Both startups and well-established franchises have one thing in common: at some point they are going to grow in size. Entrepreneurs rarely shy from this improvement and are happy to jump at the opportunity to expand their operations. Growth is especially important for business to business platforms that have a tendency to increase in operations exponentially, drawn forward by their partners. However, many forget that the existing B2B platform has to advance as well, primarily in the features it offers. We are all more or less aware which features are these, but once you become a serious player in the market there is no longer an excuse not to apply these 7 components in your B2B.
There is no better way to boost you sale capabilities than introducing a “request a quote” option. This enables guests to submit a quote request even if they aren’t registered or current customers. This way you can process the quote from the potential customer, either accepting it or altering the offer by customizing it. This way you interact with prospective clients, giving them a chance to evaluate your business model without having to actually do business together.
If your employees are meticulous when it comes to orders, then your software should be too. Each order has to have a tracker that will make it unique and traceable. This way, you can assert control over the rising number of orders by other companies.
Another issue regarding the meticulousness is the stock level. You are dependent on it when it comes to executing an order quickly and efficiently. Your B2B needs to have a counter for tracking the stock levels in real time, if possible. This way, you will know if the product is available and more important, where it is available, so it can be redistributed if necessary.
If you thought search modules are reserved only for successful B2C franchises, guess again. Businesses, no matter how big they are, are run by people, and those people want to be able to easily search what you offer.
We all want to keep technical matters in the hands of the financial department, but they too need assistance. Since they fill in and request tens, if not hundreds, of invoices daily, it would be desirable that the B2B platform can keep track of these. The introduction of e-invoicing is practically a must once the business reaches a certain level and automated invoicing is inevitable for some industries, such as storage or transport.
Customers are not going to use your app, but employees of other companies are. If their job includes fieldwork, then they are going to need an android phone app, for instance. The software needs to be equally responsive on all platforms even if your primary partner is a business, rather than a personal user.
It goes without saying that your app should have the registration option. It should be as flexible as possible, including the option that allows several users to log into a single account. Official accounts are used by several members of the staff, so they all require ease of access.
In short, these would be the features that are prerequisite for any B2B to grow. Once you come to terms with this necessity, it is time to find the appropriate web development company. When choosing, try to find one that develops its own systems instead of using ready-made platforms. This way, B2B features can be adjusted to the particular needs of your business. Furthermore, they can be updated and upgraded as the franchise changes and grows further more over the years.