Delivering a self-service B2B eCommerce platform
Driving business-to-business (B2B) sales is changing. The future is eCommerce! This case study explores how we enabled a global analytics business to deliver a new self-service platform and enable a projected $20m in additional revenue.
Service
Sector
“With stakeholders and project sponsors able to review the elaboration phase in minute detail, the next phase – delivery – was unanimously approved.”
The Challenge
This information analytics specialist had outgrown its manual, agent-led processing of B2B transactions. They recognised the need to implement a modern, self-service solution and eCommerce platform. Projected net benefits for the project were more than $20m in added revenue after just 5 years.
“More than 70% of B2B buyers find buying from a website more convenient than buying from a sales representative”. (Forrester survey, 2018)
With a strong record supporting the client on other projects, they trusted us to deliver, and asked us to lead the requirements analysis and validation phase; to draw out exactly what they needed and why.
The Solution
We carefully selected the right Business Analyst to lead on this project. They had extensive experience working within a similar environment.
Step one was gaining an insider understanding of all existing processes and tooling. This allowed us to design an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) solution. Our goal was to deliver the solution that best fitted the client’s existing technical landscape.
Daily workshops with relevant teams helped ensure current ways of working aligned with the new platform’s ‘out-of-the-box’ functionality as much as possible. But specialised requirements were not ignored. Each one was captured to ensure we met our client’s unique objectives.
The seamlessness of our integration into this project relied on our consultant’s background and skills. Firstly, the ability to query and understand complex systems and architecture. Then, to design detailed processes & designs. Perhaps most importantly, the ability to communicate all this clearly at every level of the client’s organisation.
The Impact
Embedding themselves in all things eCommerce for our client, our business analyst delivered results with significant business impact;
- Detailed process flows. All built, embedded and communicated via the client’s own collaboration platform.
- An end-to-end MVP solution for B2B eCommerce.
- Processes for pre-requisite data migration; customer onboarding; account management; self-service purchasing; order fulfilment and entitlement; financial processing; product subscription renewals; and returns.
Our analyst also delivered supporting documentation including a data model, data flows and data dissemination matrices. The core project team used these designs to strengthen the business case. With stakeholders and project sponsors able to review the elaboration phase in minute detail, the next phase – delivery – was unanimously approved.
The client asked that our Business Analyst continue to support their team through the delivery phase and broaden our support to include Change Management, ensuring the team were ready to receive the change and the business could drive adoption and maximise the value from the new eCommerce platform.
