Litium launches Scandinavian B2B Commerce 2020

For the fourth time, we are presenting our report on digital commerce between companies and this year we are looking at the market from a much broader perspective than before. We are now taking the pace of digital B2B commerce in Sweden, Norway and Denmark and launching Scandinavian B2B Commerce 2020.

Largest B2B study on digital commerce in the Nordic region

The study is based on responses from nearly 1000 respondents and this time it is extended outside of Sweden. It now covers all of Scandinavia. This makes it the largest study in the Nordic region on how companies work with commerce in the digital channels.

Widening the perspectives and looking at the market outside of your own country is also a pattern of the company answers in our study. In the report you can read about how Scandinavian B2B companies broaden their operations internationally - in the other Nordic countries, Europe and globally. And digital platforms are becoming important tools in the internationalization.

Small differences between the Scandinavian countries

More and more B2B companies in all three markets have now crossed the starting point and are selling digitally. Many people are also beginning to see the positive effects of it. However, there is a clear difference in digital maturity between larger and smaller companies as well as between different industries.

Although we see some smaller differences between the Scandinavian countries, the pattern is clear: Scandinavia is a digitally mature market and most B2B companies today recognize that digitalization is a crucial success factor for business development and growth. By 2020, the question is no longer whether digital commerce is an opportunity for B2B companies but how to address this opportunity to succeed.

Deep dives in this year's report: driving forces and marketplaces

We have also done deep dives in areas that are particularly interesting in the survey. This time, we take a closer look at the driving forces for the digital business and what results can be expected.

The market is constantly changing and the same goes for customers' expectations. Flexibility and responsiveness are crucial – you have to be able to change with the customer needs and behaviour and to have a good understanding of the customer journey to know when it is time to do so. That is why digitalisation is so important, because it is the one that enables such customer knowledge. More and more people understand the value of being able to provide customers with an experience and service level that matches their expectations. It becomes especially clear when we see that it is precisely these driving forces for digitization that is on top of the results in the study.

The other area we highlight is external marketplaces, such as Amazon, and most of the respondents believe that the main advantage of using these is the increased reach. At the same time, many people still hesitate to sell via marketplaces because they are worried that it could potentially lead to loosing close customer relationships.

Learnings can help us - how to take the next step

The survey was conducted in late 2019 - before we were even aware that there was something called coronavirus. Of course, what is going on in the world affects the extent to which respondents' answers will be in line with the plans in the near future. Today we here about a "shock digitalization" in the market and there are companies that had not planned to digitalize their business that have done so in record time. We are all affected by the new situation and all companies need to find their way forward. Then it can be valuable to see how others have done. Although our plans may have changed for the future, we will still be able to benefit from the insights of work we have already done. So, we want to encourage you to evaluate your position and learn from your own learnings and others' experiences and take the next step. The results in Scandinavian B2B Commerce 2020 show that the digitalization of B2B commerce is here for sure - and at a time when our opportunities for physical meetings are limited, it is perhaps more important than ever before.

If you want to read the full report, you can download it here. Do you and your company need help getting started with digital commerce? Do not hesitate to contact us at Litium! Contact us at curious@litium.com

 

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