When you upgrade from a legacy system, you do so because you’re looking to solve at least one business problem. The same holds true for companies looking to upgrade from a legacy integration system to a comprehensive EDI suite.
In this article, we’ll explore three reasons why B2B companies upgrade to comprehensive integration suites: to increase revenues, speed up the onboarding process, and stay competitive in a changing marketplace.
Increasing Revenues
One reason that a company would choose to upgrade its legacy integration systems to a comprehensive B2B integration suite is to combat falling revenues.
Tech hiccups, data errors, and SLA violations due to legacy integration systems cost companies, at minimum, thousands of dollars per year. In Cleo’s 2020 The State of the Ecosystem and Application Integration Report, 30% of companies surveyed estimate their losses between $100,000 and $1 million per year. Ten percent claimed to have lost $1 million or more as a result of these problems.
“Ten percent of companies claimed to have lost at least $1 million per year as a result of legacy integration problems.”
A comprehensive B2B integration suite pulls information directly from systems of record, so there aren’t errors which lead to SLA violations. You’ll be able to stop losing money, and you’ll create a positive reputation so more customers will want to do business with you.
Speeding up the Onboarding Process
How long does it take you to onboard new trading partners? If you’re like almost half of all IT professionals, it can take at least a month. In the meantime, you could lose valuable orders.
Modern B2B integration solutions utilize APIs to enable faster onboarding. APIs enable instant information transfer, which dramatically cuts down the time it takes to bring a new trading partner into your network. This technology reduces the headaches associated with the onboarding process, and also ensures you won’t miss out on orders.
Staying Competitive in a Changing Market
B2B and B2C sales are changing. Today, it’s possible for consumers to buy directly from manufacturers through digital marketplaces such as Amazon; B2B firms can also use e-procurement hubs that look and feel like consumer-oriented digital marketplaces. The only way to participate in either of these new marketplaces is through a comprehensive B2B integration suite; a comprehensive B2B integration suite hooks into your systems of record so orders and invoices are transmitted to the correct places.
The B2B market for buying and selling online grows larger every year—between 2018 and 2019, it grew from $8.1 trillion to $9 trillion. It’s not hard to understand why. B2B buyers want the convenience and ease of purchasing online. A comprehensive B2B integration solution enables you to take part in this enormous opportunity, and to stay competitive in a changing market.
“The B2B market for buying and selling online grew to $9 trillion in 2019.”
A comprehensive B2B integration suite solves some of the biggest problems plaguing businesses today: inefficiency due to legacy technology, missed opportunities due to slow onboarding, and not being able to compete for new opportunities. Integrate. Then Dominate.