Latest B2B Ecommerce news, research and case studies https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/topic/b2b-ecommerce/ Your source for ecommerce news, analysis and research Thu, 09 Nov 2023 21:14:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/cropped-2022-DC360-favicon-d-32x32.png Latest B2B Ecommerce news, research and case studies https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/topic/b2b-ecommerce/ 32 32 Digital manufacturer Protolabs scores record quarterly sales https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/protolabs-sales/ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 15:00:45 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?post_type=article&p=1044244 Proto Labs Inc. reached new milestones in the third quarter, increasing revenue to a record $23 million in its Hubs digital manufacturing network business, as Protolabs total revenue grew 7.1% to an all-time high $130.7 million, president and CEO Robert Bodor said. The company’s financial gains reversed recent quarterly declines, as Bodor noted that Protolabs […]

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Proto Labs Inc. reached new milestones in the third quarter, increasing revenue to a record $23 million in its Hubs digital manufacturing network business, as Protolabs total revenue grew 7.1% to an all-time high $130.7 million, president and CEO Robert Bodor said.

The company’s financial gains reversed recent quarterly declines, as Bodor noted that Protolabs did well in Q3 despite continued softness in manufacturing markets.

Recently, a luxury high-end automotive manufacturer selected Protolabs to assist with its first foray into the electric vehicle market.
Robert Bodor, president and CEO
Proto Labs Inc.
RobBodor-Protolabs-LinkedIn

Robert Bodor, president and CEO, Proto Labs Inc.

“We continue to accelerate innovation for customers with the fastest and most reliable lead times in the industry,” Bodor said on a Q3 earnings call. “The broader economic environment is still uncertain. Manufacturing conditions in the U.S. and Europe remain soft and have not consistently improved throughout 2023.”

Protolabs revenue in Q3

Despite that economic downturn, Protolabs “grew in the quarter, especially in our digital manufacturing network business,” he said.

Bodor added that Protolabs is gaining market share with larger companies and expanding in new markets.

“Recently, a luxury high-end automotive manufacturer selected Protolabs to assist with its first foray into the electric vehicle market,” he said, without naming the manufacturer.

Bodor added that Protolabs worked with vehicle manufacturer’s design firm, Hutchinson, to make prototypes for and electric vehicle battery pack cooling system.

“We rapidly manufactured injection molded parts, which meant stringent project timelines and quality utilizing our speed, reliability and quality,” he said.

Bodor noted that Protolabs’ traditional business over most of its 24-year history has been in manufacturing prototypes of parts that customers use in designing and testing new products. But it is now seeing growing demand for parts that customers use in the production of final products.

Protolabs “is becoming a one-stop shop for custom prototypes and low-volume production,” he said.

Protolabs’ services include:

  • Injection molding
  • 3D printing
  • Sheet metal
  • CNC machining

CNC machining is a manufacturing process in which pre-programmed applications dictate the movement of factory tools and machinery. The process enables three-dimensional cutting tasks to be accomplished in a single set of prompts.

Protolabs reported for the third quarter ended June 30:

  • 23,800 product developers served by its digital manufacturing.
  • Gross profit of $59.28 million, for a gross margin of 45.4%. That’s up from $53.6 million and 44% a year earlier.
  • $19.5 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) or 14.9% of revenue. That’s up from $11.4 million and 9.3%.
  • Net income of $7.95 million, up from $3.95 million.

For the nine months ended June 30:

  • Revenue of $166.18 million, nearly unchanged from $166.85 million a year earlier.
  • Net income of $10.32 million, down from $11.60 million.

Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding. Check back for more earnings reports. Here’s last quarter’s Protolabs update.

Paul Demery is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy. paul@digitalcommerce360.com.

