B2B marketplaces are the fastest-growing B2B digital sales channel. A big reason is that marketplaces keep developing new value propositions for the industries they serve, as noted in the newly published Digital Commerce 360 report, B2B Marketplace Growth Strategies.

One thing that food-service distributor Sysco Corp., whiskey distillery Advanced Spirits, freight trailer manufacturer Wabash, and laboratory supplies company Science Exchange have in common is a growth strategy tied to a B2B marketplace designed specifically for their industry’s buyers and sellers.

The new Digital Commerce 360 report, B2B Marketplace Growth Strategies, covers the growth strategies of these and other companies and is available for free download.

B2B ecommerce can be complicated for both buyers and sellers.

The spirits industry is a good example.

Advanced Spirits, a Houston alcoholic beverage distillery and services company, has launched Barrel Hub, an ecommerce platform for the wholesale bulk whiskey market.

Like other marketplaces featured in the DC360 report, Barrel Hub offers online tools designed to smooth out the purchasing process.

“From our soft launch, we know one of the most pressing questions that buyers and sellers have is around purchase price,” says Advanced Spirits president Rob Arnold. “What is the current value of this whiskey barrel?”

But he adds: “The lack of transparency in the wholesale bulk whiskey market makes this question hard to answer. Therefore, Barrel Hub has introduced a bid feature, so that buyers and sellers can collectively set fair market values.”

At Science Exchange, “our supplier orchestration platform sits on top of P2P [peer-to-peer] and ERP [enterprise resource planning] systems and includes a powerful workflow engine and integration platform, automating the entire process of collaborating with suppliers from intake to payment,” says CEO Elizabeth Iorns. “This improves how life sciences companies collaborate with suppliers, enabling faster project execution, improving compliance, significantly reducing costs, and ultimately bringing therapeutics to market faster.”

Science Exchange features include:

  • Users can access Science Exchange’s existing network of 3,800 suppliers under a standard legal agreement and synchronize existing suppliers they use daily.
  • Automated guided buying tools also help each transaction comply with purchasing and third-party risk management (TPRM) policies.
  • Configurable workflow automation supports purchasing and compliance requirements across sites, teams and purchase categories, among other areas.

The B2B Marketplace Growth Strategies report also covers statistics on marketplace industry growth and provides an inside look at marketplace strategies in case studies on OnlineMetals.com, electronic components and hardware distributor Bisco Industries, and the apparel business FashionGo.

In addition, the report also covers how the used-vehicle marketplace is using AI and computer vision technology to help buyers evaluate vehicles online before  purchasing, and how a new AI-powered catalog management tool from marketplace technology company Mirakl expedites how online sellers list their products.

B2B Marketplace Growth Strategies  is available as complimentary download.

Paul Demery is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy. [email protected].

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