B2B Trade Conference

B2B (Business-to-Business) is a situation where businesses do business with each other, as opposed to businesses doing business with the final consumer. Worldwide, the growth of B2B has been tremendous – research and advisory firm Frost & Sullivan projects B2B and retail e-commerce will hit $12 trillion worldwide by 2020 – up from m$5.5 trillion in 2012 – and says it was tops among up-and-coming industries in innovation and market attractiveness.

If the march toward a digital future for B2B is a given, it is also true that the march is slow, unsteady and stumbling at times. Especially in South Africa, where the technology has many times been found wanting in delivering a seamless experience up and down the supply chain. Adoption of the B2B principles of operation has been a slow burning process in South Africa; and this plodding along can lead to loss of actual and potential revenues. Millions in sales can be lost due to systems that are less than optimal for the customer experience.