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How The Beer Bat knocked ecommerce out of the park https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/11/08/how-beer-bat-knocked-ecommerce-out-of-the-park/ Wed, 08 Nov 2023 22:11:58 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1311841 It’s not uncommon for small manufacturers with limited staff to turn to technology to address growing pains within the business. After developing and launching The Beer Bat, a 24-ounce plastic cup shaped like a bat that features a team’s logo, with a single minor league baseball team, creator Sam McGee and his staff soon found […]

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It’s not uncommon for small manufacturers with limited staff to turn to technology to address growing pains within the business. After developing and launching The Beer Bat, a 24-ounce plastic cup shaped like a bat that features a team’s logo, with a single minor league baseball team, creator Sam McGee and his staff soon found themselves with a major league hit on their hands and in need of an ecommerce platform that could scale to meet his company’s skyrocketing orders without the need to hire additional staff.

The Beer Bat’s business model is to operate with a lean staff and put its resources behind product development and quality control. As a result, the company has about a dozen employees, which limits their ability to answer sales calls and fill orders.

“What we wanted was a platform that takes the salesmanship out of sales and enables more of an Amazon-like model of point, click, buy, and deliver, as opposed to figuring pricing and placing the order with a sales representative over the phone,” says Sam McGee, president of The Beer Bat.

The Beer Bat needed a platform that could scale up

At the time, The Beer Bat was using the WooCommerce platform, which could not scale to handle the increase in order volume and required a software developer to write code for any of the changes the company wanted to make to the platform, as it does not employ a code writer in-house.

What The Beer Bat sought was a platform that could support B2B and B2C sales and had the features to support the company’s future growth. The Beer Bat settled on BigCommerce as its new platform provider not only for the platform’s scalability and features, but for the BigCommerce support team.

The latter was important to The Beer Bat as it wanted a platform provider experienced in working with small, but rapidly growing businesses.

“We wanted a platform provider that was personal, not transactional,” McGee says. “BigCommerce does not treat us like a transaction, and we are a small business that values the human side.”

With the BigCommerce platform, The Beer Bat has implemented a customer portal for buyers to place an order, typically 10,000 to 15,000 units at a time, upload their artwork or logo to be printed on the Beer Bat, and automatically receive an invoice once the order is complete. Buyers can also see pricing specific to their account. On the B2B side, The Beer Bat sells to food and beverage retailers and distributors, and concessions operators.

“Manually processing orders of the size we typically get is a lot of work. Now, the ordering process is a lot more efficient,” McGee says.

Beer Bat’s origins

The idea for The Beer Bat grew out of McGee’s business philosophy that there is a product for every market and a market for every product. At the time, Green Egg Design LLC, a manufacturer of plastic bottles owned by McGee, was producing branded drinkware for the Hard Rock Café’s outdoor casino in Las Vegas. When the Hartford Yard Goats, a minor league baseball team, announced it would begin playing in Hartford, Connecticut, where Green Egg is headquartered, at the start of the 2017 baseball season, McGee saw an opportunity to develop a new drinkware product unique to the team.

“I did some research and I learned that the [Yard Goats] baseball park seats about 8,000 people, and everybody is drinking, 48% drink beer, and the other 42% are drinking non-alcoholic beverages,” McGee says.

The goal was to develop a product that not only fit the fan experience inside the park but enhanced it. McGee pitched several ideas to Yard Goat management, including The Beer Bat. In the end, The Beer Bat won out. The product debuted at the Yard Goats’ stadium in August 2018.

From minor leagues to major leagues

The company continued its focus on signing minor league teams for the next year until Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves franchise came calling.

“We initially focused on minor league teams as there were more than 300 of them in towns across the country at the time. That’s a good foundation when it comes to potential markets,” McGee recalls. “When the Braves saw our product in a promotional video that went viral, they called.”

The Braves debuted The Beer Bat when their new stadium opened in 2020. In 2021, MLB’s San Diego Padres signed as a client. The Beer Bat supplies its product to stadium concession operators for five MLB and 27 minor league teams. And the company has established online storefronts in several countries including Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan. The company also has licensing agreements with all 30 MLB teams, as well as the Negro League Baseball Museum to sell The Beer Bat featuring their respective logos.

“The multi-storefront functionality of BigCommerce allows us to go global locally with a single back end,” McGee says.

