Buyers Put Procurement on a Faster Horse

A new report from Amazon, reflecting a survey of 440 respondents from four sectors, says most everyone in the B2B world wants to buy from Amazon.  

Go figure.

There are plenty of EComm advocates proclaiming digital buying the savior of a dying industry and to be fair, E-Commerce is the way of a future - maybe not yours.

Steer away from summary articles and agenda-supported opinions. The entire report is worth a visit. It is here.

But I must ask, "Does anyone besides me see this as another step into 'commoditization'?  Am I the only one?"

Also, I hear a great deal of whining about competing with HP in our channel, - now you want to compete with Amazon?  Really?  What is your competitive advantage, website to website?  It's like a good kickboxer(sport of the future) getting in the boxing ring with Tyson.  

I agree: B2B is moving to Ecomm.  Purchasing Agents.  Which one of you wants to talk with a PA in the first place?????  A quote from the article, which is based on a study of only 440 respondents, "Procurement teams must act as digital transformation evangelists, budget guardians, and work-from-anywhere enablers, while also pushing forward corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals,”  - BUDGET GUARDIANS.  And what in the world is a CSR Goal?  

Directly from the report, "Business buying looks more like personal shopping than ever, with B2B buyers increasingly taking advantage of e-procurement...technologies to find, compare, and purchase supplies in their price range that are aligned with their core values."

"...SUPPLIES in their PRICE range..."  

After decades of fighting to be unique, relevant, and of value... 

Smells like a commodity.(Less like teen spirit)

What's In It for Us?

The report DOES support something we've known for a decade.  Something we've been telling prospects we care about and can help tackle - 57% of folks are looking to digitize manual processes in procurement with 55% looking to address invoicing online. Two areas that our industry has decades of experience. 

Can you benefit more from helping companies jump the digital divide or setting up an ECom site?