one came out report in Valor Econômico on 'Marketplace B2B'. This made me reflect on how much the online purchase and direct-to-consumer delivery model has evolved exponentially in recent years. Currently, it is very common to see people with packages walking down the street to make deliveries, either on foot or on bicycles. There are even people who, upon receiving these orders, say that it is like receiving a gift and feel pleasure in the experience.
Companies are becoming more efficient and cheap and fast freight offers are becoming more common. 'Pick up in Store' options, in which the order is initiated on an online platform and completed in the physical environment of the store, are already a practice in Brazil. It is also possible to see 'lockers' in subway stations and other strategic points.
There is still plenty of room for expansion and capturing opportunities within the B2C universe, which according to Grand View Research is expected to grow by 9,7% by 2028. Even more perishable consumer goods companies are beginning to operate this direct-to-consumer delivery model . In the beverage sector, for example, we have the case of Andina in Rio de Janeiro with the “Na Sua Casa” program, where Coca-Cola products are offered and delivered directly to the consumer; and the well-known success story “Zé Delivery”, a platform that bridges the gap between consumers and small retailers.
But what about the B2B marketplace? That is, the one in which the supply and demand of products in an online environment is made between CNPJs. Similar to the B2C model, in this 'market', legal entities make their purchases by comparing offers from different suppliers. The initial advantages for the supplier would be to have direct access to the demand of its customers, which helps in logistical and production planning, in addition to reducing inventories along the supply chain. For the consumer, it is an environment that, theoretically, facilitates negotiation and allows products to be found more efficiently.
The B2B online market moved more than US$ 6 trillion worldwide and is expected to grow twice as much as B2C. Even major players in the B2C market already operate on this front, such as Amazon Business, Alibaba.com (focused on Chinese retailers, but already has international operations) and IndiaMart (the largest B2B platform in India).
In Brazil, large companies such as Unilever invested in this model, giving rise to the startup 'Compra Agora'. In this marketplace focused on small retailers, companies such as 3M, Bauducco, BRF, Kimberly-Clark and L'Óreal are embedded on the platform and have direct access to thousands of small retailers, such as bakeries, neighborhood grocery stores, among others.
There is also the case of startups such as MinniS and Zapply, aimed at small businesses where several wholesalers make their offers online; Gofind, which makes use of big data to identify purchase opportunities in both physical and virtual stores; and Inventa, similar to “Compra Agora”, which received an investment of R$ 115 million in Jan/22 and has plans to expand to Mexico and Colombia.
These options represent a great opportunity for companies that now have direct access to their customers' demand, at the same time that they are a challenge for logistics with greater delivery capillarity and increasingly shorter deadlines. In addition, we have the challenge of reverse logistics and making the customer experience as fluid as possible, the so desired omnichannel, in addition to risk mitigation issues when dealing with multiple suppliers and the B2B2C model, but that is a topic for a next post!
References:
– Valor Econômico (19/07/2022) – Industry earns more with B2B platform
– Small Businesses & Large Businesses (24/01/2022) – Inventa, B2B marketplace for small and medium-sized retailers, closes new round and raises BRL 115 million
– Invents – https://inventa.shop/
– MinniS – https://minnis.com.br/
– Buy-Now – https://www.compra-agora.com/
Jessica Silva
5 years of experience in training, consulting and market research projects in Supply Chain for companies from different sectors such as Coca-Cola, LASA, Silimed, O Boticário, Monsanto, among others. Worked on inventory planning projects, logistical master plan, transportation and indicator management. He also participated in the development of the ILOS online courses on Logistics and Supply Chain, Procurement Processes and Industrial Management, in addition to research in the pharmaceutical sector.