Business is growing fast

In 2023, The Beer Bat expects to deliver about 470,000 units, compared to 235,000 in 2022. Since installing the BigCommerce platform, The Beer Bat has increased orders by 71%, increased revenues by 115% and seen 98% increase in visitors to its B2B and B2C storefronts.

Always looking for the next great product idea, The Beer Bat plans to introduce a cup shaped like a hockey stick later this year. The cup will be based on the same business model as The Beer Bat.

“I think hockey has the potential to be bigger than our baseball business,” McGee says. “It could be our Mona Lisa.”

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A B2B marketplace for dealers keeps Q3 right in the middle of the road https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/11/08/acv-auctions-b2b-marketplace-q3/ Wed, 08 Nov 2023 22:04:36 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1311859 A B2B marketplace for used-car dealers drove home decent growth in the third quarter. For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, ACV Auctions Inc., achieved gross merchandise volume of $2.1 billion on its B2B marketplace. That’s about the same GMV as Q3 2022. ACV Auctions is a Buffalo, New York-based B2B marketplace. On it, used-car […]

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A B2B marketplace for used-car dealers drove home decent growth in the third quarter. For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, ACV Auctions Inc., achieved gross merchandise volume of $2.1 billion on its B2B marketplace. That’s about the same GMV as Q3 2022.

ACV Auctions is a Buffalo, New York-based B2B marketplace. On it, used-car dealers view, bid on, and purchase used-car inventory.

ACV Auctions B2B marketplace

But ACV Auctions’ B2B marketplace total revenue, including marketplace and service revenue, grew 13%. That’s an increase to $119 million from $105.4 million in the prior year. Net loss was $18.2 million compared with a net loss of $23.6 million in the third quarter of 2022.

“We sold 150,000 vehicles in the quarter, resulting in 13% year-over-year growth, reflecting further adoption of our marketplace solutions targeting dealer engagement,” CEO George Chamoun told analysts on an earnings call. GMV of $2.1 billion was flat year over year, reflecting continued moderation of wholesale market prices.”

ACV sees stronger growth ahead as the wholesale and retail market for used vehicles begins to normalize after inventory shortages in recent years, Chamoun said.

While volumes continue to lag pre-pandemic levels, inventories improved, which is key to supporting a sustained recovery in retail sales, trade and dealer wholesale supply,” he told analysts. “Used vehicle retail units modestly increased sequentially and year over year, but also remain well below historical levels as affordability issues continued to pressure consumer demand. In terms of vehicle sourcing, our data indicates that dealers retain a higher-than-normal percentage of trade for retail inventory.”

For the fourth quarter and the full year, ACV Auction B2B marketplace projects:

  • Total Q4 revenue of $116 million to $120 million, an increase of 18% to 23% year over year and a GAAP net income loss of $24 million to $26 million.
  • Total yearly revenue of $479 million to $483 million, an increase of 14% to 15% year over year and a GAAP net income loss of $75 million to $77 million.

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Manufacturers, distributors continue to focus on ecommerce https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/11/07/manufacturers-distributors-continue-to-focus-on-ecommerce/ Tue, 07 Nov 2023 20:55:08 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1311817 Ask manufacturers and distributors how they feel about current business conditions and a common answer might be: “We’ve had better years.” Through the first three quarters of 2023, the combined sales of B2B manufacturers and distributors declined to $11.010 trillion. That’s down 1.5% from $11.182 trillion in the first three quarters of 2022, based on […]

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Ask manufacturers and distributors how they feel about current business conditions and a common answer might be: “We’ve had better years.”

Through the first three quarters of 2023, the combined sales of B2B manufacturers and distributors declined to $11.010 trillion. That’s down 1.5% from $11.182 trillion in the first three quarters of 2022, based on a Digital Commerce 360 estimate using monthly B2B sales data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

For the period January through December, manufacturer sales grew 0.3% to $5.010 trillion in 2022. At the same time, sales for business distributors and wholesalers declined 3% year over year to $5.986 trillion from $6.171 trillion.

Manufacturers, distributors examine ecommerce performance

Many distributors are seeing slowing sales from repeat customers as they scale back orders due to a softer economy. A case in point is MSC Industrial Supply Co.

