According to a 2022 Forrester Research report, B2B e-commerce revenue is predicted to reach $3 trillion by 2027. This forecast is driven by a number of factors, including the increasing adoption of digital technologies by businesses of all sizes as well as B2B buyers. B2B buyer’s expectations will continue to increase in the coming years. To help B2B businesses meet the rising B2B buyer expectations, Google commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a study which uncovered three key trends in this landscape:

Accelerating Trend: Consumerization of B2B. Today’s B2B buyers are looking for B2B digital experiences to mirror their B2C experience. Whether researching products, comparing prices, or communicating with vendors, buyers expect a seamless, frictionless journey across digital channels. And these expectations for digital experiences have only heightened since January 2022. There is considerable upside for the B2B businesses rising to the occasion, with 65% of B2B buyers willing to pay more for a supplier/vendor that has strong digital capabilities. ¹ B2B buyers expect personalized buying and seamless web experiences and the Forrester study recommends modern marketing teams prioritize a frictionless digital experience.

Dynamic Trend: B2B buyers are concerned about product assortment and product innovation. 85% of B2B Buyers are equally or more concerned with product assortment since January of 2022. Of those with changed expectations as of January 2022, 25% of B2B buyers expect a more robust product catalog. ¹ Buyers should not have to dig for a product on your website, nor will they. This requires your B2B merchandising and finance teams to work more closely together to ensure the product catalog is accessible, easy to use and robust in order to monetize against all their SKUs – whether B2B buyers are just starting to explore brands or ready to purchase specific SKUs. Once the entire product catalog is accessible online, showcase your full product assortment with shopping ads.

Static Trend: Loyalty is affected by poor digital capabilities. 70% of B2B Buyers agree that they prefer repeat purchases with a vendor/supplier instead of finding a new partnership. ¹ But, according to the Forrester survey, only 53% of B2B Buyers purchase from the same suppliers. ¹ Of those that switch providers, they do so because of the digital experience. The #1 reason buyers switch is an easy to navigate digital experience and #2 reason is the company’s digital capabilities. ¹ So once a vendor engages with a buyer, it is essential to foster that relationship in the ways that matter most for the buyer – which is increasingly through digital touchpoints.

Want to learn more about how to stay ahead of the curve and win in the digital-first B2B world? Read the Google study, Digital Buying Experiences Win Business.

About the Survey
The Google-commissioned Forrester Consulting survey was conducted from June 2023 through July 2023. Our aim was to evaluate the B2B buying process, as it pertains to B2B buyers that purchase maintenance, repair and operations, office supplies, printing and promotional products, and logistics or payments products/services. It asked 411 respondents and conducted 4 qualitative interviews.

¹ A Google-commissioned Survey conducted by Forrester Consulting, July 2023, Business and Industrial B2B Buyer Decision Makers for Office Supplies, Printing/Promo, Logistics and MRO who made a purchase in the first half of 2023, US Only, n=411

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In today’s digital age, the efficient management of product information has become crucial to the success of companies in multiple industries. This is where Product Information Management (PIM) software plays a major role.

In this article, we will look at the importance of a PIM software in product management, highlighting its benefits and applications in the business world.

Continue reading to find out more!

PIM software definition and functionalities
A PIM software is a technological solution designed to centralize, organize and improve a company’s product information. Its objective is to facilitate the management and distribution of this information through different sales and marketing channels.

An effective PIM enables companies to effectively manage large volumes of product data, including descriptions, technical specifications, images, pricing and inventory information.

Centralized information
One of the main benefits of PIM software is the centralization of product information. This means that all relevant information is stored in one place, making it easier to access and manage data. Centralization eliminates redundancy and errors arising from managing multiple sources of information, ensuring consistency and accuracy of data across all channels.

Improved operational efficiency
Implementing a PIM software can significantly increase a company’s operational efficiency. By automating repetitive tasks and simplifying complex processes, a PIM reduces the time and effort required to manage product information. This frees up valuable resources that can be reallocated to more strategic activities, such as developing new products or improving marketing strategies.

Product Information Enrichment
Product information enrichment is another area where the PIM software shows its value. It enables companies to improve the quality and detail of their product information, which in turn enhances the customer experience.

A good PIM provides tools to easily add detailed information, high-quality images and multimedia content, which helps customers make informed purchasing decisions.

Multichannel management
In today’s marketplace, companies must be present in multiple sales and marketing channels to reach their target audience. A PIM software facilitates multichannel management by enabling consistent and accurate distribution of product information across different platforms, such as online stores, marketplaces, social networks and printed catalogs.

This ensures that customers receive the same product information regardless of the channel they use.

Reduced time to launch products
A PIM software can significantly accelerate the time to launch new products.

By centralizing and automating the management of product information, companies can respond faster to market trends and consumer demands. This translates into a significant competitive advantage, enabling companies to stay one step ahead in an ever-changing marketplace.

Improving the customer experience
Accurate and detailed product information is essential to providing a positive customer experience. A PIM software ensures that customers have access to up-to-date and complete information, which reduces returns and increases customer satisfaction.

Compliance and data consistency
In a regulated environment, compliance with product information regulations is critical. A PIM software helps companies comply with local and international regulations by ensuring data consistency and accuracy across all channels. Sounds good, right?

As you can see, a PIM software has become an indispensable tool for the efficient management of product information.

Its ability to centralize, organize and enrich product data, improve operational efficiency, and facilitate multichannel management makes it a strategic ally for any company seeking to optimize its market presence.

In addition, PIM plays a crucial role in improving customer experience, accelerating new product launches and regulatory compliance.

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In an era where technology is king, even the once gritty, noisy production lines have seen the dawn of a quieter yet more efficient revolution. At the heart lies the integration of MES software, a game-changer in the manufacturing sector. Imagine a control center that makes sense of every movement on the factory floor, turning raw numbers into actionable insights. That’s the prowess of modern manufacturing systems – turning chaos into concertos and redefining the productivity of our generation’s makers and crafters.

