Business-to-business merchants face a rapidly changing marketplace. The lines between B2B and business-to-consumer demands are blurring as more organizations take consumer-like approaches in a variety of areas of operations. For example, the increased use of social media channels – whether it be Slack in the enterprise or Pinterest among consumers – is forcing organizations to rethink how they present content and purchasing opportunities to shoppers. The demand for consumer-like functionality in the B2B segment is creating new demands for retailers, but the B2B segment also creates a few areas of concern of its own.
Magento 2 is separating itself from the competition through its ability to support B2B retailers. It offers a rare blend of flexibility and stability, making it a natural fit as companies work to become more responsive in light of consumerization while maintaining enterprise-class backend functionality. Three major advantages of Magento 2 for B2B organizations are:
“As mobile commerce becomes more important in the B2B sector, simplifying development is becoming critical.”
1. Robust mobile functionality
Mobile commerce is increasingly essential in the B2B world. More people are working from their phones and tablets, giving them flexibility to get away from their desks and get the job done in the most convenient way possible. B2B merchants can’t afford to have their prospective clients end up going elsewhere because they can’t get the information they need or complete transactions when they are using their phones.
Magento 2 is emerging as a difference-maker when it comes to mobile commerce. While many web design concepts struggle to translate well to mobile, Magento recently announced the release of a progressive web apps ecosystem designed to simplify mobile commerce development and make it easier for organizations to get new solutions out.
As mobile commerce becomes more important in the B2B sector, simplifying development is becoming critical. Magento is working to resolve this problem with simple, easy-to-use mobile systems.
2. Security
No organization can afford a data breach, but B2B organizations may be at even greater risk than their B2C counterparts as they often face a wider range of regulatory standards that they must comply with. Magento 2 is built with security in mind, and a Business 2 Community report by contributor Dina Destreza pointed out that Magento offers security advantages that make the platform stand out. In particular, the web ecommerce platform provides built-in options for payment gateways and similar tools that simplify the processes around handling sensitive data and keeping it safe.
3. Flexibility and Scalability
B2B sellers face a unique need for flexibility and scalability because consumer-like responsiveness is necessary in a sector where customer demands can change quickly. One big deal can transform the volume of interactions happening with a B2B ecommerce site, and the ability to scale and change the configuration in a hurry is critical. Magento 2 is an extremely scalable platform offering a high degree of performance. Magento recently benchmarked the new platform, and found a few stand-out capabilities, including:
- A modular architecture that allows companies to quickly change the web configuration based on shifting demands.
- An ability to load catalog pages extremely quickly, making the load seem nearly instantaneous.
- Add-to-cart server response times in Magento Enterprise Edition 2 that are 66 percent faster than in Magento Enterprise 1.14.2.
- Checkout times that are reduced by approximately 55 percent compared to the previous major iteration of Magento.
- Enhanced ERP integration capabilities to manage finance, manufacturing, supply chain and inventory.
Magento is built on a powerful, flexible foundation that gives organizations the flexibility and performance they need to succeed in the competitive, rapidly-changing B2B world. Organizations that want to get ahead of the market can benefit from development and consulting help from organizations specializing in Magento. At Pixafy, we have a long history of working with Magento-based sites, and can bring our expertise to bear to help your organization gain an edge on the competition. Ask us to learn more about our B2B eCommerce solutions.
