SMEs are significant in most economies across the globe with a major proportion of employment rates. They also have a higher representation in business establishments and can offer plenty of employment chances. However, SMEs seem to encounter the following difficulties mainly because of the small size and limited capital. These challenges can however be managed or even mitigated by SMEs embracing the right technologies to newer heights. There is a technology that can be very helpful to the SMEs and this is a B2B e-commerce platform. 

A B2B e-commerce platform is a type of business-to-consumer electronic commerce wherein companies and businesses sell their products or services to other companies and businesses.

B2B (Business to business) e-commerce is an Internet based marketing system that connects sellers who offer products and services with the buyers who need these products and services for their own businesses. This eradicates the basic need of having typical sales personnel and presents even the small business entities an opportunity to look for new sales prospects.

Advantages of adopting B2B platform for SMEs

New business opportunities and customers

A B2B platform creates opportunities for SMEs to break into new markets both regional and global. The presence of an online B2B marketplace facilitates interaction between SMEs and a large number of business buyers. B2B companies can gain access to other SMEs who may not have been reached through marketing and advertising efforts. This also breaks the geographical constraints which makes it easier for the SMEs to reach out to customers in the rest of the world.

Lower operational costs 

These platforms do not need large investments in sales forces for their businesses. Through self-service technologies, SMEs can sell their products and services directly to their customers. A subscription-based B2B marketplace is generally cheaper compared to other selling methods, primarily selling directly to the customers. The cost benefit of distribution can also be passed on to the customers by SMEs. In addition, manual work and potential errors, which may increase operational expenses, are eliminated through automation through the platform.

Improved efficiency and productivity

A B2B e-commerce platform that is based on data and analysis is beneficial in the sense that it presents insights dependent on the findings. They allow the SMEs to know their best selling products, know the market better when it comes to customers needs, and therefore align their products to the market needs. Flawless solutions such as e-procurement, e-invoicing and inventory management also contribute to process enhancements and productivity in the organization. Another advantage of implementing automated order matching system is that order fulfilment and deliveries are also quick and accurate.

Better brand visibility 

Having multiple businesses present on a single B2B platform also helps SME brands have more visibility, especially the lesser known ones. Some of the occasions that buyers come across with new and unique SME brands are when they are navigating through B2B e-marketplaces. Another benefit of using the platform for SMEs is that they are able to market themselves and gain access to marketing tools for advertisement. Other features include, ability to create listings, product catalogs and targeted promotions within the platform also help in brand creation for SMEs.

Availability of information and analysis

Information technology resources available in B2B platforms also include data analytics for sales, marketing, product development and others, which can help SMEs to monitor relevant performance variables and look for new promising segments and potential lucrative business opportunities. These last customer preference and market dynamics are analyzed and made available to sellers in intuitive form of dials and tabular forms. Data and analytics make the constrained resources of SMEs more effective, and for such companies, flexibility is a critical advantage. 

Networking and partnerships

It means that a marketplace platform is linked with several other relevant SMEs which creates the opportunity for business development and cooperation. SMEs may also develop partnerships with large firms to enhance their value proposition since the two are complementary. All the participants of an industry ecosystem get benefits of knowledge sharing, capability enhancement and supply chain integration.

This is the criteria to consider in B2B platform

While adopting a B2B e-commerce platform makes immense business sense for SMEs, they must look out for certain key capabilities:While adopting a B2B e-commerce platform makes immense business sense for SMEs, they must look out for certain key capabilities:

• Dashboard that are easy to use and which can give analytics and insights into the operations.
• QE is smooth, easy to onboard and integrate with other back-end systems. 
• Foremost, secure payment solutions and logistics integration
• This is because the firm can now introduce new flexible subscriptions to meet various customers’ needs.
• The functionalities that are involved in the handling of customer accounts other than through the support center.  
• The use of ML features to help with discovery in order to provide more effective recommendations. 
• The common channels include website, mobile application, emails, etc.
• Scalability to handle large scale catalogue and transaction traffic

While the right B2B platform can be a growth engine for SMEs, they enjoy many strategic benefits at a relatively low cost investment. In light of these developments, the use of advanced platforms and tools offer SMEs an opportunity to forge on despite the already baked in limitations that come with their scaled down status. It is time for innovative SMEs to consider extending their reach to new B2B marketplaces and grow to the next level.