The outline of the article would be –
- A brief explanation on why outsourcing is natural today?
- Factors to consider before hiring a B2B eCommerce developer
- Questions to be asked
- For beginners: A brief intro on B2B outsourcing
- Takeaways
As the sources of connectivity are readily available, economical, and in the end efficient, it sometimes results in being smarter to outsource the services rather than incorporating them in the house.
More than ninety percent of business-to-business buyers prefer to stay constant with their purchasing style i.e. online as it saves them time to construct their own businesses better.
And this is the primary reason why outsourcing services have become a common trend nowadays with more than half of its portion being covered by the IT industry alone.
We will define B2B outsourcing in brief for our beginner readers in this article, let us put some fundamental focus on B2B eCommerce development and things around it.
Apparently, to get a B2B eCommerce business developed, we would require a B2B ecommerce developer of course. And that would imperatively require our focus upon a few factors before we hire the one.
Let us see what are they-
Factors To Consider Before Outsourcing A B2B eCommerce Developer
1. Their Knowledge Regarding B2B eCommerce Platforms
There are more than 40 technologies to develop a website in. Out of which, more than 15 are used to develop eCommerce software solutions especially.
You are required to realize his knowledge regarding the trending technology stacks in and around eCommerce software development. This would be the first step only that would make the biggest impact on our B2B eCommerce business, if not considered consciously.
The developer would have to realize your requirements first here, and then suggest an appropriate technology stack accordingly.
Using an open-source programming language or similar framework would be only fine if the business owner can understand the code or have a technical understanding. Otherwise, a CMS-based website only is suitable.
Shopify development services are often preferred for CMS-based websites.
Thus, developing a website only is not required, but to realize the needs is prior essential.
2. Their Relevant Experience & Past Work
Has he ever worked in such a B2B oriented project before?
This is essential to make sure that the developer has adequate relevant experience. The difference between B2B and B2C website development is necessary to be realized by the developer at least. Otherwise, one might not be able to fulfill the needs of a website to be an appropriate face of a B2B eCommerce business.
A B2B business website mainly emphasizes on-
- Professional features like Automated Pricing and On-screen Chatbots for online consultation.
- Advanced payment options integrated with the solution.
- A parameter to order a minimum of the quantity.
- An official look providing a home page, etc.
3. Abilities to Handle Third-Party Integrations
A B2B eCommerce website should be able to entertain every possible tool or platform object to enhance the overall performance of the business.
Be it then a tool, or social media platform, third-party integrations are an integral part of the website development services.
Make sure your developer does not lack the abilities to handle the same, especially when required.
4. Their Forte to provide Enterprise Mobility Experience
B2B eCommerce developers usually have a forte of themselves, in which they have worked more or less, or possess a separate level of expertise in them separately.
For example, as there are different ways to interact with eCommerce businesses for users like Single-channel, multi-channel, and omnichannel.
In which type, the developer has better experience?
For knowledge, Single-channel interaction is when the user accesses the eCommerce website solution from one device either mobile i.e. m-commerce, or laptop or desktop, or tablet.
Multichannel is when the user tries to interact with the solution through multiple channels but not at the same time.
However, omnichannel interaction takes place when the user logs in through multiple devices at the same time.
5. Knowledge of Latest Successful Trends
Does he possess expertise in the most-trending technologies and has adequate knowledge of the features that are most in-demand?
For example, Magento 2 development is one of the latest technology stacks, specially developed for eCommerce development and the services around it like Magento 2 Migration, Magento 2 Theme Customization, etc.
Is he able to cope up with the latest upgrades and changes brought in by the Magento itself?
And a few questions that can be asked to him for better understanding-
- Which other technology stacks he is experienced in other than which you both have decided for your business idea?
- Does he possess any certifications in and around eCommerce development?
- Any similar projects had he ever worked in?
- Since how long he been working in this industry or in this particular field of the area?
- Can he differentiate between the available technologies for eCommerce and their traits?
- Will he be able to manage things at your time and budget boundaries?
- Does he have adequate knowledge or understanding of SEO, as it is a necessary part for an eCommerce website especially?
- Which communication channels would he prefer to communicate with you daily for reporting or requesting for any of his requirements?
- Will he provide you a post-development support?
Well, these are some of the questionable things that we have discussed thoroughly. Let us now also engage our beginner readers by giving a brief introduction about B2B outsourcing and what does it mean when we say that a particular service is outsourced?
What is B2B Outsourcing?
B2B outsourcing is about receiving services from other service providers, to meet the requirements of a business/project/idea. To outsource something, the service itself or its outcome should be transferable or sharable. For example-
- IT Outsourcing Services: Services like development, cloud computing consulting, quality testing and assurance, etc. are sharable. They can be done on behalf of any other as well.
- Business Process Outsourcing Services i.e. BPO: Similarly, the entire processing part that includes customer handling and support is being outsourced for one company that might be established in some other country, but its services are spread across the globe like Amazon. In India, there exists a maximum number of BPOs for offshore companies.
- Manufacturing outsourcing: In this type, the assembling part usually is executed somewhere else, whereas, the production part occurs at some other point. Usually, automobile companies prefer to outsource services in this way.
In these types of outsourcing, a business is helping the other business to complete the process of commerce by providing a supporting hand, obviously not free, but in such a way that both the recipients get benefited.
One gets money after rendering the required services to the other, while the other stays free to deploy the particularly required setup for the services that are being outsourced.
In the end, as we have gone through almost everything around B2B outsourcing and eCommerce development. Let us conclude now with some pointers that can be taken away from here-
- Adequate experience is the key for B2B eCommerce development especially.
- Knowledge of trending technology stacks like MAGENTO, SHOPIFY, etc. is highly desirable.
- Third-party integration handling is required.
- SEO knowledge is preferable.
- Professional design and advanced technological accessories like AI-based Chatbots would help.
Author’s Bio: Scarlett is a technical content writer and is associated with A3logics for over a couple of years. She has been in touch with the product engineering services team and is often found struggling with some unique topics for her upcoming projects. She is often found discussing the latest developments with the technical team. When not working on any of her writing projects, she is either reading any of the Agatha Christie mysteries or busy gardening.