The rise of digital tools in a traditional space
For years, manufacturers relied on the meticulous labor of hands and the relentless turning of machines. However, the entry of digital solutions has reshaped this landscape significantly. No longer is it enough to toil harder; now, the focus is on toiling smarter. By introducing software systems into their workflows, manufacturers are not just cutting down on manual errors but also boosting their output with unprecedented precision. This isn’t a tale from a distant future; it’s happening now, as modern software closes the gap between the old and the new, enabling factories to write their success stories with digital ink.

The manufacturing landscape is experiencing a transformative shift as factories infuse digital tools into their traditional spaces. By leveraging the capabilities of advanced manufacturing software, companies are redefining processes, and breaking the mold of historical production limitations. Virtual simulations and digital twins are now commonplace, allowing for meticulous planning and execution that limit the potential for costly errors and downtime. With these digital advancements, manufacturers are ushering in a new era of efficiency, precision, and innovation.

Turning data into a decision-making powerhouse
Decision-making in the past was often a shot in the dark, based on gut feelings and year-long experiences. However, with the advent of data-driven manufacturing software, every decision is illuminated by the light of hard facts and figures. Imagine being able to predict a shortage in your inventory before it happens or adjusting your production line in real-time to avoid bottlenecks. This is no longer the stuff of dreams. Manufacturers today are harnessing the power of data to steer clear of obstacles and navigate towards a horizon of efficiency and success.

Finding harmony in digital and physical production
It’s one thing to have a shiny new digital system, but it’s quite another to ensure it sings in tune with the physical operations on the floor. Getting the two to dance in rhythm is the real challenge manufacturers face. When this harmony is achieved, the result is a seamless flow of information, guiding machines and workers alike towards enhanced productivity and less waste. Success in this area translates to a symphony of operations where inventory levels, supply chain demands, and production schedules move to the same beat, orchestrated by sophisticated manufacturing software.

Staying agile in a fast-changing world
The only constant in business is change, and the ability to adapt quickly has become a survival skill. Agile manufacturing software has entered the scene as the ultimate ally for businesses in the face of fluctuating market demands. These systems don’t just respond to change—they anticipate it, allowing businesses to pivot their strategies swiftly and confidently. From custom order surges to sudden supply chain upheavals, companies with the right software backbone can ride the waves of change, emerging not just unscathed but ahead of the curve.

In conclusion, as digital commerce continues to shape consumer and business landscapes alike, the integration of manufacturing systems into the production process is not a luxury but a necessity to stay competitive. The invisible threads of software not only keep the machines humming, but they also keep the entire operation moving forward, proving that in today’s industrial symphony, the conductor’s baton is wielded with innovative technology.

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By Ariel Leguizamon, Head of Development, Solvd, Inc.

Ariel Leguizamon+

The coronavirus pandemic brought about changes in the modern digital landscape on a scale that hadn’t been seen before. With whole business domains moving online within months or even weeks, the digital infrastructure that supported them was put to a real test. On the upside, this shift caused huge transformations for the e-commerce sphere, with new tech and projects springing up and raising new standards.

These changes happened really fast and many businesses found themselves falling behind and needing to adapt their processes of using, on the one hand, and development, on the other hand, of e-commerce applications and platforms. In my experience, even now, three years after the outbreak of the pandemics, I see many project managers making decisions about what tech stack to use based on their experience or personal preferences rather than on business or market demands. It’s true that  when selecting tools to build an environment which will benefit a particular e-commerce best, today you will be basically selecting something among an array of good tools, and it becomes a challenge. In this article, I will go into detail about which factors you need to consider when making this choice and how to build a software development environment for your e-commerce project that will enhance the team’s efforts and answer the business demands of your niche.

Trends that will factor in your decision making

Competition in the e-commerce domain is huge, standards and budgets are raised high, so standing out in such a densely populated domain becomes a challenge. First, I’d like to name a few key factors that you need to consider when building a work setup.

1. Personalization
One benefit over-the-counter sales have over online sales is, hands-down, personalized interaction. Having a trained shop assistant help you select your items based on your communicated preferences, or the very process of shopping in a carefully tailored environment gives you what we all in fact seek when we shop for something: emotion.

While many experts agree that taking the shopping process online devoids it of that certain thrill, personalization and customized user experience is something e-commerce applications strive to achieve to substitute it. A web-based e-commerce application is, after all, a place where customers and brands interact.

Tailored user experience supposes constant acquisition and analysis of data, such as preferences, search and purchase history, etc. AI tools that leverage ML and advanced algorithms can create comprehensive user personas and help deliver uniquely personalized user journeys.

2. Sustainability
If we look at a user persona in a consumer audience most e-commerce projects would name ‘highly desirable’ because of their sophisticated preferences and particular solvency, we will see that such users often prefer eco-friendly, sustainable solutions which also create a positive socio-economic impact.

That is why, when selecting your tools for development, make sure they accommodate the demand for mindful consumption, for instance create lower carbon footprint and go in line with the circular economy trends and ethical standards.

3. Accessibility
Geographical scaling and reaching out to audiences or social groups that haven’t been previously covered by e-commerce is an important social factor that makes an e-commerce app excel. Accessibility also starts with tool selection. For instance, making cryptocurrency payments available to the unbanked or in regions where highly liquid and convertible currencies are not accessible.

Building your Development Environment: Corner stones

1. Which development approach to choose?
E-commerce is rapidly developing and you need to be very flexible and quickly react to market fluctuations, to shifting customer demands, and to be able to incorporate feedback fast. All this speaks in favor of iterative development methodologies, such as Agile or CI/CD delivery models. To boost your flexibility even further, microservice architecture may be the best solution for an e-commerce app. It provides the modular structure which is best when you need to distribute the load, place your content geographically closer to particular user groups to increase speed and performance.

Another advantage of picking microservices is that modules allow you to make the best use of the available resources, especially if they are limited. For instance, you can make certain critical modules, such as payment gateways, far more stable and reliable than the rest.

One other factor you need to consider is whether you are developing an MVP or a final product. Tools that accommodate swifter update implementation and changes to functionality are the best selection for building an MVP and research, while tools that support creation and deployment of larger-scale projects and provide more in-depth specific features are better for the final product.

