Why indian wholesalers & traders must transform to B2B eCommerce – Part 1

INDIA boasts of the fourth largest market in the world with regards to B2B trading and traditional wholesales business. And yet, India’s wholesalers and B2B traders prefer the traditional business route, which involves dealing with higher quantity and invoice value. So why should traditional wholesalers switch to B2B eCommerce model? We explain in this article:

Order Automation

The traditional wholesale business operates on high quantities and high invoice value, as they sell products to other retailers on small wholesalers. By adopting B2B model, they can automate recurring purchases and smart shipments which will reduce their day-to-day operation costs. According to Chitrangana.com, India’s leading eCommerce consultancy, the B2B automation can help both buyers and seller in their regular business needs. 

Lower Operation Costs

India’s traditional wholesale business works on a low profit margin and the key goal of the business is to manage operations on optimised level, save time and money in each project. By switching to B2B eCommerce model, they can reduce operation costs of the business and also accomplish exponential growth in their business. By accepting B2B, traditional businesses can process orders digitally by eCommerce, which will allow them to optimize everything from shipping, logistics and sales.

No Regional Borders

Another critical reason to switch to eCommerce B2B? Since the Govt. of India implemented GST, there are no regional borders and wholesalers and traders can sell their products to every corner of the country without being levied additional state tax. Since entire country has uniform tax structure, wholesalers can be ambitious and take their business to different parts of India. This expansion is easier with the use of eCommerce B2B model which does not require.

Use of Technology

Over the last few years, more than a 100 traditional wholesalers across the world have switched to eCommerce B2B. Why? Because the model has simplified pricing and processes, through automation and technology. In traditional business, sellers are still forced to manually handle orders and then process order with use of manpower. By switching to B2B eCommerce, they can digitize orders and free up personnel for other duties. They can also use Internet platform to target customers with discounts.

Difference Between B2B and B2C eCommerce

Many top B2B eCommerce websites are trying to offer B2C-like experience for B2B customers. In B2C, consumer may want to take a closer look at product, and test the quality, before placing order. With B2B eCommerce model, the customer is offered a lot of product information and high quality images. This use of technology makes it easier for customer to trust the product. The biggest difference between B2B and B2C eCommerce websites is amount of product information available. However, in B2C model, sellers cannot optimize pricing, shipping and logistics like proven B2B eCommerce strategy.

Stay tuned to this space for Part 2 of “Why Traditional Wholesale Business Must Transform To B2B”.