84% of IT leaders aren’t happy with their B2B e-commerce solution; ongoing maintenance issues swallow up over 41% of IT department’s time
The growth of B2B e-commerce solutions is presenting new complications, especially for IT leaders. These solutions have become a must-needed tool for organizations in a digitally driven-future, but it also poses challenges. A recent Sapio Research survey of 1,000 IT leaders commissioned by Sana Commerce found that many B2B e-commerce solutions are misaligned with the organization’s goals – and this misalignment is causing frustration for IT and imposing costs and missed opportunities for the business.
According to the IT Leaders Outlook on B2B e-Commerce ‘22/23 report, several key findings underscore how important it is for B2B companies to get e-commerce right:
B2B e-commerce is a headache for IT:
Despite the big promises made by many e-commerce software companies, many B2B e-commerce solutions are poorly chosen and do not suit the needs of IT.
- 84% of IT leaders aren’t happy with their B2B e-commerce solution.
- 92% of IT leaders share at least one frustration with their B2B e-commerce platform.
Read More: Alithya Recognized as the Winner of Two Us Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards
B2B e-commerce solutions are driving higher maintenance costs:
Instead of making life easier for IT teams, B2B e-commerce solutions are often causing higher levels of maintenance and diverting internal resources away from other projects.
- The #1 most cited frustration by IT leaders: High level of maintenance (29% mentioned this).
- IT leaders report that, on average, 2-3 people in their team work on the B2B portal. Forty-one percent of their time is spent on ongoing maintenance.
Misaligned B2B e-commerce solutions are putting revenue at risk:
B2B e-commerce solutions are supposed to make it easier to close sales – but instead, they’re causing companies to lose sales.
- On average, 188 orders are at risk each month due to downtime.
- 1 in 10 IT leaders claim more than 500 orders a month are at risk due to downtime.
- Survey respondents said that on average $244,499 of online sales are at risk for companies per year due to e-commerce solution downtime.
Read More: SalesTechStar Interview With Matt Darrow, CEO and Cofounder at Vivun
B2B e-commerce mistakes are causing ripple effects that are felt throughout the organization:
Instead of helping the company work more efficiently, too many B2B e-commerce solutions are damaging relationships within the organization and with its customers.
- 67% of IT leaders say their relationship with commercial teams was harmed, because customers don’t use it as much as expected.
- 42% of IT leaders are so fed up, they’ve already looked at other e-commerce solutions.
“The risks and costs of B2B e-commerce can seem intimidating,” said Arno Ham, CPO of Sana Commerce. “This is why it has never been more important for IT leaders to rely on their expertise and let their voice be heard during business discussions. IT professionals have the experience and knowledge to be business navigators too.”