MSC reached a milestone during its 2023 fiscal year ended Sept. 2, surpassing $4 billion in annual net sales for the first time. But ecommerce sales, which account for more than 60% of total sales, slid by 3% year over year in the fiscal fourth quarter. The distributor attributed the drop in digital sales mainly to public sector sales occurring in non-ecommerce channels.

But MSC, like many other B2B distributors, continues to double down on expanding digital commerce as the business markets shift to accommodate even bigger waves of digital-first customers.

“Looking forward, we expect improvement in our ecommerce sales, particularly through MSCDirect.com, as we start rolling out enhanced capabilities, including improved search and navigation functions,” said MSC chief financial officer Kirsten Actis-Grande in the company’s most recent earnings call with investors.

More Charts & Data Stories

Check back soon for more Charts & Data Stories, like our weekly B2B infographics. Here’s last week’s. We add new content regularly. 

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A manufacturer of semi trailers keeps on trucking with digital transformation https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/11/06/wabash-taas-trucking-digital-transformation/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 14:00:53 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1311673 Seeking to expand its parts distribution network and trailers-as-a-service (TaaS) capabilities, Wabash National Corp. has formed a joint venture with Fernweh Group LLC, a San Jose-based an investment firm specializing in the industrial technology sector. Under the terms of the deal, Wabash will be the minority owner in the joint venture, which will operate separately […]

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Seeking to expand its parts distribution network and trailers-as-a-service (TaaS) capabilities, Wabash National Corp. has formed a joint venture with Fernweh Group LLC, a San Jose-based an investment firm specializing in the industrial technology sector. Under the terms of the deal, Wabash will be the minority owner in the joint venture, which will operate separately from Wabash National.

Wabash has a 49% stake in the new company. It formed the joint venture to enhance its ecommerce platform and partner ecosystem. Wabash is a Lafayette, Indiana-based manufacturer of such transportation and logistics products as:

  • Dry freight
  • Refrigerated trailers
  • Flatbed trailers
  • Tank trailers
  • Structural composite panels

It says it took a minority stake in the new company so it could remain nimble in rolling out its end-to-end digital platform.

Wabash wants ‘a more B2C-like digital experience’

“We’ve been looking for a partner to deliver a more B2C-like digital experience to our suppliers, dealers and customers,” says Mike Pettit, chief financial officer for Wabash. “We have a strong presence and expertise in transportation, but not the digital expertise.”

In addition to gaining access to the technical expertise it needs to launch its tech initiative by partnering with Fernweh, having a minority stake in the joint venture will allow Wabash to take a startup mentality to its technology initiative without having the oversight that comes with being a publicly traded company, Pettit adds.

“For us, being able to move quickly on our tech initiatives is more important than overall control,” Petitt says. “This joint venture provides us with the speed autonomy of a startup while using the [technical] expertise of Fernweh.”

Topping Wabash’s list for improving its digital platform are:

  • Expanding the parts available through parts.onewabash.com
  • Scaling its trailer-as-a-service capabilities
  • Adding new value-added services for dealers and customers that may include partnerships with technology or logistics providers

Wabash trailers as a service (TaaS)

Wabash launched TaaS in July 2022. It provides access to trailers and maintenance and repair services through the company’s extensive dealer channel and parts distribution network. FreightVana LLC, a Phoenix-based third-party, was the first company to make use of Wabash’s TaaS capabilities.

Looking ahead, Wabash sees an opportunity to use its TaaS platform to digitally connect to dealers, customers and suppliers in new ways and enable them to facilitate interactions across the transportation ecosystem in a one-stop shop.

“[Shipping and logistics] is a highly fragmented, complex and cyclical market that has a lot of players with a lot of handoffs between them, which makes technological innovation difficult,” says Petitt. “More than 90% of the players in this space are small companies that lack scale. Even if they want to find a solution, the question is often where to go to find it. Our mission is to connect the players.”

For its part, Fernweh sees its role as providing the expertise to help Wabash accelerate its technology roadmap by partnering with third parties in the logistics ecosystem that reduce customer and supplier friction during the exchange of services and solutions, says Fernweh CEO Nick Santhanam.

