B2B Omni-Channel Commerce Platform Transformation: A Spotlight On Canada

Transcription

1 A Thought Leadership Spotlight Commissioned By Accenture and hybris, an SAP company February 2015 B2B Omni-Channel Commerce Platform Transformation: A Spotlight On Canada RESULTS FOCUSING ON CANADA FROM THE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PAPER BUILDING THE B2B OMNI-CHANNEL COMMERCE PLATFORM OF THE FUTURE, NOVEMBER 2014 Introduction In November 2014, Forrester Consulting completed a study commissioned by Accenture and hybris software, an SAP company, to explore how businessto-business (B2B) buyer expectations are transforming how suppliers sell and deliver products and services. The study, Building The B2B Omni-Channel Commerce Platform Of The Future, outlined how buyers online expectations are being driven by their personal consumer online shopping habits and how B2B sellers must adapt their technology, organization, and processes to keep pace with the change. To further explore the geographical variations, this spotlight focuses on the trends among online B2B buyers and sellers specifically in Canada. When we narrowed the focus on B2B commerce trends in Canada, we found that Canadian B2B buyers expect: To make work-related purchases on their own with sophisticated businessto-consumer (B2C)-like features and functions. Robust omni-channel experiences, which will force B2B sellers to remove internal organizational barriers and data sharing constraints.

2 2 Specific B2B Omni-Channel Characteristics Emerge In Canada Canadian B2B buyers typically begin their research on traditional online devices such as desktops (42%) and laptops (42%), make more than a quarter of their workrelated purchases on a personal or company-owned credit card, and usually begin their research on a supplier s website. However, our survey revealed that only of Canadian buyers use a tablet or smartphone to research products and services a full 12 percentage points lower than the other countries surveyed (see Figure 1). Despite that, though, B2C online shopping experiences have driven B2B buyers in Canada to over-index against the other countries surveyed and expect: To make more purchases by themselves. Almost a third of Canadian buyers agreed that it has become easier to make work-related purchases online. The average Canadian B2B buyer also expects to make more work-related purchases on his or her own in the next 12 months. B2B sellers to offer multiple fulfillment capabilities. More than three-quarters (76%) of B2B buyers in Canada expect the ability to buy from a branch and have an item shipped directly to them, as opposed to only 73% of all survey respondents (see Figure 2). Further, expect same-day delivery, 45% expect the ability to reserve online and pick up from a branch, and 44% expect to be able to buy online and pick up from a branch. Enhanced features and functions from their B2B suppliers. Sixty-three percent of B2B buyers want suppliers to offer enhanced search functionality on their website, as opposed to only of all survey respondents (see Figure 3). Further, want their suppliers to show product recommendations and reviews. In addition, 53% of respondents want improved personalization of products or service recommendations. FIGURE 1 Canadian Buyers Lag Behind In The Use Of Mobile Devices I perform research for products and services I buy for work using the following device(s). Tablet Smartphone 52% 53% Base: 930 B2B buyers at organizations in Canada, US, UK, France, and Germany *Base: 149 B2B buyers at organizations in Canada FIGURE 2 Canadian B2B Buyers Expect Omni-Channel Fulfillment Capabilities How important are the following when you are making work-related purchase online? (Important or very important) Buy from branch; ship direct to me Self-service my account and orders Deliver on the same day Reserve online; pick up from branch Buy online; pick up from branch 43% 45% 41% 44% Base: 930 B2B buyers at organizations in Canada, US, UK, France, and Germany *Base: 149 B2B buyers at organizations in Canada 61% 73% 76% 72% 73%