2. Frontend: Vue or React?
Both frameworks are on par with each other in terms of performance, both have their certain advantages and devote followings, your selection will depend on whether you are building an MVP or the final project, on the business goals of your application, your budget and on your developer availability. Here are key factors to consider:

• Vue offers a vast ecosystem of companion libraries and a great combo of third-party and pre-build components, making it the perfect choice for initial research and experimentation a.k.a., the MVP stage.
• React has better integration with rich third-party libraries and is better for building an application which will support a wide functionality range.
• While both have equal opportunities for SSR through the use of Nuxt.js and Next.js frameworks, React’s component-based architecture helps build clean-coded apps with fast page loading.
• js is generally easier to learn, so it’s more accessible to a larger number of devs on your team. Its simpler syntax and structure make it easier to incorporate SEO best practices, and SEO is vital for an e-commerce app.

3. Database
When selecting NoSQLor SQL for your product, again, much depends on your development scale and budget, business requirements and your plans for scalability.  For example, SQL tools support more complex query handling, which is great when you are implementing a database into your final product. At the same time, NoSQL databases scale horizontally, which is a big advantage over SQL’s vertical scaling, and this is the point where you need to consider your budget, your project size. Sometimes it’s worth investing more into hosting an SQL database, but benefit from the advantages of handling a large number of complex transactions and analytical queries, which are typical for an e-commerce app.

Personally, I usually go for NoSQL for the MVP, for the flexibility due to its schema-less nature and the speed it offers, and for SQL for the final product, to support complex queries in an environment where data integrity is paramount.

4. Backend
When it comes to selecting tech stack for the backend of an e-commerce app, I consider Node.js, Golang and Python the staple choices. Selecting one is almost a religious choice and all three can be made to work well.  Here are some thoughts on what to take into consideration when making your selection.

• Golang would be my choice for highly concurrent systems, which is often the case with e-commerce web-based applications because of its high performance value and fastness, and he ability to accommodate highly computational operations
• Python has the simplest learning curve and an enormous library support, especially if you have C++ modules and developers or plan on having them. In a way, I would say, today Python is the lingua franca of coding and chances are, you will find better resources with Python
• js is a great choice when your frontend uses Javascript as well, this alignment between server and client sides ensures a more unified and efficient development process. All in all, Javascript has excellent support for AI tools and this could reap you many benefits in developing an e-commerce app where personalization is key.

5. Create a Testing Environment
While specifics of testing and QA for a commerce app deserves its own series of articles, here’s some ground views I’d like to share on how to build a good QA infrastructure for your app.

While e-commerce web applications undergo all typical test types and procedures, due to their scale, the trick is to divide and conquer, so I would recommend paying specific attention to unit testing. Unit testing can be the kernel level, as they are fastest and easiest in terms of automation and running, and other tests like integration and E2E can be performed on top of unit tests.

There’s a variety of tools to use for your unit testing, like Jest, which can be your go-to framework especially if you are using Javascript-based stack.

I would recommend using specific tools for E2E tests, such as Cypress. It integrates perfectly with other JS instruments and provides great tools for E2E automation.

Best DevOps Practices for E-commerce Web Apps

Usually, an e-commerce project has enough scale to require introduction of DevOps best practices. Here are some DevOps choices I use and recommend:

1. Working with Containers and Orchestration
For an e-commerce application that puts high demands on scalability, a single-instanced infrastructure often becomes a potentially huge business-risk, so using containers is practically inevitable. Tools like Kubernetes, Docker, ESC, provide your DevOps infrastructure with the necessary autoscaling solutions. Will be perfect for those Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Valentine’s and Back-to-School activity peaks that require fast and safe scaling.

2. Working with CI/CD cycles
As I have already mentioned above, continuous delivery allows you the speediest possible reaction to any possible issue, which is crucial for e-commerce apps, as user satisfaction and user retention are some of the most important success metrics. My choice for CI/CD pipelines would be Jenkins or Github Actions, but there are many other similar tools. When making your choice, consider what you are using as your repository and what functionality you expect from your staging and production tenants.

3. Monitoring and visualization tools
When reaching a certain scale, an e-commerce project becomes a challenge to keep track of, so any tool that makes your team’s lives easier when it comes to gathering and visualizing data, monitoring and analysis, is empowering your BI specialists. Personally, I prefer the tandem of Prometheus and Grafana for data visualization and an out-of-the-box approach to monitoring. Some traditional choices in this sphere can also include Tableau, Power BI and – yes, Google Analytics as a staple. For more specific tasks you can use tools like Raygun to analyze key points of your customer journey, Mixpanel to track user engagement or Mouseflow which helps you generate heatmaps to track user behavior.

Key Takeaways

As you can see, the variety of tools to build your perfect environment for developing and launching your e-commerce app is vast.  The final setup you decide on should depend on your project scale, budget, team capacity, business requirements and other specifics of your particular application. There is, probably, no such thing as a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ tool or framework, as there are multiple great instruments available for IT project managers and DevOps today. But studying each particular one to see how well it integrates with other tool selections, how it fits your customer and your business needs and development goals, is key to making the right choice.

Partner content is created on behalf of and in collaboration with Solvd by DigitalCommerce360. Our editorial staff is not involved in the creation of the partner content.

About the Author

+ Ariel Leguizamon is a Head of development at Solvd, Inc. & software engineer with over 10 years of experience. He is a super passionate about tech and entrepreneurship. Ariel has led loads of projects, including some with remote teams across multiple countries, he gets a huge kick out of helping people feel motivated and excited about their work.

The post Building a Perfect Environment for E-commerce Web Application Development: Trends, Challenges and Pitfalls appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

At first, when the need to implement remote teams arose, some people began to feel relieved that they had kept their jobs. Other people began to experience the unparalleled comfort of being able to complete tasks in a relaxed environment without having to wear smart attire, maintain traditional work schedules, and so on.

After some time, this favorable solution showed its disadvantages. Business leaders and department heads began to notice that their subordinates were no longer as sociable and engaged in working with the team in a virtual environment. Companies that have both employees working in the office and remote teams whose members live in different parts of the globe notice even more shortcomings.

