A visible supply chain is key to B2B and B2C e-commerce

 BY MARK BROHAN Research Director

Supply chain, fulfillment and logistics operations have their own unique requirements, but visibility of inventory throughout all of these operations is crucial for companies that want to be good at both B2B and B2C e-commerce, Aberdeen says in a new study.

Companies that want to succeed in business-to-business e-commerce, while also selling online to consumers, need to have a highly visible and integrated supply chain, according to a new report from Aberdeen Group Inc.

The report—“Operational Readiness for B2B and B2C Convergence: Are You Prepared”—contends that companies that want to achieve successful results in both B2B and retail e-commerce need to have a flexible supply chain that enables them to fulfill both small individual orders and complex corporate orders.

Shifting focus from B2B-only to combined B2B and retail e-commerce “has a direct impact on shipment, size, scale and frequency of orders and shipments,” the report says. It notes that B2B operations typically fulfill large replenishment orders of products that customers have ordered in the past, while retail e-commerce involves a larger number of small orders that can vary widely among individual items. To ensure that B2B and B2C orders are fulfilled quickly and accurately, companies need strong and accurate visibility into all the inventory coming from suppliers, as well as what’s already in its warehouses, and that is being delivered to customers.

The report, which included the results of a survey of 151 chief supply officers on their priorities and best practices, found that only 28% of respondents classified as leaders (or those at companies with year-over-year sales increases of at least 3%) say they have clear visibility into supply chain disruptions.

“This highlights the need for much stronger and robust collaboration with suppliers, and the suppliers’ suppliers,” the report says, adding, “The better the visibility from end-to-end, the better the response time and the alternatives available to solve the problem.”