3 3 FIGURE 3 Canadian B2B Buyers Want Enhanced Search Functionality, Ratings/Reviews, And Personalized Service Of the following, which three features/functions would you most like your suppliers to offer? Enhanced search functionality on their website Showing ratings and reviews of products/services Improved personalized product or service recommendations on their website Base: 930 B2B buyers at organizations in Canada, US, UK, France, and Germany *Base: 149 B2B buyers at organizations in Canada 63% 58% 50% 53% Canadian B2B Sellers Are Catching Up To Buyers Expectations As B2B buyers perform their product research online, B2B sellers recognize the fact that customers are expecting a B2C-like omni-channel experience. When asked what the primary drivers are behind their investment in omni-channel initiatives, B2B sellers in Canada revealed that: Canadian buyers now expect omni-channel experiences. Fully 70% of B2B sellers indicated that their customers are expecting omni-channel capabilities, as opposed to just 66% of all survey respondents (see Figure 4). Further, 88% of Canadian sellers agreed that they have to improve their omni-channel capabilities to effectively serve today s customers (see Figure 5). In addition, 90% of Canadian sellers measure the success of initiatives based on customer satisfaction, compared with just 80% of the total respondents from the other countries surveyed. A further 84% of Canadian sellers agreed or strongly agreed that their ecommerce website has initiated other digital transformation, compared with just 78% of the total respondents from other countries surveyed. B2B suppliers must now compete effectively with online-only sites. Sixty-percent of Canadian B2B sellers are driving forward the omni-channel initiative to ensure they are beating established ecommerce organizations. Moreover, 54% indicated that they must invest in omnichannel because their competitors are already doing so. FIGURE 4 Canadian B2B Suppliers Are Investing In Omni- Channel Capabilities Because Customers Are Expecting It What would you say are the primary drivers behind your organization s investment in omni-channel initiatives? Our customers are expecting it To gain a competitive edge over online pure plays (e.g., Amazon) Many of our competitors are already doing it 57% 50% 54% 66% 70% FIGURE 5 B2B Organizations Willing To Change To Become True Omni-Channel Sellers To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? (Agree or strongly agree) We measure success of 80% initiatives based on customer satisfaction and engagement 90% To serve today s customers we have to improve our omnichannel capabilities Being an effective omnichannel company will be critical to our long-term success We will drive more sales and profit by becoming an omni-channel company Our ecommerce website/ business has initiated other digital transformation within the larger organization 87% 88% 86% 86% 83% 86% 78% 84%

4 4 Canadian B2B Sellers Are Focusing On Cross-Channel Investments Forrester s survey revealed that despite the barriers surrounding organizational silos and poor data management, of Canadian B2B sellers either have a project underway or are currently supporting the capability of a unified customer account history across various channels (see Figure 6). Sixty percent also highlighted that they have the capability or have a project underway where customers can look up product information across any channel. FIGURE 6 Omni-Channel Investment Is Crucial For B2B Organizations Success When, if at all, are you planning to implement the following omni-channel capabilities? (Already supporting this capability/project is underway) Unified customer account and order history across channels Extensibility Is Key To Building Out An Effective ecommerce Platform Building an ecommerce system capable of adapting in real time to ever-increasing customer expectations is paramount for the success of B2B sellers. Forrester s survey revealed that over the next 18 months, as Canadian buyers demand more ratings and reviews, technological investments will be made in providing personalized products or service recommendations. For instance, our survey revealed that 78% of B2B sellers in Canada agreed or strongly agreed that their ecommerce platform must support multilingual and multinational audiences (see Figure 7). A further 74% of Canadian B2B sellers understand that tailoring the ecommerce platform to a country or region enables them to support different cost centers and spending limits for end users. In contrast, just 67% of the rest of the countries surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that their ecommerce platform had to provide similar functionality. Buy online; pick up from branch Look up product information (across any channel) 61% FIGURE 7 The ecommerce Platform Must Remain Flexible Next-day delivery Reserve online; pick up from branch 59% How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Our ecommerce platform must: Help us serve multilingual and multinational audiences Offer support for a variety of channels (distributors, resellers, partner networks, employees, stores/branches, direct to consumer) Provide flexible price lists/ catalogs for different users Provide flexible budget and spend capabilities supporting different cost centers and spend limits for end users 74% 78% 75% 76% 72% 74% 67% 74% Support product cross-sell, upsell, and substitute sell 73% 72%

