How B2C eCommerce is shaping eProcurement

What does a modern e-procurement experience look like? Think about B2C eCommerce. It focusses heavily on digital platforms that act as one stop shops for purchasing. Whether you are booking flights or lodging, or buying books or clothing, you don't need to visit several websites to compare prices and to place orders to multiple companies. eCommerce platforms simplify and speed-up shopping by gathering several brands and product lines on the same platform.

B2B eCommerce is following the trend set by B2C eCommerce as organizations want to make purchasing and billing more efficient and transparent. Many B2B companies are utilizing digital procurement platforms or eMarketplaces to centralize purchasing and to get rid of error-prone and time-consuming manual tasks in their procurement processes.

eMarketplaces are one stop shops for B2B buyers. Buyers can source products and suppliers, compare prices and place orders to multiple suppliers on one platform, just like with the B2C equivalent. eMarketplaces host buyers’ individual product and pricing catalogs and maintain user-specific profiles. This means that regular customers have their personalized product lists and prices available anytime, anywhere and on any device. Compliance is also simpler to achieve, as approved products are the easiest to find.

It’s not only about purchase orders but about digitizing your entire procure-to-pay process. eMarketplaces let you conveniently receive and review order confirmations, shipping notes and invoices on the web platform. If there is a link to your in-house system, your document will be delivered there directly. When an order is automatically matched with the corresponding invoice, you save time.

Did you know that many eMarketplaces also offer great features for spend management? They enable you to keep all your spending data on one platform so you can better analyze it and then strategically manage your expenditure. 

We at Hilti partner with over 50 eMarketplaces and EDI platforms to let you connect with us via your preferred solution. Whether you utilize an eMarketplace focusing solely on the construction industry or a cross-industry marketplace for all your procurement needs, we are happy to connect with you. Contact your local eB2B team today to get started!