If at first, this began to negatively affect only internal communication between colleagues, then after some time it began to affect performance indicators. Collaborative work has begun to deteriorate, which cannot but affect business success. Employees began to feel that their work went unnoticed and that they felt shy when communicating with other colleagues.

If business leaders and department heads continue to sit idle, it will ultimately cause businesses to lose their competitive advantage. Thus, it is necessary to start looking for ways to motivate subordinates to communicate in a virtual environment. This applies to both interpersonal communication and corporate communication.

Fortunately, you can always find a way out if you try to put yourself in the shoes of an employee who works far outside the office. If you start to notice a deterioration in the communication of your remote teams, you need to start implementing effective methods. We’ll talk about what initiatives you can implement to revitalize constructive communication.

What do the numbers say?
Before moving on to looking for methods to solve this problem, it is necessary to understand what picture emerges in general. You can glean a lot of information from statistical data, including finding the root of the problem, and why remote teams stop losing interest in communicating in a virtual environment.

Here’s what the statistics say according to GoCO:

• About 40% of those who work outside the office have difficulty connecting with their colleagues;
• Fifty percent of remote workers who belong to Zoomers find it difficult to communicate with other employees;
• Also, fifty percent of remote workers say it has become more challenging for them to uphold their company’s values;
• Loneliness and isolation reduce the productivity of subordinates by more than 20%.

If no action is taken, companies will see a complete disconnect in the communication of their subordinates. Employees will simply carry out their tasks, but they will not be involved in the corporate culture and values, and they will also lose all motivation for their work. In addition, many employees begin to experience loneliness. Company management forgets about incentives, as well as verbal support and gratitude for the efforts of their employees. This further affects the decrease in motivation.

Common challenges
When faced with a problem, regardless of its content, it is always important to understand why it arises. You need to understand all the cause-and-effect relationships, because if you do not understand them, then you will not be able to select the methods for increasing engagement that are suitable specifically for your remote teams. Let’s take a look at the most common challenges that contribute to poor engagement.

• Lack of productivity tracking. When managers start managing remote teams, it becomes much more difficult for them to keep up with the productivity of their subordinates. Because of this, the work done by many people simply goes unnoticed. Employees feel like no one notices how much they contribute to the success of the business. Companies are introducing a variety of advanced programs, such as CRM systems for customer management, high-end phone services for convenient communication with customers, software for tracking business metrics, and much more. Similar to such programs, companies can implement solutions that will help monitor the productivity of all employees and monitor their progress;
• Various time zones. This challenge is the most disorganizing because everyone is active at varying times. Because of this, employees simply cannot find time to communicate in a virtual environment. Messages and requests remain unanswered for long hours, and internal communication slowly dies;
• Lack of interpersonal communication. Companies can create a variety of virtual chat rooms where employees can communicate about work-related issues. In many teams, communication is limited to work-related issues, leaving employees unable to connect interpersonally with their colleagues. Communication should also go beyond work issues so that employees find a common language and do not hesitate to initiate communication.

What can you do to enhance engagement?
By looking at the most common challenges, you can make your assessment of what is causing the difficulty. In addition, you can also conduct surveys among your subordinates to find out why they are less engaged in a virtual team. The main thing to remember is that these surveys must be anonymous, otherwise, you will never receive eloquent and honest feedback.

Here are some ways you can use to maximize engagement:

Take care of the physical and emotional health of your employees
When communicating with your employees through gadget screens, you can hardly understand their state of mind and physical health. You can’t predict whether your employees are experiencing burnout or whether their physical health is not okay.

Thus, you need to initiate care for your people. This is the only way you can ensure that their productivity does not drop and their motivation to work remains at a high level. Offer your employees free sports and gym memberships. Give your people a day off sometimes if you see their morale dropping. Daily small talk with employees both in general chat and in private messages will help you monitor their well-being.

Communicate more via video calling
Remote groups’ lives have become more dependent on interaction via video. Companies arrange calls to quickly find out about work issues, hold meetings, and solve all pressing business matters. However, you can use video communication not only for communication on company issues.

Popular platforms do not limit the duration of your meetings, so you can plan regular calls where you will talk about everyday things, find out how your subordinates feel, and plan uplifting activities.

If your workers rarely see each other in the offline world, this is a good alternative to buddy up. Additionally, when you hire new members of your team, it’s important to hold video meetings so that new people can e-meet those who have been with you for a long time. It is much more difficult for newcomers to adapt to a new company, especially when they work remotely. That is why this method will help them stop feeling shy.

Notice all the successes of your employees
When you are miles away from your employees, you may completely forget about the hard work they do to benefit your business. Many workers report that they are becoming invisible to their managers. Why will they exert themselves to the utmost extent to reach new heights when no one notices?

Although department managers may have a lot of work to do, monitoring employee progress should be an integral task for them. Every new height must be noticed. Additionally, you must reward your people.

Performance monitoring may not always mean that you will only notice successes. You may also notice drops in performance. However, if you want to talk about why your employee’s productivity is decreasing, you should do so in a personal chat or one-on-one video call.

If you want to thank your workers for their work, you can do this in group chats, so that other colleagues can join in the congratulations. Also, you should not forget about simple congratulations on birthdays and other holidays.

Be open for communication
Remote workers understand that their managers can be especially busy during office hours. They may hesitate to ask for help or talk about other issues. This can make communication difficult because they won’t know when to contact you.

You should make it clear when your people can communicate with you so that they are heard. No one wants to send messages and wait for days for a response. If you have a certain time when you are free, you should inform your employees about this.

Invest in virtual training
In addition to the activities you can do online to build your team, you may also want to consider investing in virtual training. All people are interested in achieving new heights, but not everyone may have enough motivation and time to engage in self-training outside of work hours.

Improving the qualifications of your subordinates is also your interest. Having a team of professionals, and not just good people, your business will only grow over the years. That’s why, if you can’t get all your remote employees together for training, you can do it virtually.

