Bridgestone, Levi's, Nikon, Galeries Lafayette, Migros, Nespresso and Lufthansa. hybris is the future of commerce™. For more information, visit www.hybris.com.