Manufacturing Industries Most Ready to Expand B2B E-Commerce

Key findings

B2B e-commerce reaches USD4 trillion

The global B2B e-commerce market amounted to around USD4 trillion in 2017, and is expected to continue growing at a rapid pace, with manufacturing industries leading growth.

The readiness to adopt B2B e-commerce depends on the current B2B and demand for investment goods, the complexity of supply chains and ICT spending

The manufacturers most ready to launch their digital selling activities include those in high-tech goods, machinery, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, rubber, plastics and transport equipment. However, the benefits and obstacles that companies are likely to face depend on their relative market power with respect to their buyers.

Small companies can generate substantial benefits from emergence in e-commerce, especially within rubber, plastics and machinery

Producers of machinery, rubber and plastics are among the most prepared to digitalise their sales channels, as they have strong investment demand, simple supply chains and the necessary IT infrastructure. Machinery producers are expected to be pushed into e-commerce due to intensifying competition with their peers, while rubber and plastics companies will be incentivised by their strong buyers.

Large companies can also benefit from emergence in e-commerce, especially within high-tech goods, medical products and transport equipment

E-commerce helps big corporations to cost-effectively address the needs of the wide range of smaller buyers (in the case of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and high-tech goods). Alternatively, it can help to strengthen the relationships among companies that have strong market power (transport equipment).