B2B e-commerce: Growth requires the right mindset [5 reading tips]

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Source: pexels

How has B2B digitally matured? Are the days when digitising a business was understood as an online copy of the physical business or product catalogue now behind the industry? After all, to be successful in online reatil over the long term and to stand out from the competition requires far more than just a good shop system.

The growth potential for the B2B sector is undoubtedly enormous, but the same is true for its challenges. This is also confirmed by current studies »B2B E-Commerce Sector Report« by IFH Köln and »B2B E-Commerce Economic Index« by ECC Köln and Intellishop. The results paint a complicated picture.

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(10 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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100 years of Bauhaus – What can digital businesses learn from the Master of Modern?

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Source: Bauhaus-Archiv e.V. / Museum für Gestaltung, Berlin

Walter Gropius is a German architect, designer, and founder of Bauhaus. This is what’s in every dictionary. But Gropius is more than a historical figure; he’s an icon, a brand, an influencer. His name is still synonymous with pioneering architecture and the best design. We’re taking the 100th anniversary of Bauhaus as an opportunity to ask an important question: What can digital businesses learn from Bauhaus and its masters of the time?

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(10 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Digital Transformation: Challenges for Marketing, Sales, and IT [Updated White Paper]

Source: dotSource

15 terabytes of mobile video traffic is generated and US$20,928 is sent over PayPal worldwide in 10 seconds. Our lives are rapidly being digitised.

Cutting-edge technology (like smart thermostats, virtual assistants, and personalised services) are available to consumers. This results in new and increasing customer expectations that companies must meet in the context of digital transformation.
The processes and roles in digital commerce should change to respond to these new circumstances. Not only is a new mentality needed, but new positions and methods as well. They need a great ability to change as well as agility and team spirit to achieve business success in the digital era.

In our updated white paper »Digital Transformation Challenges for Marketing, Sales, and IT« we provide a comprehensive and pragmatic overview of the current state of digitisation. Then we show which success factors of digital transformation companies should use to win the digital race.

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(12 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Configurable products and services as a competitive advantage in digital business [5 Reading Tips]

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Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Over the past few years, companies have steadily subjected themselves to digitalisation. Internal processes have been automated, collaboration tools have optimised workflows, and sales channels have been expanded by online shops and mobile apps. SEO, SEA, and social media have strengthened the brand image.

Digitalisation has become something common, even standard, among many businesses. This also implies that being digital is no distinguishing feature any more. Inevitably, the question is: What comes next? Accenture CTIO Paul Daugherty refers to this scenario as the »post-digital world«:

» A post-digital world doesn’t mean that digital is over. On the contrary, we’re posing a new question: as all organizations develop their digital competency, what will set YOU apart? «

Customisation through configurators, but also by means of cutting-edge technology like AI, AR, or 3-D printing is gathering pace.

Which companies manage to personalise their products and services, and which approaches are promising in this context?

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(11 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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LiFi not Wifi: How a new piece of tech could replace traditional hotspots

Source: pexels

It was supposedly Goethe’s last word. It is one of the first in the Bible. And as soon as it is put together with other words it indications smart progression. What are we talking about? Light.

The International Day of Light is on the 16th of May every year. It’s celebrated mainly in professional circles: from physicists, who research the world of optics and photonics, and those interested in physics, who take part in special events, in museums, or participants in sightseeing tours of scientific sites.

The date was proclaimed by UNESCO and commemorates the birth of the laser on 16 May 1960. At that time, American physicist Theodore Maiman had developed the first working laser, still puzzled about what his invention of extremely focused light would be good for. But since then it has had numerous uses. The International Day of Light is not just about lasers, or about microscopy and nano-optics, but also about the latest technologies. It’s about transmitting, storing and processing information via light. And so the Day of Light is also a day of the future of digitisation.

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(11 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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»Innovation through creative spaces« – from hipster cafés, co-working spaces, and the chill offices

Innovation durch kreative Räume dotSource Valley
Christian Otto Grötsch, Frank Ertel und Christian Malik in dotSource’s Valley

When a new employee starts at dotSource, they get a computer, a desk, a chair, nice colleagues, and a bag of candy. It’s grass green, about 45 centimetres long, big enough to stand out and small enough not to make schoolchildren jealous.

The gesture has a two-sided. On one hand, the German tradition of giving bags of candy on the first day of school was invented in Jena. Secondly, dotSource’s headquarters are there. And at the other two locations in Leipzig and Berlin, it’s important for us to promote creativity, impartiality, and curiosity in every day at work. And this succeeds not least through creative concepts in which there is literally room for innovation.

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(12 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Ordering food online: Fresh approaches bring added value & convenience [5 reading tips]

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Source: Pixabay

Nowadays, everything imaginable can be bought and sold on the internet. Even groceries. Even fresh food. Despite the growing trend, online food sales in Germany does not appear to be growing. The country’s logistical challenges, its dense network of stores and its unwillingness to buy fresh produce remotely stagnate growth in this market.

But this doesn’t mean that there’s no movement or exciting developments. Never before have so many competitors existed, as a colourful panorama in neighbouring Switzerland shows. Traditional companies and new online players are coexisting. Who can make a breakthrough here and what factors must companies consider in order to compete in this challenging market?

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(11 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Coming from or going to online commerce – Going where the money is

Uhr an Arm auf einem Auto vor einem Autospiegel
Source: pexels

With the digitisation of retail, many niche businesses are coming to fruition. And many others are finding that they’ve needed to change and go online and go farther than before. Globalisation and digitisation aren’t just challenges, but an opportunity for companies to take the next step and gain market share in ways thought impossible. The goal along the way is to eliminate pain points for customers.

What’s happening more and more often is that new companies are coming out of the woodwork and often start with an online presence and want a physical one as well. And there is also the opposite happening with traditional companies. Both are looking to keep their share of the market, take back the share they once had, or be a dominating force to be reckoned with.

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(9 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Big data for big players: How Krones wants to create the beverage factories of the future [Case Study]

Data Log Dashboard Krones Case Study Cover
Source: dotSource

Soft drinks and water in PET (plastic) bottles, canned beer, or canned food. Without the right packaging, our daily shopping would be a lot more environmentally friendly, but also much more exhausting. Not to mention the logistics, which would have to be completely rethought.

Hundreds of millions of beverage and food packaging products are produced in Germany alone and largely recycled thanks to a reusable deposit system. One of the biggest players in this field is Krones AG, which develops complete production lines and employs more than 16,500 people worldwide. With a data import via a B2B online shop newly developed by dotSource, Krones is taking a decisive step in the direction of the Industrial Internet of Things.

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(10 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Returns: Looking for solutions, the struggle is real! [5 Reading Tips]

Retouren, Problem, Retail, Lösungen
Source: Fotolia

Returning products could be called an »international pastime«. German online shoppers return the most often. A PostNord survey shows that more than half (53%) of German customers posted at least one return last year, followed by the Netherlands (52%) and France (45%).

The fact that customers have been able to exchange products by law within 14 days without giving any reason since 2000 has significantly contributed to the »misuse« of the customer-friendly right of withdrawal. According to researchers from the University of Bamberg, an estimated 280 million returns took place in Germany in 2018 (this means that 532 orders per minute will be returned).

Of course, this has its effects. Returns have become the biggest problem in e-commerce and it is inevitable to ask yourself: How can online retailers solve this problem? How do companies manage to minimise returns sustainably – not only in terms of the environment but also in terms of business success?

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(10 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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