In this Brazil of continental dimensions, we were not culturally prepared for export.
like the Europeans from the beginning. The Brazilian industry has invested a lot in the domestic market, but it needs to undo the impression that it is difficult to export and start expanding business to the world. If the product is suitable for the country of destination, it seems much easier. We have the excellent reference of the footwear industry that exports millions of pairs, and with being present in all the countries of the globe. Taking advantage of seasonality, tax and currency incentives is a great solution for growth at this time in the economy. At first, a thorough study of the target markets is necessary. Ideally, prioritize by countries or economic blocs with specific international trade tax legal agreements, which offer more advantages. The expansion project focused on a specific market at the same time, is also more productive due to the details and peculiarities more suitable to be applied in the marketing, logistics, production strategy, etc.
Cross-border B2B e-commerce is the disruption that was missing for Brazilian brands to conquer the world. This digital revolution comes to reduce costs and break down geographic barriers, allowing wholesaling to previously unreachable markets. The expansion strategy preferably begins with business-to-business, as already occurs in the offline market where brands display their products at trade shows and trade shows for retailers in other countries. The reach of the online brand allows you to close a long distance deal for clients and new clients more effectively. Today, in addition to specialized consultancies in digital business and cross-border e-commerce, the industry has excellent support from Apex-Brasil for companies of all sizes in the export and internationalization process.
It is important to note that digital innovations to increase the conversion of sales into e-commerce have the resources to optimize the usability with a photo and video of the product, a detailed description, standardization of sizes to adapt the product to the target market and other customizations. wholesale. Therefore, B2B ecommerce design cannot be a simple online catalog, you need all the necessary tools to convert. Salespeople or reps using these resources improve efficiency in product mix planning and restock stores. The relationship can be monitored and measured, for continuous productivity improvement. In addition to reducing high costs with showcases, printed catalog, new product launches, marketing, travel, access licenses and operational errors.
By 2020, B2B e-commerce is expected to earn approximately $ 6.7 trillion, compared to $ 3.2 trillion for B2C according to data from Frost & Sullivan. This growth is due to the entries of the main players in this segment, such as Amazon and Alibaba. In addition to other marketplaces focused on specific markets such as fashion, where the brand can even market its products by connecting APIs to the international platform, as long as it has compatible technology to carry out this operation.
The purchase can be made by buyers of a smartphone anywhere in the world, which the brand wants to act. Allowing the wholesale industry to significantly scale up. The advantages of cross-border B2B ecommece are great, such as taking advantage of seasonality that allows understanding acceptance and making product improvements in the national market first, ordering with scheduled deliveries that facilitate international logistics, processes and more reliable and efficient retail controls. In the luxury segment, for example, networks Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf, among others, increasingly use these digital resources to improve planning of collection purchases.
The fastest growing companies in the world are digitized with smart Opex solutions. If traditional companies don't accelerate to keep up with these behavioral changes, they will be left behind in no time. That is why it makes sense to hand over the system development and implementation processes to experienced vendors. This means saving time and expanding without increasing operating costs by outsourcing the software development project, thus reducing CAPEX expenses and increasing the system's ROI (Return on Investment). Maintain the managers' focus on expanding and evolving the business.
Nowadays, it is possible to have B2B, B2B Cross-Border, B2C and B2C Cross-Border functionalities in a platform in the same backoffice and with grouped fronts for each audience. And the most interesting thing is that each optimization of the project can be done according to the business expansion plan. Thus, it allows you to enter a certain market with B2B e-commerce by conducting analysis and testing, and then scale the operation to a B2C e-commerce, for example.
