B2B marketplaces are emerging to become an indispensable part of modern trade systems, taking away time and space constraints with the help of the internet.

By 2024, these are expected to account for 30% of all global online sales.

This urges traditional supply chains to revamp the way they sell and embrace digital opportunities to sell to their channel partners.

A B2B marketplace is a virtual platform where product manufacturers can upload their inventories enabling retailers to directly transact and order products.

Although no physical transfer of goods occurs, information is exchanged and transactions are made. Irrespective of their location, buyers can access every product information 24*7 and compare products on various parameters. Sellers benefit as marketing and transaction costs come down to a fraction, and demand becomes push-driven.

Today, one in three B2B buyers in the world are procuring half their products from these marketplaces. The COVID-19 pandemic has also largely accelerated this growth, prompting the retail industry to leverage digital commerce and tighten the relationship with their distribution partners. Since the digital world is borderless, many local players from different regions are being discovered online, which is increasing their reach and credibility in the market.

Another paradigm shift that B2B marketplaces have brought in B2B commerce is expanding the business focus from only retention to lead generation. By reaching a large captivated audience who can interact with multiple brands from one singular place, new opportunities get easily discovered.

While B2B marketplaces are still at the infancy stage, the pandemic has accelerated the growth by making more consumers adapt to online shopping, and forcing sellers to explore new avenues for market growth.

Apart from having a customer-centric approach, B2B marketplaces create higher economic and operational value for buyers by assisting them in scalability, accurate analytics and other digital capabilities. However, despite the driving factors, to sustain and flourish in marketplaces, effective distribution management is becoming a key factor to gain competitive advantage. In the rush to enter the marketplace network, many companies fail to take the time to map out insightful strategic paths to profitability.

Download the guide to learn how retail companies are building high-functional B2B marketplaces for greater distribution effectiveness and sales volumes.