Trade tactics of B2B2C ecommerce: Assembling e-Mwakete marketplace
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B2B2C ecommerce is gaining momentum across the globe for being the ultimate formula to success. The reasons behind this are pretty obvious, considering the rate at which innovative ideas are taking shape in ecommerce. Talking of one such example is an online B2B marketplace as well as an example of B2C e-commerce in Kiribati. E-Mwakete is one of the Magento success stories that provide an online platform for the local sellers for trading.
As we proceed, a detailed understanding of this project will guide us through the subject. But, before heading there let us quickly gather a few insights on marketplaces.
What are Ecommerce marketplaces?
These are online platforms that enable the online buying and selling of products and services. As compared to individual web stores, an Ecommerce marketplace is an aggregator of multiple brands, products, or categories. Due to this multiplicity of offerings, consumers find more value in it and prefer marketplaces over ecommerce stores. We see more examples of B2C e-commerce in our daily lives however even online B2B marketplaces are growing in number.
Also Read: What is the best way to build a B2C marketplace?
Industry trends for online B2B marketplaces
Revenue and Growth:
With the rise in demand, 2022 is expected to generate around 40 billion through marketplace platforms alone. This also means that share indicates a 67% contribution to the global ecommerce sales
Activation:
To simplify and streamline the backend management, various tools and solutions are designed continuously. With these, robustness can be easily created by enhancing – order management, shipping, and payments, mobile responsiveness, etc.
Building B2B marketplaces with the latest Magento is just a click away!
Examples:
Amazon, eBay, EthnicSmart, Dunzo, Airbnb, Zomato
Also check out this example of B2C e-commerce: Almutlaq Furniture
About e-Mwakete & B2B2C ecommerce
e-Mwakete is a digital marketplace formulated to make everyday shopping easier for the residents of Kiribati. Secondly, the aim is also to generate economic opportunities for small, medium, and large businesses in and around the island. The idea sprung to Sam Nateri Maunga, Founder of e-Mwakete, during the pandemic with the objective of boosting sales of the local vendors and also safeguarding their families during such difficult times. Eventually with time Mwakete marketplace became one of the Magento success stories.
The business plan
The Australian government in collaboration with the government of Kiribati has been actively working towards strengthening e-commerce in and around the outer islands. Furthermore, to promote digital business in the region, there was a need to establish a National Online Marketplace. Thus, businesses in these smaller regions needed to transition towards ecommerce activities.
Having over 10 years of exposure to technology, Sam grabbed this opportunity to create a B2B2C ecommerce marketplace for his fellow residents. With his expertise, he was rightly able to navigate through this idea and convert it into an easy and effective online platform for multiple vendors as well as buyers. There was a need to set a perfect example of B2C e-commerce for the public.
The digital operations
Digitizing an online B2B marketplace that is also an example of B2C e-commerce needs superior integrations as well as a platform to keep dual operations in tandem. Thus, the idea required having a website and a mobile app to stitch transactions between the public and vendors neatly. The store offerings consisted of:
- Electronics-air conditioners, televisions, mobile phones, Laptops & PCs, etc.
- Hardware – plumbing, electrical, carpentry
- Furniture items
- Motor & Spare parts for cars, trucks, etc.
- Fishing related equipment
Do Checkout: 11 Steps to build an Online B2B Marketplace
Digitizing the idea
The online solution needed to be technology-driven and scalable to meet the offline working of the business model. Additionally, Sam wanted to keep the dashboard and operations easy for the vendors so that they could easily upload products and track daily sales. A simple onboarding process was a must-have for the local vendors. Let us explore the solutions that form the core of this Magento success story.
The online B2B2C marketplace used the following solutions to reach the masses with extreme ease.
A Marketplace Package
Understanding the diversified needs of the business, Sam was definite about choosing a complete package to keep the online operations for B2B2C ecommerce streamlined. The team at CedCommerce recommended the Advance Marketplace Solution for Magento 2 which consists of a multivendor marketplace website with add-ons to simplify Marketplace management. Some of the key offerings of this package are :
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- Easy upload and a showcase of extensive product details, such as – deliveries, feedback, availability of sellers and network partners, etc.
- Fuels online search and rankings with interconnected information to expand the audience. This also allows for cross-selling and upselling of products within the network.
- Simplified management of product data for store admin as well as vendors. Daily duties of configuring products, downloading details, and categorizing become easy and automated by bundling and bulk actions.
- A combination of shipping methods along with the option to keep multiple methods available for the customer. Vendors can make the choice that is later showcased to the customers during checkout
- Allowing customers to share their reviews, ratings, and feedback on both products and sellers
- Notifications for vendors, customers, and admin on any new event in their respective journeys
- Option to login via social media profiles
- Other advanced capabilities, like – Flexible returns and refund management, multiple payment methods, etc.
Marketplaces are replenishing the shopping experience to the fullest possible. Get your hands on an all-in-one online platform for better returns.
Custom Additions for B2B2C ecommerce
The business model used a clearly defined set of rules. With the help of the solutions listed below, all these rules and requirements took shape on the online platform. Sam added two more functionalities in his marketplace, e-Mwakete after discussing his requirements with the CedCommerce team.
