B2B refers to business-to-business transactions where the customers are other businesses; where a business-to-consumer transaction refers to businesses dealing with individual consumers or end customers.
B2B transactions are more complex and have a greater need for security than B2C e-commerce. B2B transactions involved many complex issues, such as the integration of the system within the company, as well as with its trading partners, which raised many questions about the security of the information exchanged and the need to have systems that ensure that the rules and regulations governing the exchange of information were followed. The cost of installing the infrastructure proved prohibitive and many companies and providers reverted to cost-inhibited phones or faxes, not realizing that they will save tons of money in the long run as operating costs are dramatically reduced, as well as ensuring better control over supply chain integration. The main hurdle was getting partners to collaborate on the implementation of B2B networks, setting common goals to achieve, so B2B has not become as popular as it should have been.
Some differences between B2B and B2C e-commerce:
o B2C offers spot sourcing contract management that offers a flat rate retail price for each of the goods sold.
o The B2B transaction involves the management of direct sourcing contracts, which implies negotiation terms that will establish the price based on other factors, such as warranty coverage, volume-based pricing, carrier and logistics preferences, etc it will be decided.
o B2C does not require the company to spend on extensive and expensive infrastructure.
o B2B requires huge amounts of involvement in integrating the organization’s systems as well as those of its trading partners, which made the process expensive, time consuming, and raised many questions about security, etc.
o B2C eCommerce only involves used defined profiles and email promotions.
o B2B e-commerce requires the involvement of complex questions that study order history data, such as trading partner preferences, payment records, locations, etc.
o B2C requires sellers to update their site regularly regarding product cost and embed a product catalog with a product image and description.
o B2B implies the syndication of catalogs from different suppliers that must be formatted, priced and presented to buyers in a consolidated manner. You have a greater need for business intelligence systems as well as analytical software.
o B2C is much easier as options like cyber-cash allow the business to run smoothly.
o Payment options are not as easy with B2B, which implies administrative connectivity, billing, etc.
o B2B has only one major benefit which is good supply chain coordination. B2B e-commerce cannot compromise on time, quality and credibility of its products.
These are just some of the major differences between B2B and business-to-consumer e-commerce.
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