Forrester Predictions 2025: B2B Marketing and Sales

Global spending through chat-based channels is tipped to exceed $32.67 billion by 2035, as it offers real-time support while aiding product discovery through an omnichannel customer experience. Younger demographics—including those in the driving seat of B2B buying decisions—are relying on AI assistants to make purchasing decisions. Everything you need for an enterprise selling apparatus, we’ve already built it with OneCommerce, which is built on Shopify components.”

• It offers order and invoice management, contract compliance, and performance analytics to improve vendor operations and buyer relationships.
• In fact, the B2B market includes companies that sell software for building B2B websites, including tools, templates, databases, methodologies and transaction software.
• The easiest and probably the smartest way is to smoothen existing features and steps in the buying process, especially those connected to money.
• Global spending through chat-based channels is tipped to exceed $32.67 billion by 2035, as it offers real-time support while aiding product discovery through an omnichannel customer experience.
• Winning business leaders are 55% more likely than others to plan the integration of sophisticated sales technology, from tools that suggest the next best steps to features that keep existing customers from leaving.

Buying groups are growing larger, procurement is becoming more influential, and trials are now essential to reducing risk Making the shift to buying groups isn’t new news, but after Summit this year, it’s buying groups for the win. Making the move to buying groups is not just about improving conversion rates; it’s the shift from being revenue-obsessed to being truly customer-obsessed and better aligned to how businesses make purchasing decisions today. Engaging with the entire buying group, understanding the roles that each member plays, and catering to their specific needs is the key to unlocking more opportunities and driving growth. If your organization is aiming to enhance performance and foster sustainable revenue growth, it’s time to pivot from individual leads to engaging multiple members of the buying group. But for most organizations we talk to, it’s not working like it used to.

Businesses benefit from faster onboarding of suppliers, access to a broader buyer network, automation of order processing, and real-time inventory tracking. These platforms simplify procurement, expand global reach, and reduce operational costs. With a strong focus on user experience, system integration, and omnichannel commerce, SmartOSC is uniquely positioned to solve the pain points of modern B2B businesses—delivering value far beyond just platform development. This resulted in a 40% increase in buyer retention and smoother cross-border transactions. With over 18 years of experience and a strong global presence, SmartOSC combines strategy, technology, and experience design to build future-proof B2B platforms that match evolving industry demands. Fortify your supply chain with GlobalSources, connecting you to a vast network of vetted Asian manufacturers across diverse industries.

Through Forrester’s proprietary research, consulting, and events, leaders from around the globe are empowered to be bold at work — to navigate change and put their customers at the center of their leadership, strategy, and operations. ERP (orders, pricing, customers), PIM (attributes), inventory/OMS, tax, shipping/3PL, and identity/SSO are the common core. Choose based on volume, margin, and whether control is part of your strategy. If your buyers expect POs, approvals, and net-30/60, you need a plan via platform capability and/or finance-stack integration. It’s weak seller quality control, poor catalog data, unclear policies, and not having the operational team to run onboarding and disputes.

These workflows ensure B2B customers encounter accurate information regardless of where they place their order. B2B customers differ from B2C in the fact they demand more knowledge from the brands they buy from. Shopify allows customers to create company profiles for stakeholders to sign in and view past orders, make new ones, and generate invoices—all without interrupting your sales team. You’ll never sell out-of-stock products on any channel—B2B marketplaces included. The platform verifies marketing claims, formula ownership, and sustainable packing so you can sell to B2B customers that value the same things you do. There’s no fee for B2B customers you invite directly to Ankorstore.

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Oracle’s NetSuite SuiteCommerce is an enterprise-grade ecommerce solution designed to deliver personalized and seamless B2B experiences. The Commerce Hub is designed to enhance the efficiency of payment processes and provide a seamless integration. It’s famous for its array of robust features for both B2C and B2B businesses. One of its most compelling features is the “multistorefront” capability.

