Our "low-touch" new normal has put B2B merchants in a tough spot...with limited sales touches, how can more volume be pushed through ecommerce? The answer is to provide a more consumer-friendly "Amazon-like" experience by offering a marketplace.
Manufacturers, more than ever, are facing greater demand for frictionless buying experiences. That said, direct selling models can pose a number of challenges for manufacturers, such as how to maximize conversions, how to leverage customer data, and - perhaps foremost - how to mitigate channel conflict.
This is where the online marketplace model comes into picture. Here, a manufacturer has the flexibility to showcase their own items and sell direct to the consumer with fulfillment via existing channels. Your existing distribution chain gains another channel (your marketplace) as you sell and they fulfill, plus they get to become sellers on your marketplace and list their own services and related items, all of which you take a percentage. This is how manufacturers can monetize their existing web traffic while establishing a business platform that acts as it's own scalable, self-sustaining ecosystem.