Automation and digitalisation are undoubtedly extremely important in the B2B e-commerce sector, but businesses working in this sector face challenges that have to be overcome.
Digitalisation and automation present a major challenge to businesses that operate within the e-commerce B2B sector. Whole processes need to be standardised and automated. The needs of customers must be taken into consideration because their private online behaviour will shape their day-to-day business activities too. Goods need to be available quickly and customers have to be able to order them online.
Complex requirements in the B2B shop
The demands on a B2B shop are far greater than in the B2C sector because of the complexity of the processes and variety of products and services involved. In contrast to the B2C e-commerce sector, B2B online shops are not fully automated. From the ordering stage to delivery and billing, they may still be carrying out several steps in a transaction manually. Many of these businesses may not know about methods to automatically check their customers’ credit-worthiness during the ordering process, and they may not have incorporated any mechanisms to protect themselves against fraudulent practices.
How to protect yourself from bad debt losses
A credit check is an important step in assessing a new customer’s ability to pay, and in evaluating the risk of payment default. In the B2C sector, it’s normal for a trader to automatically check a customer’s identity during the ordering process, and to assess whether that customer can pay the invoice. This would be a viable approach to optimising the ordering process and recognising any potential payment difficulties at an early stage in the B2B sector too.
People often argue that personal relationships with customers are far more important in the B2B sector, and that sellers know their customers well. Although personal contact and an understanding of the customer are certainly important, automated checks do offer better protection bad debts. Even long-term customers may find themselves facing payment difficulties without any problems having been noticed by the majority of their creditors. Businesses can protect themselves against payment default by regularly monitoring established customer contacts too. A portfolio-monitoring system can be used to define which events or changes to a company’s score should initiate a warning message. This is a helpful way for a company to protect itself and introduce the appropriate measures in good time.
In the B2B e-commerce sector, automation is the key to successful digital transformation. By introducing the appropriate tools to check customers’ identity and credit-worthiness, you can minimise payment defaults and make it possible to recognise payment problems at an early stage.
