Quotes Management now available for B2B ecommerce
Billerica, MA, May 4, 2020 — B2B enterprises will now be able to digitize their quotation processes with the launch of Emporix Quotes Management for B2B ecommerce. The solution has been created by Emporix, a leading cloud-native Digital Commerce Platform for B2B and sophisticated B2C. It offers the possibility to automate the creation of quotes online, as well as accept, decline, or request changes.
Where a B2B buying cycle is much longer than in B2C, typically involving around seven different employee stakeholders along the buying journey, it has previously been challenging to create an effective digital, self-serve platform for price negotiation. The Emporix Quotes Management solution offers a way to automate and facilitate quotations to speed up this sales process and improve the customer experience.
When buying via a merchant’s website, customers will be able to add products to their shopping cart and then request a quote, or make an offer for an alternative price. For the B2B seller, a merchant dashboard will display all quote requests with options to accept the buyer’s price request, make an alternative price offer, send an explanatory message, reject or approve a quote. Through the messaging system, the merchant will be able to offer additional or alternative products as part of the deal, while the customer receives instant notifications as their quote is being processed. Once a deal has been agreed, an approved quote will appear at the checkout and, if the customer accepts it, an order will be automatically created and/or exported as a PDF.
“B2B companies are able to offer greater flexibility for existing customers, since the system allows them to deviate from any pre-agreed pricing with each transaction,” said Eberhard Weber, co-founder and CEO at Emporix. “There is also more opportunity to engage with new customers and build relationships by finding greater value for their specific needs. These types of negotiation are essential in the B2B world, and we’re replicating that in a far more efficient way on digital channels.”
The Quotes Management system creates the tailored customer experience that is essential in B2B sales, but without the cost in time and labor needed when arranging and recording every quote manually. It also allows for a quicker order creation, as the orders can be placed automatically with the new, adjusted pricing as soon as quotes are agreed by both parties.
“The acceleration of ecommerce in recent years has meant that, as consumers, we have become used to a slick experience and elevated levels of convenience when shopping online,” Eberhardt said. “These expectations naturally stay with us when we are making business purchases, but the buying journey in B2B commerce is far more complex. B2B customers need to be able to negotiate bulk discounts, create an effective paper trail, and they require more tailoring of their orders. The Emporix Quotes Management solution takes care of all this, making it easy for buyers to self-serve online. Wholesalers and manufacturers can increase their revenues by being easier to do business with. Gone are the days of trying to get through to the sales rep on the phone to agree payment terms, or delays on internal approvals. Now merchants can provide enhanced customer experiences with a fully digitized quotes management system.”
By digitizing the quotation process, B2B companies will also benefit from better data management and consistent pricing strategies. All quotes can be stored for reference and auditing purposes, while metrics can also be tracked on things such as the number of quotes created per tenant, or the revenue share of orders versus quotes. By digitizing this important process, B2B merchants can take a data-led approach to improving their online sales channel and increasing sales.
“Emporix’s Digital Commerce Platform is based on MACH architecture, which is led by the principles of using Microservices and APIs, while being cloud native and headless,” Eberhardt said, in finishing. “This allows for complete agility in composing services and functionality using best-of-breed tools to meet specific business requirements. Our Quotes Management solution is a great example of how the MACH approach is paving the way for far more effective B2B ecommerce.”
For more information on how the Quotes Management solution works, or to request a free demo, visit: https://www.emporix.com/quotes-management.