SUCCESS PATTERNS FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF B2B COMMERCE

Abstract

Various companies in different industries face a variety of new technological opportunities, often referred as digital transformation. This research collects and classifies successful cases for digital transformation in the business-to-business (B2B) commerce. The initial qualitative analysis of 80 cases results in the derivation of eight potential patterns. For example, it can be concluded from the dataset that B2B companies are enriching their web shops with personal service, data-driven features or individual media. Some companies transform their B2B product portfolio to connected smart solutions and newly also sell to end-consumers. Moreover, it seems that offline and online services as well as sales and communication channels are combined in innovative ways to be prepared for a digital future.