SAP Manufacturers Need to Upgrade eCommerce Capabilities Now for Future Growth

B2B eCommerce is predicted to surpass US$18.97 trillion by 2028. This staggering number emphasizes the importance of SAP-based manufacturers taking steps now to create easy-to-use, frictionless eCommerce solutions–that scale.

To put an $18.97 trillion market in perspective, that’s a nearly 3x increase from the $6.92 trillion market in 2021. So whatever commerce solutions you were using in 2021 need to be able to seamlessly and easily scale by a factor of three over the coming years.

Focus on Automated Processes

Any part of your quoting, pricing, CPQ, or eCommerce process that is manual, requires batching, or is not integrated with your ERP has to be eliminated. The speed of business, and the revenue on the line, demands 100% accuracy to your ERP pricing, discounts, configurations, and business rules.

Is your CRM the modern front-end you need for efficiency? Homegrown CRMs or standalone systems that don’t integrate with your ERP mean delays in pricing, quoting, and order placement. Look to best-in-breed CRMs to enable your sales and customer service teams to stay in a single screen/interface and access real-time data from your ERP–without leaving the CRM.

Full-Service Commerce Portals Simplify the Customer Experience and Drive Profitability

Orders placed in your commerce platform must have 100% price accuracy. Anything less erodes trust and puts profits at risk. You must leverage existing SAP business logic, and 3rd party systems, to calculate taxes, shipping and more. This can’t be replicated in the CRM.

In an Oro survey, 83% of this year’s respondents said self-service portals are the biggest trend of importance. 

That same report also had B2B eCommerce platforms as the top investment technology (91% of respondents were increasing investment). Savvy companies are putting the work now into core eCommerce platforms, and integrations, to set the stage for near-term and long-term success.

Of course it’s no surprise, as B2B buyers are bringing B2C buying expectations into the workforce. The ability to place orders with all appropriate volume, account, and regional discounts, get accurate shipping information (dates and costs), see prior order histories, see alternatives if a desired product is unavailable, and more – are all things buyers can do every day with retail interactions.

Accelerate Time-to-Value

Improving and fully integrating your eCommerce solution is a business priority, but often not one that is resourced with in-house staff.  Look for a partner who specializes in pre-built integration processes (PIPs) to simplify and streamline time-to-value for your SAP-to-commerce solution.

More resources for B2B commerce solutions for SAP manufacturers:

• On Demand Webinar: Omnichannel B2B Commerce for SAP Manufacturers
• eBook: B2B eCommerce for SAP Manufacturers: Challenges, Opportunities, and Revenue Impact
• eBook: The Largest B2B Commerce Pitfall SAP Manufacturers Must Overcome
• Blog: 5 Ways to Create Greater Customer Engagement with CPQ in Salesforce and SAP