All employees don’t need to attend the video call. You can offer different modern training to different teams. You can invite speakers who will conduct training decks for your marketing or sales team. These could be webinars on cybersecurity, online courses to improve customer service, and much more.

Collect feedback regularly
Once you start implementing different methods to increase engagement, you need to know if they work. Of course, if you see tremendous motivation awakening among your employees, you will know that you are on the right track. However, it is important for you to also hear from all your subordinates.

Some people may be willing and open to talk about how they feel and their likes and dislikes. On the other hand, not all employees are so eloquent. This is why you can conduct anonymous surveys.

Contribute to constructive communication within a virtual team
Despite all the convenience that employees receive when they start working remotely, communication within the company quickly begins to falter. Communication in a virtual environment will never compare to how it happens in real life, but if you do not encourage it, you will soon notice that there is no harmony in your team.

Many challenges prevent your employees from feeling more motivated to communicate in a virtual environment. This is why it is important for you to first understand what the root of the problem is. After this, you can resort to a variety of ways that will arouse your employees’ interest in communicating with other team members.

The post How to Keep Remote Employees Motivated to Collaborate within a Virtual Team? appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Our pets aren’t just animals: they’re beloved members of the family, and we’d do anything to ensure their comfort and well-being. You probably already use a range of AI solutions in your daily life, from bolstering home security to helping your workday run as smoothly as possible. But have you ever considered how AI can benefit your dog or cat? You may be surprised at what’s on offer and the positive difference these tools can make to your furry friend.

Get Bonding with Behavioral Analysis
AI-enriched behavioral analysis apps are designed to help you create a tailored training plan for your pet and address any problem issues with insightful advice and guidance. These apps make for a great way to help bond with your dog, with bespoke tips for making sure your canine companion is as happy and fulfilled as possible. They can also help identify potential health issues or things that may be bothering your pet.

AI-Powered Pet Insurance
Pet insurance is vital to protect our pooch pal or feline friend in the event of an illness or injury, ensuring they get the care they need. Lemonade pet insurance is powered by AI, meaning you can get your pet covered in seconds, and – if you need to make a claim – it could be approved instantly. No need to waste time on hold waiting for a quote or to make a claim; the next generation of pet insurance will have your pet protected lightning fast.

Wellbeing Trackers
Fit your pet with a wellness monitor to get an overview of your friend’s activity levels, sleep patterns, and overall health and well-being. If your dog could do with twenty minutes more exercise on an average day, the app will let you know. Many also offer location tracking, too. Some trackers will alert you if they detect signs of distress or irregular behavior – which is great for both your pet and your own peace of mind.

Translate Your Cat’s Language
One of the newest types of AI tools is those designed to help you interpret what your cat is telling you. These apps typically work by generating an AI model trained on cats’ vocalizations and then asking users to record their cats’ meows (and other sounds) on their phones. A human language translation is then provided to reveal your cat’s state of mind and what she wants to communicate with you. And in time, if you want to reply: “I’ve already fed you five times today,” you’ll be able to meow this back fluently!

The Takeaway: Upleveling Your Pets’ Life with the Latest AI Solutions
So there you have it: four AI apps and tools you can use to help ensure your pet is as happy and healthy as possible. And one that’ll even help you communicate with your furry friend in their own language! Try out one or more of the options on the list above to see just what a difference they could make to your beloved friend’s life – and your own.

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In B2B sales, understanding and responding to customer needs is not just beneficial; it is imperative for success. The concept of ICP sales (Ideal Customer Profile) has emerged as a cornerstone in this arena, offering a strategic approach to identify and engage with the most valuable customers. This methodology is not just about targeting sales efforts; it’s about aligning them with the nuanced demands of the B2B sector.

What is an ICP ?
The Ideal Customer Profile is a detailed representation of a company’s perfect customer. This profile goes beyond basic demographics to encompass specific characteristics such as industry, company size, pain points, and purchasing behavior.

This profiling is not a mere exercise in data collection; it’s a strategic tool that shapes every aspect of sales and marketing efforts. By focusing on businesses that match the ICP, companies can tailor their approach, ensuring that their message resonates with the right audience and generate ICP sales.

In a B2B context, where sales cycles are longer and more complex, identifying the ICP helps businesses focus their efforts on prospects that are most likely to convert, ensuring a more efficient and effective sales process.

The Importance of ICP in Sales Strategy
Why is ICP critical in sales? The answer lies in its ability to streamline the sales process. By understanding who their ideal customers are, businesses can tailor their marketing and sales efforts to address the specific needs and challenges of these customers.

This targeted approach not only improves engagement but also increases the likelihood of closing deals. In a B2B environment, where resources are often limited, focusing on the right prospects can significantly impact a company’s bottom line.

The Role of Technology in Refining Sales Strategies
In today’s tech-driven market, sales intelligence platforms play a pivotal role in deciphering customer interactions. These platforms capture and analyze every touchpoint, providing insights that can help shaping sales strategies. They empower sales teams to make data-driven decisions, moving away from intuition-based approaches.

Enhancing Customer Engagement and Revenue Growth
Adopting an ICP-focused strategy, supported by advanced sales intelligence, leads to more meaningful customer engagements. Sales teams can identify the specific needs and pain points of their ideal customers, allowing for more personalized and effective sales pitches.
This targeted approach not only improves win rates but also has the potential to increase deal sizes. Furthermore, it accelerates the ramp-up time for new employees, as they are equipped with a clear understanding of who they are targeting and why.

The Impact on Sales Productivity and Efficiency
Focusing on the ideal customer profile streamlines tremendously the sales process. Sales teams spend less time chasing leads that are unlikely to convert and more time nurturing high-potential prospects. This efficiency boost is not just about saving time; it’s about optimizing resources and maximizing the impact of every sales interaction.

The insights gained from sales intelligence platforms enable teams to refine their approach continuously, ensuring that they are always aligned with the evolving needs of their ideal customers.

At the end the integration of ICP in sales strategies, supported by cutting-edge technology, is transforming the B2B sales landscape. It’s a shift from a quantity-focused approach to one that values quality and relevance.