“We see the digital platform as the next evolution in Wabash’s TaaS offering, adding value to all stakeholders by connecting Wabash’s dealers, customers and suppliers to facilitate interactions across the transportation ecosystem in a one-stop shop,” Santhanam says in a statement.

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A major building products distributor takes digital transformation mainstream https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/11/06/builders-firstsource-takes-digital-transformation-mainstream/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 14:00:25 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1311578 Builders FirstSource, a large supplier of structural building products for new residential construction and repair and remodeling, is going all in on digital. The distributor operates 569 locations in 42 states and generated sales of $27.62 billion in 2022. It’s staging a full rollout of a new digital platform in early 2024 that will generate […]

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Builders FirstSource, a large supplier of structural building products for new residential construction and repair and remodeling, is going all in on digital.

The distributor operates 569 locations in 42 states and generated sales of $27.62 billion in 2022. It’s staging a full rollout of a new digital platform in early 2024 that will generate “hundreds of millions of sales,” said chief financial officer Peter Jackson on the company’s recent third quarter earnings call.

“The other big important piece for us is digital, and we think that we already have a lead. We think we’re already the easiest to do business with, we’re the most efficient, we’ve got the best technology and we’re about to take a big leap in that space that we think is going to be both hugely beneficial to our customers, but also make us even more the supplier of choice and the partner of choice in this industry,” Jackson told analysts.

MyBLDR: Builders FirstSource’s digital platform

Builders FirstSource’s digital platform, called myBLDR, is built on digital infrastructure and modeling applications from Paradigm technology. It gives builders and contractors access to:

  • Project document storage tools
  • 3D homes previews
  • Online material estimates and ordering
  • Features to check delivery status, job scheduling and other tasks

“As we look forward to our full product launch in Q1, we have made it a priority to drive digital adoption across our operations. MyBLDR.com is designed to create efficiencies for both our team members and customers by offering improved transparency and engagement in the homebuilding process,” CEO Dave Rush told analysts, according to a transcript from SeekingAlpha.com. “Taken with our proprietary estimating and configuration tools, this gives our customers more control over the entire building process, saving both time and money for our customers and their clients, while making the homebuilding process more personalized.”

For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Builders FirstSource posted net sales of $4.5 billion. That’s a 21.3% decrease from sales of $5.76 billion in the prior year. Net income was $451.45 million. That compares with net income of $738 million in third quarter of 2022.

“The feedback’s (about myBLDR) been great. We’re really pleased with the tools and the development successes,” Jackson says. “We’re meeting milestones and feeling really good about the product that we’re going to have to show the market. And we’re excited that the market’s going to be able to benefit from the tools to improve efficiency and take costs out.”

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How manufacturers and distributors collaborate to grow B2B digital sales https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/11/03/how-manufacturers-and-distributors-collaborate-to-grow-b2b-digital-sales/ Fri, 03 Nov 2023 14:00:14 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1311639 ARG Industrial, also known as Alaska Rubber Group, faces ongoing pressure to manage product data correctly and expeditiously with suppliers like hose fittings manufacturer Midland Industries. That pressure stems from ARG’s role as a light custom-manufacturer as well as a distributor of more than 25,000 SKUs for  industrial hoses, fittings and related products for such […]

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ARG Industrial, also known as Alaska Rubber Group, faces ongoing pressure to manage product data correctly and expeditiously with suppliers like hose fittings manufacturer Midland Industries.

The more companies that are pulling this data we’re putting into the PIM, the more chances there are for sales to increase on both sides.
Ross Baker, director of product strategy
Midland Industries

That pressure stems from ARG’s role as a light custom-manufacturer as well as a distributor of more than 25,000 SKUs for  industrial hoses, fittings and related products for such industrial uses as oil rigs and fuel-delivery trucks. Most of its business involves replacing broken industrial hoses, and ARG’s sales and product teams often work with customers to assemble customized hose products and systems.