5 5 Legacy Policies Continue To Hamper Full Omni-Channel Potential Although B2B sellers are moving forward to quickly address omni-channel capabilities in their organizations, Canadian B2B sellers are well aware of the limitations preventing them from fully implementing an omni-channel strategy. The survey highlighted that Canadian B2B sellers are challenged by (see Figure 8): Data silos prohibiting information/data sharing. Fiftyfour percent of Canadian B2B sellers experienced difficulty in sharing customer data and analytics between channels, countries, or locations. This is significantly higher when compared with other countries surveyed (42%). A further of Canadian B2B sellers identified data silos within their organization as being a top barrier to fully implementing their omni-channel capabilities, a full 11 percentage points higher than all other B2B sellers surveyed. Nonparticipating partners or wholesale customers. Fifty-two percent of Canadian B2B organizations, compared with of all other organizations, see a challenge in a lack of distribution partners, franchises, or wholesale customers that can share data. More data sharing is critical in order to meet rising cross-partner customer expectations. FIGURE 8 Organizational Silos Drive Data Management Difficulty In your opinion, what are the top barriers/challenges preventing your organization from fully implementing your omni-channel strategy? Difficulty sharing customer data and analytics between channels, countries, or locations Limited by distribution partners, franchises, or wholesale customers Conflict between the different channel organizations Difficulty integrating back-office technology across channels Limited by siloed departments internally 42% 54% 52% 36% 46% 44% 44% 29% Conflict between different channel organizations. Compared with 36% of the overall sample, almost half of Canadian B2B sellers also highlighted conflict between different channel organizations as a top barrier preventing them from fully implementing their omni-channel strategy. Back-office systems that are not integrated. Forty-four percent of Canadian B2B sellers identified a key challenge for their omni-channel strategy to be lack of integration with back-office technologies across different channels.

6 6 Key Recommendations To remain competitive, B2B companies in Canada must: Invest in technology innovation. Two-thirds (66%) of Canadian B2B sellers plan to invest in automated pricing optimization. A further of Canadian sellers are also planning to invest in personalized recommendations and incorporating sensors on shipments/products (58%). B2B buyers are expecting more from B2B sellers with every passing day. As such, B2B companies hoping to compete must adopt an innovation culture in order to retain customers and that begins with harnessing new and compelling technologies that help B2B companies understand their customers more deeply and broadly. Make data sharing a top priority. The study revealed that 86% of Canadian sellers agreed that being effective within and across channels is critical to their long-term success. To do this, Canadian B2B companies must break down organizational and procedural silos that prevent the effective flow of data within the company and between partners. Increasingly, B2B customers are moving seamlessly across channels and broader partner ecosystems and expect those experiences to be informed and personalized, independent of who warehouses and serves data for a particular site. Build ecommerce infrastructure to serve world-class omni-channel environments. Not only do B2B buyers expect omni-channel experiences as a matter of course today, but B2B buyers increasingly expect that B2B sellers will offer them the best B2C omni-channel features and functions. They expect personalized offers, customized pricing, and perfect order transparency. To deliver that level of service, B2B sellers must look to pressure-tested, industrial-strength ecommerce infrastructure that is capable of integrating back-end systems that house critical product and pricing information with front-end systems that track ever-changing B2B customer behavior. Appendix A: Methodology In this study, Forrester surveyed 526 B2B companies and 930 B2B buyers across Canada, France, Germany, the US, and the UK. B2B buyers were from organizations with more than 1,000 employees and were business and procurement professionals at the manager level or above who had recently bought products or services online. All B2B companies are currently selling direct to business partners online (B2B) and have at least 500 employees. All B2B company respondents were personally responsible for or deeply involved with selling the company's products or services online. The study was completed in November 2014.