It’s a no brainer that suppliers need to be online to compete in the modern B2B market. But that’s hardly enough to thrive now, let alone in the years to come. The most important goal as a B2B supplier is to develop your organization’s strategic plans for innovation, aligning all company moves — from technology purchases to hiring decisions — around achieving that objective.

Overall, manufacturing buyers demonstrate hesitancy to go all-in with eCommerce purchases. Just 67 percent of B2B manufacturing buyers bought more online for their companies in the last year, 10 percentage points lower than the overall average (77 percent).

But the good news is that manufacturing buyers who go online are keen on maintaining the tight-knit relationships with suppliers they already have offline. Just 10 percent of B2B manufacturing buyers begin purchases for their companies at Amazon Business, while 39 percent go directly to a supplier’s website or portal. It’s also important to note that a quarter of B2B manufacturing buyers (22 percent) first contact a sales representative or supplier directly, underscoring the need for consistent messaging and information between a supplier’s online and offline channels.