The biggest question from the industry is about channel conflicts with reps. I say that it is not about replacing, but about improving. Because B2B e-commerce needs a personalized service. The human value of these sales professionals, who deserve all the incentives, is unquestionable. In fact, technology is presented as a facilitator in the relationship with the buyer. It is up to the brand to have a good incentive and metric control program, based on customer satisfaction, for example. This growth also creates new jobs. In this scenario, it may be a boutique in Recife or a chain of department stores in Russia, the service needs professionals specialized in monitoring and well prepared to give all the necessary support to the client. Thus, the optimization of these processes reduces costs and increases sales capacity, making the team more efficient.
In B2B e-commerce, the customer has a login that accesses their own profile after brand approval. Personalization is critical, so the rules must be configured on the platform. How to Define Groups, Languages, Minimum Orders, Price Tables, Deadlines, Offers, Discount, Payment Method, Taxes, Catalogs, CIF or FOB Freight, Location, Commercial Policies, Differences in ICM Rates, Tax Replacement Rules, IPI, Tax exemptions, ST (Substitution of taxes), ICM and DIFAL (Difference of rates), etc. The greater the detail, the more efficient the integration with the ERP system, CRM and marketing tools. All the customer's particularities can be incorporated to increase the level of assertiveness in the relationship, generating purchase and replenishment recurrence data.
In 2017, the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will take place in Argentina. At this meeting, 16 principles for future rules will be defined, such as the permanent prohibition of import tariffs on digital products, the certification of electronic signatures, cross-border data flows and internet neutrality. It is also argued that companies and digital entrepreneurs that deliver products and services in the "cloud" do not need to have databases in each country where they operate. The world is evolving in digital business.
Some previous questions about cross-border B2B e-commerce:
1. Platform - Be prepared to support sales operations in the destination and optimize the expansion project?
2. Products - Are market studies carried out to define and list which products will be marketed and do they comply with export regulations, climate, size standardization, etc.?
3. Inventory - define how many SKUs will start the operation. Will you send the consolidated from Brazil according to the orders placed or will you keep it in a distribution center on site?
4. Fulfillment - Warehousing, packing, picking and packing with your own structure or that of a local partner? Is it necessary to package all SKUs per unit with barcodes and identification (EAN, UPC, etc.)? Standard or custom packaging? Does any product need special packaging (temperature, humidity, insulation, etc.)? If you offer on-time delivery, what stock coverage in days do you plan to work on and what space is needed in square meters? What is the current and projected average SKUs per order?
5. Reverse logistics- What is the percentage of orders returned in the current operation and what is the projection in the planned location?
6. Carriers - Which ones are specialized in this type of operation? Do they use API to classify products, accurately calculate import taxes and duties, generate necessary documents such as invoices and packing list?
7. SAC - Service with an internal team or outsource an on-site call center?
8. ERP, Billing and Accounting - Opening a business on the site yes or no? Which partner will you support to open the company? Is the ERP system compatible with the operation? Do you intend to open a company to invoice the end customer, if you already have a company, what system is used for invoicing and accounting?
9. Payment and fraud- What will be the payment gateway and anti-fraud system that will be used on the site?
10. Import - What are the partners in place?
11. Marketing and UX (User Experience) - What digital agency has experience in implementing and managing marketing projects outside the country, or will it do so with an internal team? Public relations and local advice?
12. Sales Planning- What is the average sales goal per month, first, second and third year?
13. Content translation and adaptation - Who will translate all the content that needs to be adapted to the location?
14. Markets- What markets do you want to sell? Are the platforms compatible with local market APIs?
15. Lawyer - Which partner office specializes in digital business for contracts available online, such as terms of delivery, terms of services, delivery policies, refunds and even payments?
16. Team - Will you need to recruit, train, visa, etc.?
Pronósticos emocionantes que inspiran confianza y me hicieron seguir los casos de éxito de comercio electrónico transfronterizo B2B brasileño en el último año. Concluyo diciendo que es hora de que nuestro país crezca vendiendo artesanías a tecnología en línea. ¡Tenemos productos de calidad y competencia para aprovechar la economía! ¡Empiece!
Erica Borges, Founder of THE1 Showroom and THE GOAL