MikePowers-ARG Industrial

Mike Powers, director, ecommerce and digital, ARG Industrial

“You have to make sure that you’re getting the right data from your suppliers, and also that you’re presenting the right data on these assemblies to your customers,” says Mike Powers, ARG’s director of ecommerce and digital. Ship a hose assembly with the wrong specifications, and the customer could experience severe problems, he adds.

ARG B2B digital commerce sales

ARG is working with the the Industrial Distributor Cooperative (IDCO) buying group and product information management (PIM) and other software from digital commerce technology vendor Unilog to expedite how it receives product data from Midland and other critical suppliers.

Ross Baker_MidlandIndustries

Ross Baker, director of product strategy, Midland Industries

“It’s the way of the future,” says Ross Baker, Midland’s director of product strategy. “The more distributors that are pulling this data we’re putting into the PIM, the more chances there are for sales to increase on both sides.”

Powers asserts that companies involved in ecommerce face challenges in pulling data from legacy enterprise resource planning systems and integrating that data with a customer-facing ecommerce site.

“They’re realizing that the complexity of integrating legacy ERP and B2B ecommerce is very, very tough,” Powers says. He adds that companies then often find it difficult to find the people with the necessary expertise to work with legacy ERP systems.”

Working with Unilog and IDCO, ARG receives more consistent and helpful product information from Midland and other suppliers.

Midland is now pushing new product updates quickly to ARG, “instead of us waiting 12 months to get a new catalog,” Powers says. “All we need to do is log in.”

Data collaboration results

He says the much-improved product data flow is producing several results, including:

  • Increased web traffic through improved keywords and search engine optimization.
  • A more useful site search tool and increased sales of newly released products.
  • ARG’s enhanced ability to develop a new configurator that lets customers who want to build their own hose assemblies to order an accurate product set.
  • ARG’s enhanced ability to provide punchout catalogs that let buyers punch out from their procurement software to an ARG product catalog.

Baker adds that Midland expects to extend the level of product data-sharing it does with ARG to more companies to foster increased revenue for both Midland and its channel partners.

The Cashing in with Digital Channel Partners report is available for a free download.

Paul Demery is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy. paul@digitalcommerce360.com.

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Global Industrial delivers a big Q3 sales gain https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/global-industrial-sales/ Wed, 01 Nov 2023 16:00:33 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?post_type=article&p=1038825 The third quarter was a big one for maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) distributor Global Industrial Inc. For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Global Industrial posted sales of $354.6 million. That’s an increase of 18.8% from sales of $298.5 million in the third quarter of the prior year. Net income also grew, reaching $20.7 […]

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The third quarter was a big one for maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) distributor Global Industrial Inc.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Global Industrial posted sales of $354.6 million. That’s an increase of 18.8% from sales of $298.5 million in the third quarter of the prior year. Net income also grew, reaching $20.7 million compared $20.3 million in Q3 2002.

“Top line performance was once again led by our ecommerce channel, as recent investments and actions to drive digital transformation and enhance the online shopping experience are delivering returns,” says CEO Barry Litwin.



GreyBar_Articles

For the first nine months of the year, Global Industrial sales increased 5.4% to $954.2 million. That’s compared to $905.6 million in the prior year. “We continue to leverage digital marketing to deliver healthy customer acquisition and retention rates,” Litwin told analysts on the recent earnings call based on a transcript from Seeking Alpha. “Our web and marketing teams have been doing an outstanding job executing on our strategy, and we’ve been very pleased with the recent ecommerce performance.”

For the year, Global Industrial is counting on basic business performance and smaller customer orders to generate sales. “Our direct one-to-one sales channel remains a key focus to deepen customer relationships, build larger accounts and expand into new end markets,” Litwin told analysts. “While we did see some nice gains in select national and public sector accounts, and overall order volume improved, we continue to see muted large order volume. This reflects the cautious customer behavior we’ve observed throughout the year.”

About 60% of all Global Industrial sales are now generated digitally, the company said in the second quarter.

Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding.

