In today’s fast-evolving B2B landscape, digital transformation is no longer a competitive advantage but a necessity. Technology continues to reshape how businesses operate, as well as the buying expectations of customers. They’re looking for a quick, seamless and user friendly experience.
But the path from traditional, offline processes to fully integrated digital operations is often daunting. Manufacturers are sometimes guilty of running to the wrong outcome, instead of walking to the right one.
Lance Owide, Vice President and General Manager of B2B at Commerce gives his thoughts on achieving true digital maturity.
Lance Owide, Vice President and General Manager of B2B at Commerce
Why is now the time to prioritise digital maturity?
LO: There are so many benefits that digital maturity brings, which I will come on to. But mostly, the time to make this a priority is now, because it’s what the buyer expects.
The generation that was sending faxes and emails are being replaced by younger people. They want to have an online process where they can self-serve.
Your buyer experience can be your differentiator. I was speaking with a large manufacturer in the construction space recently. They were saying that their customers routinely cite the buyer experience as a reason for returning to them.
They’re being able to purchase online from this business, find products easily, and have personalised experiences lists for them that build automatically. They’re also embedding AI into that experience. This sets them apart from their competitors.
That’s why I think now is the time to prioritise digital maturity. If you don’t, you will start falling behind.
What does digital maturity mean in practical terms for a manufacturing business?
LO: Digital maturity is a very broad scale. It starts with everything that’s completely offline and goes through to everything being online and connected.
Data is at the core of everything. This goes beyond just having product data; there’s pricing data, customer data, historic trend data and everything in between. Digital maturity starts by having the right data.
Then, it’s about systems. Are those systems able to meet the needs of your business as you digitally transform? We know so many manufacturers out there on custom ERP, they built their own because nothing was available or they wanted a sector specific ERP. But it doesn’t connect into any APIs and it won’t connect into any other system.
And then finally, it’s about people. You need to have people in the business that are thinking digital first, and can help drive digital maturity. In many cases you need to re-architect the processes that the business relies on, you need the right people and expertise to enable that.
What are the main stages on the path to digital maturity, and where do manufacturers most often get stuck?
LO: I think people get stuck on the very first, and most important part, which is alignment to business objectives.
It needs to drive something – it might be to grow revenue, or increase profit margin, or to expand into new regions. You should anchor in a specific business objective and everything should cascade from that. If you don’t do that, and I see so many businesses that don’t, you won’t get the alignment.
Then once a business is aligned, it’s important to take thing in stages – crawl, walk, run. You don’t need to get to the end state immediately. If you take this approach then it becomes more manageable, the business can digest that change.
Start with the data. If that means you don’t have product data, or you don’t have a connected ERP, then start there, fix those processes first.
When it comes to ecommerce, I would say just start by launching an informational site. If you don’t have a website that has your products on today, launch a site that has products. It doesn’t need to be transactional, but just create that online catalogue instead of only being offline.
Phase two might not even be transactions. It might just be that you can now put those products into a quote and send a request for a quote.
Phase three might then be the point where you can move to being fully transactional. You can take those products into a cart and actually transact with them. All the product information is built into the site, all of the technology specs are installed, like AI-powered chat bots that pop up and can help to answer questions about the products.
You can get yourself to that top level of digital maturity, but for me it’s about being aligned to the business and taking gradual steps that will enable you to get there.
Why do you think the digital gap in B2B, and particularly in manufacturing, has persisted for so long?
LO: A lot of manufacturers, particularly in the UK, have been around for years. A lot of them are very well respected and successful businesses.
As the saying goes, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ I think that has often been the mindset of these businesses. They don’t want to risk giving a team something they don’t like, and they’re worried that it might ultimately slow down growth.
Also, I think it can just feel like an incredibly high hurdle. To move from outdated systems to a fully digitised business can feel like a challenge. As mentioned, you need people who have done it before and have the experience.
What advice would you give to a manufacturing leader about accelerating their digital maturity?
LO: As mentioned, make sure you’re always anchored in your business objectives.
Secondly, bite the apple one little bite at a time, you don’t have to take the whole thing all at once. Crawl, walk, run – plan it out that way.
Then finally, it’s just about getting that internal alignment. Prove to the business the value that you’re going to drive. Do that by putting your customers at the core, understanding their problems, and how you’re going to drive success and experience for them. But make sure you get the alignment internally.
Ready to take the first step? Don’t wait until your competitors are running ahead. Start small, align your digital goals to your business objectives, and build momentum. Find out how you can begin your crawl-walk-run journey to digital maturity here.
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