If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? But what if it’s eating up your budget and resources while stunting your growth? What once powered B2B is now holding it back. Legacy systems are costly, rigid, and simply can’t keep up with where B2B eCommerce is today – let alone where it’s headed.
Technology is evolving fast, and customer expectations are rising even faster. Businesses no longer have the luxury of waiting. Moving forward is the only option.
How did B2B eCommerce reach this breaking point, and what does it mean for enterprises? We’ll explore the forces driving this shift, the risks of standing still, and how businesses can move forward with practical, strategic changes for long-term success.
B2B eCommerce: The Road to Now
How Did We Get Here?
There’s no denying that COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation in B2B, pushing businesses to adapt faster than they ever planned. It was a fundamental change that redefined how businesses operate, with no turning back.
This new norm raised customer expectations, and they’ve only been climbing since. Building on this shift, younger generations of buyers – digital natives – are stepping into key roles, bringing higher expectations for digital experiences.
At the same time, B2B companies are increasingly looking to B2C strategies for inspiration, whether in response to these shifts or as part of a long-overdue transformation. Either way, B2B eCommerce is evolving with a clear focus on putting customers at the center of every decision.
If rising customer expectations and shifting buying behaviors weren’t enough to challenge legacy systems, AI is the final nail in the coffin. Businesses are eager to embrace AI and reap its benefits, but integrating AI solutions with legacy systems is like putting new tires on a car that won’t start. You won’t get anywhere unless you focus on the real problems at hand.
Where Are We Today?
What exactly are today’s customers looking for? Let’s take a closer look at a few key factors shaping the ideal buying experience.
- Personalization at scale can take many forms, like recommending products based on past purchases, browsing behavior, and industry trends or providing a customized storefront that displays relevant content and products for each customer.
- Omnichannel selling ensures a consistent, connected experience across multiple channels – online and offline. Whether the buyer starts on a mobile app, chats with a sales representative, and then completes their purchase online, every touchpoint should build trust, deliver accurate information, and capture relevant data.
- Self-serve journeys offer the same convenience today’s buyers expect in their personal lives. In fact, B2B buyers are now comfortable placing orders of $500,000 or more through self-service channels.
- Buying groups and approval workflows are an integral part of the digital B2B purchasing process, especially as self-serve journeys continue to rise. When multiple stakeholders are involved in overseeing and approving purchasing decisions, large transactions require advanced eCommerce capabilities like approval workflows and role-based permissions to keep the process smooth for both buyers and sellers.
With these strategies, and whatever trends emerge next, legacy systems just don’t have the flexibility businesses need to keep up.
What Do These Changes Mean for Legacy Systems?
Even without these expectations pushing the limits of B2B eCommerce, clinging to a legacy system still has major risks. Keeping outdated technology on life support drains time, money, and resources, leaving little room for innovation.
Beyond costs, legacy systems no longer provide best-of-breed capabilities, and in B2B, where unique needs are common, that’s a significant limitation. If you’re investing in a system that isn’t meeting the needs of your business and customers, it’s worth asking – are you really getting the value you need to succeed?
Without strong integration capabilities, legacy systems force businesses to patch together additional solutions just to get essential functionalities they need. This leads to complicated workarounds that compromise data accuracy in areas like customer information and inventory. Over time, these disconnected systems turn into a tangled mess that’s increasingly difficult to scale and maintain efficiently.
These factors combined with the pressure of rising customer expectations point to a simple truth: the longer you hold onto legacy systems, the harder it becomes to stay competitive. Composable eCommerce platforms like Shopify offer the flexibility, scalability, and integration capabilities businesses need to quickly pivot and respond to industry trends or changing customer demands – while supporting their unique operational requirements.
At its core, this isn’t just a technology problem. Refusing to move on from legacy systems, regardless of the reasoning, points to a deeper problem in your organization. The ability to embrace change and prioritize adaptability will determine who will become industry leaders, while those who resist will be left behind.
The Path Forward
Success in B2B eCommerce today and into the future isn’t just about replacing outdated systems — it’s about building a foundation for sustainable, long-term growth. While technology plays an important role, the real indicator of success is an organization-wide mindset that embraces adaptability, experimentation, and continuous improvement.
The good news is that you don’t have to overhaul your entire tech stack overnight. Throwing out your existing infrastructure isn’t the only option. Enterprises can strike a balance between short-term wins and long-term transformation by taking a strategic, piece-by-piece approach. Composable solutions allow companies to modernize incrementally, integrating best-of-breed tools where they make the most impact.
iPaaS solutions like Fuse make it possible to bridge the gap between legacy systems and modern solutions, enabling seamless integration without the need for a complete system replacement or frustrating workarounds.
The question is no longer if B2B enterprises need to evolve, but how they will choose to do so. TMG can help you navigate the journey, ensuring your business stays on track for eCommerce success. Whether you’re looking to incorporate solutions like Fuse, or considering a full replatform, we can help.