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B2B marketplaces and the promise of proliferation https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/10/31/b2b-marketplaces-promise-of-proliferation/ Tue, 31 Oct 2023 20:28:43 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1311463 They say there are two things certain in life, and these are death and taxes. In B2B ecommerce, there is another certainty: the number of B2B marketplaces will continue to proliferate. Today, there are more than 500 such marketplaces opening for or already in business in numerus industries, according to data in the newly published […]

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They say there are two things certain in life, and these are death and taxes. In B2B ecommerce, there is another certainty: the number of B2B marketplaces will continue to proliferate.

Today, there are more than 500 such marketplaces opening for or already in business in numerus industries, according to data in the newly published 2023 B2B Marketplace 500 report from Digital Commerce 360. Within the next two years, there will be as many as 750 B2B marketplaces and within five years more than 1,000, according to Digital Commerce 360 projections.

That is because the term is not a one-size-fits-all ecommerce channel. There are several models serving various market segments. These range from commercial platforms such as Amazon Business to marketplace platforms that bring together niche buyers and sellers in specific markets or segments.

As the market continues to expand, several key trends will continue to guide fast evolution and market growth, according to the 2023 B2B Marketplace 500.

Trends among B2B marketplaces

  • The list of 500 vertical marketplaces will continue to grow.
  • Existing marketplace operators will continue to add features and functions rapidly to convert first-time buyers and sellers into loyal and repeat customers.
  • The commercial marketplaces dominated by Amazon Business will drive growth across the broader movement.
  • Public and private investors are getting more bottom-line focused on B2B marketplace deals.
  • First-time marketplace builders are incurring higher costs to build and launch their platforms. They are taking longer to generate a return on investment.
  • Marketplaces will remain the fastest growing B2B sales channel.

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Check back soon for more Charts & Data Stories, like our weekly B2B infographics. Here’s last week’s. We add new content regularly. 

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Three ways generative AI will change B2B marketing https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/10/30/three-ways-generative-ai-will-change-b2b-marketing/ Mon, 30 Oct 2023 20:48:27 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1311412 The future of business-to-business marketing will be full of lots of digital change in the year ahead, says new research from Forrester. B2B marketing, sales, and product teams face a turbulent year ahead. It will be full of partner-centered growth and productivity ups and buyer demands, technology, and regulatory/legal downs. Generative AI will launch the […]

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The future of business-to-business marketing will be full of lots of digital change in the year ahead, says new research from Forrester.

B2B marketing, sales, and product teams face a turbulent year ahead. It will be full of partner-centered growth and productivity ups and buyer demands, technology, and regulatory/legal downs. Generative AI will launch the potential for sweeping impact across all teams with a mix of success and failures expected during the next 12 months, Forrester says.

Here are three ways generative AI will change the world of B2B marketing

1. Millennials take charge

2 out of 5 Millennial buyers will demand early access to B2B product experts. Forrester predicts that 40% of younger buyers will rate person-to-person meetings with product experts as their most meaningful personal interactions.

Key takeaway: B2B sellers should forge effective partnerships with product experts and orchestrate all person-to-person interactions.

2. AI will play a big role in product development

Generative AI will surface insights that dictate one in five new B2B product launches. In 2024, Forrester expects product teams to adopt generative AI for idea identification and innovation because of its ability to rapidly sort through customer data for insights. Using generative AI to expedite reviewing an even wider variety of win/loss, competitive intelligence, and customer feedback sources will help to identify novel or non-obvious capabilities that make it into 20% of products launched.

3. Early and rushed AI may backfire B2B marketing efforts

Thinly customized generative AI content will degrade purchase experience for 70% of buyers. B2B buyers saturated in vendor content will have to sort through even more, as marketers and sellers adopt the rapid repackaging and reuse capabilities that generative AI delivers.

Key takeaway: Early experiments will struggle to produce more than simple vertical veneers, poorly personalized offers, or prospecting messages aimed at existing customers, giving buyers more of what they don’t want, Forrester says. Growing frustration will cause more than 70% of business buyers to voice displeasure about the material vendors share.

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Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, vice president of B2B and Market Research Development, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com and follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn and be the first to know when we publish Digital Commerce 360 B2B News content.

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