Top B2B eCommerce Platforms in 2026: In-Depth Analysis

Diplonova, for B2b purchasing network example, is a French-only service marketplace aimed at small enterprises. The term “pure-play online marketplace”” refers to enterprises that show, sell, and fulfill products online but do not have an offline presence. A global market caters to customers worldwide, whereas a local market is limited to a specific geographic area. With a vast workforce of 250K full-time experts, the corporation claims to be the leading entity in the e-commerce industry, offering the most creative solutions. The principal aim of Made-In-China.com is to provide easily accessible and better web-based trading solutions to boost Chinese trade worldwide.

While using trusted and established B2B procurement websites, businesses can have confidence in the security of their transactions. B2B procurement websites also implement robust security features, such as user authentication, firewalls, and regular security audits. Yes, conducting transactions on a reputable B2B procurement website is secure. They offer features like order management, RFQs, and secure payment systems, ensuring efficiency and convenience.

This integration streamlines the procurement process, enabling you to manage orders, track inventory, and handle payments more efficiently. Yes, many B2B Procurement Platforms offer integration options with existing procurement systems. Our professionals will be glad to offer any help or answer any technical questions you may have on your mind related to procurement and B2B eCommerce solutions. If you want to know more about this topic, we would suggest reaching out to our team.

The platform includes strategic sourcing, purchasing, supplier qualification, contract management, and spend analysis, all tightly integrated into Oracle’s broader financial and supply chain modules. Oracle Procurement Cloud is an enterprise-grade, AI-enabled procurement platform that supports the full source-to-pay lifecycle within the Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP ecosystem. One of its key strengths is flexibility across industries, particularly in higher education, healthcare, manufacturing, and the public sector. The platform covers the full procurement lifecycle, including strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, contract management, and spend analytics.

Through catalog and contract management tools, each supplier can set bulk prices, minimum order quantities, and delivery slots for specific regions. Teams always purchase at agreed-upon rates – without manual lookup or risk of deviation. This ensures companies work only with verified, high-performing suppliers. This shift allows companies to focus on strategic planning instead of routine administration. This is why more companies rely on B2B procurement software to consolidate spend, enforce policies, and ensure that every purchase follows contract terms. With the growing need for speed, global reach, and competitiveness in modern supply chains, businesses are increasingly turning to B2B e-procurement platforms.

Buyers want role-based access, approvals, auditability, and a clear dispute path. If you’re evaluating how a marketplace fits into a broader channel strategy, it helps to ground the decision in a modern B2B commerce motion, not just “listings and checkout.” You trade some margin and control for an audience, trust signals, and a pre-built buying flow that can reduce friction in procurement processes.

Benefits of using a B2B Marketplace

If your organization is ready to drive new opportunities, deliver better outcomes for customers, and grow alongside TradeCentric, apply here. “TradeCentric is providing a valuable service for our customers at OroCommerce by connecting their catalogs with a global network of buyers. “Our partners are a direct extension of how we serve the B2B eCommerce ecosystem, and this Partner Network reflects our commitment to delivering value for both partners and our mutual customers,” said Kevin Kazenmayer, Vice President of Business Strategy and Development at TradeCentric. As AI democratizes analysis and automation, the value of the RevOps function moves from producing reports to interpreting signals, managing risk, and guiding better decisions. Demonstrate business value through messaging that speaks directly to their needs, industry context, and the outcomes they hope to achieve.

Step 4: Create assets and run campaigns

These platforms offer access to large pools of potential buyers without the need for upfront investment in website development. Marketplaces offer network effects and instant visibility, whereas eCommerce websites allow more control over branding, customer experience, and pricing models. A B2B marketplace connects multiple sellers with multiple buyers in one ecosystem (e.g., Alibaba), while a B2B eCommerce website is typically a branded, standalone store for one business.

Organizations can tailor workflows, data models, and user experiences to match their specific procurement strategies and governance requirements. It uses artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to support supplier evaluation, risk assessment, and performance management. The platform covers the full procurement lifecycle, including strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, contract management, and spend analysis. Ivalua is a highly configurable AI-enabled source-to-pay procurement platform designed to support complex procurement environments across industries. Deep integration with SAP ERP systems makes it a natural choice for organizations already operating within the SAP ecosystem. As an AI procurement platform, SAP Ariba uses artificial intelligence to support spend analysis, supplier risk monitoring, guided buying, and compliance management.