Online Auction
The Online Auction add-on is only available for multi-vendor marketplaces built on Magento 2. With this, vendors get an option to list their products for auction applicable under the defined parameters, like start and end date; and min and max price.
Bidding is available only for registered users. The customer with the highest bid wins the auction and gets the deal. The admin can participate in setting increments and monitoring the frequency of bids. Overall, the extension is an efficient method to increase revenue by selling products to more desirable buyers. It also helps to increase the time spent on mobile and web stores.
Vendor Request for Quotation
The Vendor RFQ is an efficient tool to manage the frontend and backend of the overall quotation process. It allows the customers to directly contact the vendor for negotiating their deal or gather more information about the listed products.
This is greatly beneficial in reducing the communication barriers and establishing a direct connection between buyers and sellers. Thus by adding more flexibility to the conversation, this extension increases the chances of leads converting to sales.
LPO and PV Panel
As per the needs of Mwakete, the team at CedCommerce had to custom create an all-new LPO panel. The business required this panel to allow the option to request a quote. Thus, only government officials could request quotes for products across the store through a separate panel. The store admin would enable this permission for selected officials. To process this, there were four groups with multiple users under each of these.
This advanced requirement also used digital signatures as the final step of the process. This entire stage was one of the key pillars of e-Mwakete and is now digitally executed without any fail.
Don’t miss these must-have features for a B2B Marketplace.
A Mobile App
Once the web marketplace took shape and approached completion, the development of a mobile app started. Replicating the diversified offerings of an online B2B marketplace for the mobile is in itself a wholesome process. Coherently, Magento provides extreme flexibility for web and mobile stores which helped to build a similar mobile app for both B2B and B2C.
For B2B2C ecommerce, the mobile app is designed in two versions- one for the vendors and another for the buyers. Both the apps are built as native apps for iOS and Android stores that offer complete functionalities for all stakeholders.
Challenges
The primary challenge in bringing the business online was a lack of resources. Since Kiribati is a comparatively small place, even the resources available here are limited. It became difficult to get the right ecommerce solution to suit the needs of the region. Hence, Sam began to look for solutions that could be implemented online.
Another difficulty was understanding and explaining the advanced features for implementation. Initially, it was new and challenging to interpret how to go about using the marketplace solution and its features. But gradually, with time and with the help of documentation support provided by CedCommerce, the entire team of Mwakete was easily able to navigate through their respective duties. Now the team is confident in carrying out all the related activities online. Mwakete has become the perfect example of B2c e-commerce as well as an online B2B marketplace.
Learn more about the challenges facing B2B eCommerce and how to overcome them with this B2B eCommerce guide to building a successful marketplace.
Choosing CedCommerce for B2B2C ecommerce
Sam and his team had approached various other agencies for executing this business idea online. The team was well-versed with the idea offline that gave an idea about it should be executed online. Thus, these features had to be created online exactly the same way. They chose CedCommerce to build the online marketplace after a thorough comparison and evaluation of the offerings.
What were the reasons for finalizing the deal with CedCommerce?
Sam had made his choice to proceed with the marketplace solutions of CedCommerce. Here is what made the final choice:
- All the desired features were available in the offered marketplace solution
- The solution was easy to adopt by the local vendors
- The team received appropriate documentation to guide them through the online platform
- The available solutions with the competitors lacked some of the most desired features
- The finance dashboard made it possible for the government ministries to create their own LPOs and keep track of it
- The additional discount offered on the solution was the seal breaker
Experience of the overall journey
For the team at CedCommerce, the experience of working with Sam and his team was very new and rewarding. The team was crystal clear about what they required in the online platform. This is large because the team was determined about digitizing the business idea from the start. This made it easy for the technical experts to explain features and communicate the reasons for proceeding with the project’s development work. In total the CedCommerce team loved working on this innovative and thoughtful project built for the masses.
Hearing it from the Mwakete team, Sam tells us his experience with our team was insightful. Furthermore, the team also learned about new industry trends and solutions. Over this project, he worked with Priya, Saurabh, and Sweta from CedCommerce. To reiterate his experience, he says that he received prompt responses and support from Priya and that she added to his knowledge about a lot of technical aspects. The CedCommerce team also explained the nitty-gritty at each and every step.
Looking at both sides we can conclude that it was all in all a wonderful digital experience. It’s amazing how technology is bringing together people from across continents under the common roof of ecommerce!
Final Say
To wrap up, we can say ecommerce marketplaces are responding to the immediate needs of most of us. Creating a website earlier was a time-consuming process. However, now we’re building complex marketplaces in no time! This depends a lot upon how open businesses are towards incorporating changes in the ecommerce environment and what value this change derives. B2B2C ecommerce is also breaking the complexities to benefit end consumers as well sellers.
CedCommerce has been assisting businesses in their online journeys for over a decade now. It offers the best industry solutions to keep ecommerce simple yet trendy. Having partnered with Magento, CedCommerce has built solutions for the web and mobile that provide ease and comfort to both buyers and sellers.
One of our all-time favorite Magento success stories includes the story of a watch marketplace.
If you have been planning to embark upon the journey of ecommerce, don’t hesitate to write to us for any assistance. You can surely be a part of the next Magento success stories!
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