For businesses looking to enhance their sales performance, adopting an ICP-focused strategy is not just a smart move; it’s a necessary step towards sustainable growth and success, a blueprint for targeting and engaging with the most promising prospects.

As the B2B sector continues to evolve, those who embrace this approach will find themselves well-equipped to navigate sales environments, turning immediately every customer interaction into an opportunity for growth.

The post What Does ICP in Sales Mean? appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Facing an enormous global online sales opportunity, many companies, especially SMEs, struggle to meet each country’s language, personalization, and marketing challenges. But a new AI-enhanced set of commerce and marketing tools from Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, or Alibaba International, is helping them open doors and build customer loyalty.

Selling online across the world and specific global regions has never been easy for sellers of any size.

Even with the right ecommerce platform and digital technology in place, sellers still face cultural, multilingual, buyer personalization and other challenges that can vary widely by continent and country.

But a new series of artificial intelligence (AI) tools from Alibaba International — which supports the development of global digital trade with AI-powered technology and operates various platforms with distinctive business models, will soon give sellers a true helping hand.

In November, Alibaba International pilot-launched — and is now ramping up — AI for Digital and Global Entrepreneurship, or Aidge. It features a series of AI-enhanced application programming interfaces (APIs) designed to help sellers more quickly and easily embark on cross-border sales.

Alibaba International says Aidge will provide sellers with multilingual, content localization and marketing capabilities to help them overcome foreign language and cultural barriers. Its built-in features will help sellers manage design, marketing, and customer service as they address the difficulties global sellers commonly face in hiring the right talent.

“Prior to Aidge, sellers on platforms might have struggled with real-time, multilingual customer engagement, but Aidge’s AI chatbots can now provide instant, contextually relevant responses, a significant improvement over manual, potentially slower customer service,” says Kaifu Zhang, vice president of Alibaba International. “The consumer insights gathered by Aidge can help sellers understand nuanced customer preferences, allowing them to tailor their offerings more effectively.”

Alibaba International is using APIs, which draw on the company’s years of insights into global e-commerce operations, to build and scale Aidge. Following Aidge’s pilot launch in November, Alibaba International began testing more than 15 APIs with software as a service (SaaS) providers and independent software vendors (ISVs) that included modules for customer insight, content localization, marketing, design, and customer service.

Key features include:

• Customer insights: Tools for analyzing customer feedback and extracting selling points.
• Content localization: Product content localization for text and images, aiding in adapting products to different linguistic and cultural contexts.
• Customer service: Multilingual live chat, shopping assistant and customer service chatbots.
• Design: Templates for creating marketing materials and product exhibits.
• Marketing: Automated search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing message generation.

“Aidge functions as a versatile suite, not just directly deployed on our ecommerce platforms but also made accessible to our SaaS partners and ISVs,” Zhang says. “This approach allows these partners to leverage Aidge’s capabilities to create tailored applications that address the specific requirements of their respective audiences. Importantly, the scope of these applications extends beyond our ecommerce platforms, offering the flexibility to operate across various business scenarios.”

A big part of Alibaba International’s technology development is AI tools to help sellers sell more successfully digitally and globally.

For example, Alibaba International designed Aidge with AI agents to support sales conversion, manage customer inquiries and requests, and handle search engine optimization tasks. “These agents have already been deployed on ecommerce platforms operated by Alibaba International,” the company says.

One of the platforms conducting an Aidge pilot test is Daraz, Pakistan’s largest ecommerce retail platform, founded in 2012 in Pakistan and acquired by Alibaba in 2018. Daraz will launch an enhancement to its instant message feature that better assists users through AI-generated prompts.

“By empowering sellers to optimize their operations and online stores through AI, we can help them free up their time and spend time on what truly matters: growing their business,” says Daraz chief product officer Tatiana Palhares.

Aidge is rolling out its services to merchants on Alibaba International’s ecommerce platforms and intends to serve more sellers through collaborations with SaaS partners, the company says. A staged rollout by region is anticipated soon.

“Aidge enhances customer interaction through its sophisticated AI chatbots,” Zhang says. “These chatbots provide immediate and personalized customer service, vastly improving the overall shopping experience. This immediacy and personalization are key in today’s fast-paced digital commerce environment, where customer expectations for quick and relevant responses are high.”

Sidebar: Q&A with Kaifu Zhang, vice president of Alibaba International

The power of AI brought to bear by Aidge

Q: What are the key AI-enabled features of Aidge that sellers can?

Zhang: Aidge functions as a versatile suite, not just directly deployed on our ecommerce platforms but also made accessible to our Software as a Service (SaaS) partners and independent software vendors (ISVs). This approach allows these partners to leverage Aidge’s capabilities to create tailored applications that address the specific requirements of their respective target audiences. Importantly, the scope of these applications extends beyond our ecommerce platforms, offering the flexibility to operate across various business scenarios.

Some of the key features of Aidge are:

• Consumer Insights: Tools for analyzing customer feedback and extracting selling points.
• Content Localization: Product content localization for text and images, aiding in adapting products to different linguistic and cultural contexts.
• Customer Service: Multilingual live chat, shopping assistant chatbot, and customer service chatbot.
• Design: Templates for creating marketing materials and product exhibits.
• Marketing: Automated search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing message generation.

Q: How can sellers use these tools to sell more effectively on Alibaba International’s platforms?

Zhang: By utilizing consumer insights tools, sellers gain a deeper understanding of customer preferences, allowing them to tailor their offerings more precisely.

Content localization plays a crucial role in ensuring effective marketing across diverse languages and cultures, thereby expanding global reach. Additionally, the inclusion of multilingual chatbots and live chat features enhances customer support, making it more efficient and accessible to a worldwide audience.

Automated SEO and marketing tools are instrumental in targeting the right audience and boosting online visibility, while the availability of design tools enables sellers to craft professional and attractive marketing materials and product displays, further enhancing their professional presentation.

Q: What do these new AI-enabled tools help sellers do on Alibaba International’s platforms they cannot do previously?

