In the last years, business-to-business has been on the rise and has already infiltrated the maritime sector worldwide. As the consumer no longer buys the same way and the companies no longer sell the same, there is more competition and supply and demand change in the maritime industry. The increasing market demands have created new technological paths and online businesses.
B2B platforms have provided companies with additional assistance in manufacturing products or offering customer services.
Lately, B2B platforms penetrated large corporate procurement departments. The initial concerns about quality, scale and reliability have made leaders hesitant to change their old and trusted suppliers.
That’s starting to change. A new generation of procurement leaders, who have grown up buying online for personal needs, are beginning to wonder whether buying online also makes sense for business. B2B platforms can free procurement teams from time-consuming, transactional work that fails to take full advantage of their capabilities. To this new mindset is also contributing analytic tools opening new avenues for procurement departments to generate value in areas outside their traditional focus. Digital platforms can make it easier to identify the right supplier. Also, they improve the customer experience by making transactions simpler and transparent.
As demand grows, the product and service categories available on B2B marketplaces will expand dramatically, making them more attractive to procurement teams. Over the next three to five years, analysts expect a notable rise in the proportion of indirect purchases managed via marketplaces.
The procurement managers who are doing their homework now, investigating and anticipating new categories and ways they can serve the organization’s needs,—will be ahead of the game. By upgrading procurement function’s role they can help their organization achieve competitive advantage in new ways—and even unleash new opportunities.
Eastlink, B2B maritime marketplace, offers all these benefits to the business. Our platform delivers more value to the company with greater transparency, increasing competitiveness and enabling agility in the procurement organization. Hours and time zones are irrelevant, thus becoming truly global. Get started today for FREE!
