Because of our long-standing work in Automotive ecommerce and Marketing, we talk to distributors and manufacturers often about ecommerce. Many companies want to get into ecom, and the ones in it want to grow. There seems to be a crowd of companies already in the space, but distributors and manufacturers can still find their unique pathway for B2C.
B2C is not a fit for everyone. We have distributor clients tell us all the time they are quite happy fulfilling for others. And we understand that. The business decision to do B2C can come with a lot of $$$ behind it.
This short article will highlight one success factor leading the way. Integrations.
Automotive Parts Data Integrations
When you have a B2C site, you need parts data. That data has to come from somewhere and often can be paid for. Some companies are big enough to have their own data acquisition teams, but most just license it. The integrations of where automotive parts data comes from has become more elegant in the last few years.
Warehouse Inventory Management Systems Integrations
And not only is automotive parts data integration becoming more elegant, but the connections to WMS Warehouse Management Systems is also improving.
One of our partners at Sound Press, WHI Solutions (an eBay company) has all of these. They have data we can license and with CatLink and OrderLink, the integrations are programmable into your ecommerce environment so Distributors can add B2C to an existing B2B platform. Click the words to read more about CatLink and OrderLink, and read more about B2C as you’d like.
Integrations are making more connections in B2C possible, and quite frankly lowering the cost of entry. Feel free to reach out to us for a discussion on why Automotive B2C might be a good next step for you. And don’t be offended if we arrive at a wise answer together that Automotive B2C also may not be the right business fit or time for you.