Zhang: Prior to Aidge, sellers on platforms such as Daraz might have struggled with real-time, multilingual customer engagement. Aidge’s AI chatbots can now provide instant, contextually relevant responses, a significant improvement over manual, potentially slower customer service.

In addition, the consumer insights gathered by Aidge from Alibaba International’s e-commerce operations can help sellers understand nuanced customer preferences, allowing them to tailor their offerings more effectively.

Finally, the implementation of the AI-powered Aidge suite stands as a meaningful change for SMEs operating in international markets. By harnessing this advanced technology, businesses can significantly streamline their commerce operations, overcoming prevalent challenges such as the prohibitive costs associated with marketing and user acquisition. Additionally, Aidge offers an innovative solution to the often-encountered issue of talent shortages, particularly in specialized areas like digital commerce. This not only optimizes operational efficiency but also opens new avenues for growth and scalability in the increasingly competitive global marketplace.

Q: How do these new AI-enabled features improve how sellers can merchandise, market, and personalize products on the Alibaba International’s platforms?

Zhang: Aidge revolutionizes personalized marketing for SMEs by offering deep insights and enabling the automation of marketing messages. This allows for the creation of more tailored and effective marketing strategies that resonate with specific customer segments.

Additionally, Aidge’s cultural adaptation tools play a crucial role in ensuring that product descriptions and imagery are culturally relevant and appealing across diverse regions. This is particularly important in a global marketplace, where understanding and respecting cultural nuances can significantly impact consumer appeal and sales.

Moreover, Aidge enhances customer interaction through its sophisticated AI chatbots. These chatbots provide immediate and personalized customer service, vastly improving the overall shopping experience. This immediacy and personalization are key in today’s fast-paced digital commerce environment, where customer expectations for quick and relevant responses are high.

The streamlined design process offered by Aidge is another major advantage for sellers. Its user-friendly design templates enable sellers to quickly and efficiently create or update marketing materials and product displays. This ensures that product images are not only visually appealing but also consistently up to date, a crucial factor in retaining customer interest and competitiveness in the market.

Lastly, optimizing online presence is made more efficient with Aidge. The suite’s AI agents and SEO tools are designed to help sellers enhance their online visibility. This optimization ensures that products are more discoverable and attractive to potential buyers, a critical aspect in driving online traffic and increasing sales opportunities.

The post How Alibaba International’s new AI suite Aidge helps companies go global appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

The cryptocurrency market is seeing rapid expansion. This digital payment mechanism is on the radars of merchants worldwide after many large brands, marketplaces and payment processors announced their embrace of crypto. While some may question if the world is prepared to accept cryptocurrency payments, denying the potential influence of crypto and blockchain technology on online shopping is becoming more difficult.

No matter where you are in the cryptocurrency journey—as an e-commerce merchant testing the waters or fully committed to accepting crypto payments in your online store—it is imperative that you stay abreast of the latest developments in this industry, including the current bitcoin price, the regulatory changes taking place within the industry and the emergence of new coins amongst many other things. Remember that a little knowledge and insight now might pave the way for a great opportunity for your company tomorrow.

Cryptocurrency: what is it?
Cryptocurrency, in its most basic definition, is a decentralized digital currency that allows users to buy and sell goods and services online via sophisticated encryption. Instead of seeing it as fixed-value currency, it is seen as an asset whose value may rise and fall in the eyes of investors.

Unlike fiat currencies issued by governments or banks, cryptocurrencies are not governed by a single entity but operate on a decentralized basis. A distributed network of thousands of computers, rather than a single server, verifies the transactions. Encryption methods are used to manage their release and regulate their usage.

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is the backbone of all cryptocurrencies. It’s a network of interconnected databases that record a currency’s transactions. Among DLTs, blockchain is the most prevalent. Each addition to the database creates a visible linear chain of blocks, including transaction information groups. No one can alter or remove data from the blockchain.

Payments made by consumers using cryptocurrency
There is a lot of excitement among merchants and customers as cryptocurrencies enter the online shopping sector. Given the increasing number of firms accepting them, would it be too soon for digital currencies to be used commercially?

The US-based payment processor PayPal, introduced Checkout with Crypto, which facilitates cryptocurrency adoption. Also, online marketplace eBay has hinted that it might accept Bitcoin payments in the future.

A growing number of businesses are accepting cryptocurrency as payment. This includes Expedia, a travel agency; Lush, a high street cosmetics shop; and Wake, a skincare company popular among millennials and Gen Z.

Advantages of Adding Cryptocurrency Acceptance to Your Online Store
The e-commerce business is quickly embracing cryptocurrencies and its underlying technologies. So, what are some of the advantages?

• Fast purchases: Blockchain technology enables faster and more direct transactions, which may assist in simplifying your firm cash flow, in contrast to conventional methods, which can be sluggish.
• Business growth: If you accept cryptocurrency payments, you may reach a larger audience and attract more customers. Furthermore, blockchain’s smart contracts may smoothen supply chain management, facilitating international transactions in a more straightforward, affordable and expedited manner, which is advantageous for firms aiming for worldwide expansion.
• Enhanced safety: The extensive encryption of cryptocurrencies makes them very difficult to forge or steal, significantly lowering the possibility of fraud in online transactions.
• Decreased fees: Good news for online merchants that often incur additional transaction fees when accepting credit cards and other payment methods: the fees charged by third-party providers are much lower for some cryptocurrencies.

Possible challenges with using cryptocurrency in online shopping
Even while cryptocurrency adoption has increased in the e-commerce industry, It’s wise to arm yourself with knowledge before diving headfirst into crypto. Some of the downsides are as follows:

Price swings: Cryptocurrency prices are notoriously volatile, creating unpredictability for buyers and sellers alike. If the value of the cryptocurrency has changed after you bought it, returns might be much more complicated.

A multitude of options: It could be a bit of a minefield to decide which digital payment option to accept on your e-commerce website, what with the hundreds of cryptocurrencies accessible and new coins sprouting regularly.

Problems with trust: Despite the increasing popularity, media coverage of negative connotations has damaged the image of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology that underpins them. Consequently, people still have a lot of doubts about these digital payment options.

