The traditional ways of selling are broken.  Customers are looking for the same experience in B2B shopping as they have in B2C.  And if your business can’t provide it, there is plenty of competition that will be glad to step in and take your place.  Manufacturers cannot afford to hide their heads in the sand and deny that change is coming.  It is here, and it’s all around you.  You can choose to ignore it, but those manufacturers that disregard the wave of change that digital commerce is bringing are bound to be left in the dust.

Why the resistance to change?  A lot of this comes from manufacturers being very traditional in their sales and operational processes.  They are fearful of making any changes that may put their relationships with existing dealers and distributors at risk.  But this doesn’t need to be the case.  The way to get around this is to be transparent, and include them in the process.  Moving to eCommerce will benefit your partners.  Customers are already accustomed to a self-service model. A well-designed eCommerce site will allow them to easily and efficiently buy the products they need. 

So how to get from the current state of doing business to eCommerce nirvana?  The first place to start is with your employees.  It is important to include them in the process and have their trust that the change is going to benefit them and the business.  If not, they will revert to the old ways of doing business and encourage their customer to do the same.  Get them excited in this new company direction.  Start early by designating leaders within the different lines of business and get them involved in the planning process.  Include their input in the creation of a business process automation plan.  Selling online is going to affect many groups within the business and may even require the creation of other business units to satisfy the demand of online buyers.  Things you will want to consider during this process will include:

• Creation of a domain name
• Choice of eCommerce Platform
• Integration with your CRM for business process automation
• Layout and design providing easy and fast navigation
• Intuitive catalog design with detailed product information
• Order fulfillment, tracking, and process to manage returns
• Tax software package for calculating taxes
• Variety of payment processing options
• Easy checkout process

This is the perfect time to evaluate if you have the right resources in-house to execute this project.  If you need a helping hand, find a partner that has the skills to help in all facets of launching the store.  These include site design, process automation, and customer marketing acquisition and retention.  Hire someone that can evaluate what eCommerce platform and design will work best to highlight your brand and product catalog.  Ensure they have the technical expertise to integrate your store and CRM and automate order processing and allow you to dynamically do updates to the store.  And lastly, they can help lead customer acquisition and retention marketing to broadcast your store over different channels to entice new customers and keep your existing customers coming back for more.