Compare and contrast business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce in terms of security, SCM monitoring, and performance enhancement.
Commercial transactions are of two types – B2B and B2C. The two arrangements differ in many terms. The differences lie in security arrangements, supply chain monitoring, performance enhancement and many other terms. It is mainly because the two are basically different in nature. B2B or Business to business market their products to the businesses. The B2C arrangements sell to the customers. Apart from it, differences lie in terms of the size of the purchase. The size of the purchase is bigger in case of the B2B. The number of purchases made can be smaller. It is because the customers in the B2B settings are large businesses that buy in bulk. A manufacturer selling to a supplier, supplier to a wholesaler, wholesaler to a retailer – these are all examples of business to business settings. The B2C or business to customer sites do not sell to businesses. Some of them also sell in bulk, but mainly they are meant to eliminate the middleman. The security risks of the B2C websites are smaller than the B2B sites.
For the B2C companies it is highly important that they manage their supply chain. Supply chain monitoring ensures that the supply chain is free of risks and products are available to the customers in time. This becomes critical in the B2C settings. The e-retail companies like Amazon have to ensure that they make a timely delivery to the customers. If they do not deliver their promise, the risk of losing the customers to the competitors is high. Â It is why the B2C companies must have an efficient supply chain monitoring system in place. Big e-retailers like Amazon and e-bay ensure that their supply systems are perfect and that the orders are delivered in time to the customer.
Performance measurement and enhancement is important for improving the bottom line. Performance enhancement can be easier across B2C settings for the business enhancement concerns are smaller. Similarly, focusing on employee engagement yields better results in the B2C settings than the B2B settings. Customer engagement too can be easier in B2C. In B2b, the size of purchases is bigger and each one is made after some consideration. Engaging the customer means educating and informing them. In B2C needs of customers are similar and transactions do not happen after too much evaluation. The entire process is simpler because the ticket size is smaller. As such, the burden of marketing is simplified. Â
Customers flock to the retail sites in very large numbers daily. The size of the individual purchases is smaller and therefore the security risks too are small. The B2B sites target the businesses. These businesses are the bigger customers and make larger purchases every time. Both B2B and B2C companies conduct their businesses in different styles. Â Based on their different styles, their risks too differ. Not just their customers differ, the customer needs to differ. The needs of the customers in the B2C settings are smaller and more predictable. It is easier for the marketers to predict how they can be influenced. Once a customer has made a decision, it is easier to make a purchase. It is important to direct the customers at every stage so that they can easily make the purchase. Â The security part plays an important role in every transaction. To enhance it the marketers in B2C settings use the security notices and shopping carts. This makes the customers feel like their money is in safe hands. Â
Compared to it the purchase decisions are tougher to make in the B2B settings. The bets are larger and every customer makes use of logic to ensure he is making the safest deal. To ensure that the buyers feel they are making secure purchases, there has to be a lot of communication between the seller and the buyer. Usually, the security portion is ensured by the use of human touch. The managers and representatives interact with customers to ensure they do not feel insecure about their purchases. The security threat is bigger because every customer would like to ensure that his money is not lost. Even if the traffic is small, the threat grows bigger because of the transaction amounts. Another important thing is that the threat is internal in B2B and external in B2C. Still, both of them need to monitor their payment systems carefully. The B2C companies must focus on their supply chain and monitor them carefully. It ensures that the deadlines are met and that customers’ reliance on the brand increases. It also makes it essential to use the inventory monitoring tools. There is always lots of effort-making involved in performance enhancement. The process is complex in case of B2B. In B2C, the process is easier and the results easily identifiable.