Exclusive Perspective: B2B Industry Leaders on Launching a Marketplace...

By now it’s no secret that marketplaces are revolutionizing digital commerce, with more than 50% of online retail sales happening through online marketplaces. And now, manufacturers are getting into the act to realize a range of benefits, from getting closer to end customers to establishing new revenue streams. Our recent Collaborative Commerce Talk focused on launching a B2B marketplace with industry’s top B2B commerce thought leaders:

• Dwayne Doshier, Director of Strategic Consulting, Gorilla Group
• Andy Hoar, CEO of Paradigm b2b (former VP and principal analyst at Forrester Research)
• Michael Powers, Director of Ecommerce and Digitial Marketing, Alaska Robert group
• Ana Milevskaja, VP of Marketing, VTEX

Here are some of the key takeaways from this exclusive discussion.

1. Revenue Protection is the Priority

In the current environment, what ecommerce leaders care most about is protecting the revenue they have, with less focus on trying to grow. We also see very strong interest in growing profitability, with an emphasis on order-level and SKU-level profitability. Manufacturers are looking at launching their own marketplace to accomplish these objectives.     

2. B2B Leaders are adopting Marketplace Business Model

B2B businesses with large customer bases have the ability to attract buyers to a marketplace and attract new customers with new value propositions. Smaller businesses can benefit from marketplaces in two ways: they can be sellers on large distributors’ marketplaces to expand their reach with very little investment; and also as marketplace operators, where they can win on localized inventory, speed of delivery, and post-sale services.

3. Developing Strategy is key with running a successful marketplace 

 B2B Marketplace business model isn’t a  brand new concept. It is pioneered by Amazon Business and is the fastest growing division at Amazon. It offers a tremendous opportunity for the rest of B2B leaders. Launching and runing their own marketplace, which requires a solid digital strategy, is no easy feat. Leaning on experts to help map it out and shape digital staregy  is the way forward for all forward thinking B2B practitioners. You need to decide if you are a market maker (launch your own marketplace or market taker, which means you will sell on others’ marketplaces.

Learn more about marketplaces

Marketplaces are delivering a wide range of benefits for B2B, from visibility into end customer behaviors, to the ability to manage channel conflict and complexity. To begin your marketplace knowledge journey, check out these additional resources:

• Full extended Talk excerpt Q&A
• Full Talk episode 
• Marketplaces brief

Written by Kristin Schepici

As a highly organized and metrics-driven senior marketing professional, Kristin has been working with both internal and external stakeholders on a global scale. She possesses a solid track record and a passion for content and digital marketing that positively impacts the bottom-line and business objectives.