B2B solutions in eCommerce are characterized by the fact that their results are not conspicuous right away. New code lines, invoices, statistics, analyses, reports and prognoses are not solutions giving us a thrill of positive emotions. They come (especially for people dealing with finance and its optimization) when we realise the likely benefits of B2B system in e-commerce. The solutions described were implemented by i-systems in Higma Service, a company supplying products, hygienic systems and professional chemical agents for companies, institutions and HoReCa sector.

Easy access to data

Even today you can find some archaic solutions, frequently adopted in companies. The nightmare of each tradesman – one main computer with access to all data which can be used for entering the order in the system. The tradesman is forced to ask the computer owner (usually Sales Manager) to provide the hardware to her/him even for a couple of minutes.
It would be hard to find a better example of wasting resources and losing time for the team. Open web access to the IT system for all company employees enables the tradesman, having her/his own account, to come and enter the order in the system from any computer connected to the Internet. The introduction of such a solution (along with other) help Higma Service sales representatives to meet with as much as 12 customers during a single day and to prepare a customised offer for each of them, including a full presentation. Such a solution offers also a comprehensive control of each ordering stage. It is enough to have a look at the system to learn what happened to a specific order, when and why.

Optimisation of overhead costs and expense prognosis

Each document in the form of a sheet of paper can be lost, get wet, be taken by the wind and is a cost in itself. Higma Service generates over 23 thousand invoices a year and several times more Goods Dispatched (WZ) Invoices. This is an immense amount of paper which was replaced by electronic documents. They are generated automatically and attached to the order performance stage preferred by the customer. What is more, the electronic documents are grouped in sets to analyse and obtain Business Intelligence information more easily, of key importance for the strategic decisions. Such an analysis of data can be created any time in a month, not only after the end of any settlement period.

Improving the work qualify of sales representatives

B2C or B2B solutions can actually be reduced to H2H, that is Human 2 Human, relations. Here, personal likings and dislikes (partially subconscious) of our sales representatives towards some companies come to play. How to encourage the sale representative, beside her/his personal animosities, to contact and visit all the companies? The IT system can also be helpful here. The solution implemented suggests the employee should make an appointment for the meeting and if s/he keeps ignoring the message, s/he will lose the opportunity to make other appointments before vising all customers suggested by the system.

Logistics handling

Warehousing costs constitute a large part of sales companies’ expenses. The logistic solution adopted analyses sales of products and prognoses warehouse shortages. Thanks to that, the warehousing space is optimized and does not generate unnecessary costs. Such a policy can reduce warehousing costs by 45%. Additionally, each manufacturer connected with the company can generate the sales reports for their products themselves as this offers information to both companies for improved cooperation.
Business activity cost optimisation is the most important challenge for companies in almost any sector. As you see, B2B systems are able to optimize costs in many areas of the company operation: from sales, through employees’ time management, debt recovery, offering, expense control, to the logistics. It is worth considering implementation of B2B solutions in e-commerce as some money can still be obtained from the designated subsidy from the EU funds.