Accepting Bitcoin purchases on your online storefront
Two alternatives should be considered if you want to accept cryptocurrency payments on your online store:

1. You may receive payments directly into your digital wallet, which can be kept on a computer, smartphone or hard drive. This is the first option.
2. Processes for receiving payments from outside parties: You rely on third-party services like Binance to handle all your transactions. You may activate cryptocurrency as an additional payment option on your Shopify admin’s ‘Payment providers’ page if you’re a merchant using Shopify.

The Bottom Line
Cryptocurrencies might be a game-changer for online stores that want to increase their consumer base and streamline the payment process. The retail sector is showing growing acceptance and use of Bitcoin, even though some individuals are still skeptical about its widespread adoption and its effects on e-commerce.

Whether you’re still on the fence about taking cryptocurrency payments on your e-commerce site, being informed about the latest developments will allow you to adjust your approach and stay ahead of the competition rapidly.

The post Crypto Currencies in Your Cart: The Growing Role of Bitcoin and Other Coins in Online Retail appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

B2B companies have experienced a sea change in what’s required to meet the expectations of B2B buyers. Changing demographics and consumer expectations coupled with technology advancements have forced manufacturers and distributors to adopt a new approach to serving their customers — or risk getting swallowed up by the competition.

Ram ChandraSekar, CEO of PhaseZero, talked to Digital Commerce 360 B2B about the industry-specific technology and digital-forward mindset manufacturers and distributors need to embrace to deliver the customer centric shopping experience today’s B2B buyer’s demand.

How does B2B ecommerce look different compared to a few years ago?
It’s no longer just about B2B businesses being able to sell products online anymore. The focus now should be on the customer experience — how easy a manufacturers or distributor’s ecommerce site is to use to research products and to place and manage complex B2B orders. They don’t want to call a sales representative — they want the convenience of doing everything themselves, with 24/7 access. Customers want instant and real-time tracking and inventory visibility. They want to know if a product is in stock and, if not, when it will become available. They want to know when, where and how their orders will be delivered, and they also want to know how easy it is to make a return and claim a warranty.

Manufacturers and distributors must transition their mindsets from an ecommerce transactional focus to building a digital business around delivering and continuously improving the customer experience. How successfully a company executes this transformation will determine their sustainable competitive advantage.

How can manufacturers and distributors differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market?
It’s important to understand that technology alone is not the differentiator. With Amazon Web Services and others like it, anyone can easily and affordably access the technology. The differentiator is how a company leverages that technology. And it can do that by bringing in its own specific industry knowledge and making it work within its environment.

Commerce solutions need to be built with industry domain expertise. They need to be configurable and specific to the business requirements. These solutions need to be easily upgradable without locking the company into inflexible technology that eventually becomes legacy.

How can B2B companies find the right mix of digital technology and strategies for their unique business?
Manufacturing and distributing companies really have three options when it comes to choosing their technology.

1. There are the large enterprise software providers that rely on systems integrators and third-party implementors with industry domain expertise to customize, integrate and support.
2. There is the pure-play software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies that may provide modern composable commerce technologies with no industry focus and rely on third-party implementors for industry domain expertise to customize, integrate and support.
3. Then there are the industry-specific, vertical-focused SaaS ecommerce solution platform providers, such as PhaseZero, with pre-built integrations to ERP, catalog and other business systems. The solution framework and technology are built specifically for manufacturers and distributors with industry best practices and configurable to business specific needs.

How can they decide what is the best approach for their business?
Manufacturers and distributors need a SaaS ecommerce platform and solution provider that is committed to their business and industry and brings sophisticated technology that’s purpose-built for that industry. They should ask themselves: Do I want a technology toolkit or a platform that is built for my industry and configurable to my unique business?

According to leading strategy leaders, many digital transformations fail during execution when a company chooses a large enterprise company’s technology because it isn’t built for their industry, and those providers don’t bring the strategy that drives the transformation forward.

Can you provide an example of a company that saw success using a platform that was purpose-built for its industry?
Dana, a supplier of fully integrated drivetrain and electrified propulsion systems, wanted to improve its global aftermarket customer experiences. To create the seamless experience, Dana leveraged the PhaseZero CxCommerce cloud platform to integrate multiple catalog, inventory and order systems. They also consolidated multiple regional sites into one single global platform for governance, branding, security, and compliance. This resulted in Dana reducing its risk and vulnerability. It was able to deliver a consistent digital experience to customers around the world. It lowered the company’s total costs.

With their global aftermarket business supported by the PhaseZero CxCommerce solution, Dana has significantly improved the digital customer experiences for its original equipment manufacturers, distributors and employees globally. More than 10,000 registered users access SEO-optimized content with more than 800,000 parts integrated from multiple parts catalogs. Users seamlessly navigate global inventory and order systems, track real-time delivery status and benefit from real-time headless commerce integrations. It’s a win for Dana and a win for its customers and employees.

What must manufacturers and distributors do to implement a more customer-focused platform?
Progress, not perfection, is key to any successful digital transformation. Manufacturers and distributors should:

• Shift from thinking of their digital transformation as a project with a starting and stopping point to one that revolves around continuous improvement along the transformation journey.
• Look for solutions built for their industry. The solutions should be configurable to enable their unique business advantages, while also designed to lower their total cost of operations.
• Partner with SaaS providers like PhaseZero that are committed to their entire transformation journey — not just an ecommerce SaaS provider, but a trusted advisor with a strategy framework and domain expertise to accelerate the successful transition to a digital business.

PhaseZero delivers generative AI solutions built for the manufacturing and distributing industry with configurability specific to a company’s business needs to enable sustainable competitive advantages in weeks. The PhaseZero CxCommerce platform lets companies converge customer experiences — B2B, B2C and business-to-employee ecommerce — in one SaaS platform. It delivers a modern, unified customer experience across different end-user roles, geographies and product lines.

And most importantly, PhaseZero helps manufacturers and distributors learn and adopt industry best practices and mitigate the risks of becoming a digital business quickly.

The post Manufacturers and distributors create customer-focused experiences on industry-specific platforms appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.