B2b Vs. B2c Supply Chain

B2B vs. B2C Supply Chain

Twenty-first century technology has changed the way companies do business with each other and with their customers. The internet has connected companies around the world and made every person on earth a possible customer. No longer must a company have a brick and mortar store, nearby, in order for a customer to be able to shop at the store. Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C) have forever been changed Internet and for the better. This paper will discuss the differences between the supply chains for both relationships.

Website set up for B2B and B2C will be largely different when the companies function in only one or the other, of those capacities. B2B interaction can be more complex as companies may need to partner to create their independent form of interaction. For example, a grocery store warehouse may always purchase assorted goods from one company but never of the same quantity and possibly at different times. This grocery warehouse will not want to be forced to select the products individually each time and then input the quantity and date. Business can set up individual accounts that allow the other business to go into their own page and simply input the amount needed for the already listed items it normally purchases. For example a company can place an order for 20 cases of green beans and 15 cases of creamed corn this week and only 15 cases of green beans and 10 cases of creamed corn next week.

The need for more formal relationships is greater with B2B then with B2C. Internet consumers are more interested in the ease of navigating a website then they are the ease of repeated business. In addition, internet consumers are more prone to shop around and be less loyal because of the ability to find the cheapest price easily. B2C businesses have to be customer conscious when it comes to multiple customers being able to use there website once; B2B businesses have to be conscious of each individual customer being able to easily use the site often.

The fact that B2B is most often repeat business and B2C is most often not, is another difference. This difference also coincides with the size of the purchases being placed by the two. B2B are often large repetitious orders and B2C are mostly small one time orders. This issue shows the need for a stronger bond between the B2B, when it comes to software, hardware, and standard operating procedures for both businesses to properly communicate and smoothly supply each other with information.

B2C customers place an order and want to receive it as soon as possible. Once the order is placed, the provider issues