E-commerce accounts for half of manufacturing sales

Sana Commerce - SAP and Microsoft Dynamics e-commerce platform - has released its latest findings from its Benchmark Report for Manufacturing E-commerce. The report discovered that manufacturers are generating 50% of their revenue from online sales channels, on average.

Economic uncertainty drives shift in market strategies

In recent months, economic uncertainty has driven manufacturers to shift their market strategies, with many taking the approach to sell directly to the consumer. 

Sana Commerce’s study found 94% of respondents would change their market strategy as a result of economic uncertainty, with 67% stating that they are now selling directly to consumers via their e-commerce website and 63% via online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.

“Manufacturers today know that they need to be online. Covid was a catalyst to a trend that has been happening in this space for years. However, B2B e-commerce is complex, and many manufacturers haven’t thoroughly considered how legacy business practices also need to change,” commented Tim Beyer, President, Sana Commerce North America. 

The challenges of online

Despite the increase in e-commerce, respondents report that they are facing a number of challenges including:

• Complex order processes (36%)
• Driving traffic (35%)
• Slow adoption from customer (34%)
• Internal resistance (33%)

Responding to the challenges of e-commerce, 56% reported that they have improved and invested in personalised online experiences to increase the speed of adoption from customers. 

In addition, 55% highlighted that they have been training their sales team to help get customers online, while 49% are incentivising customers to order online, 55% have organised an internal e-commerce team, and 39% invested in marketing to grow the adoption rate.

When it comes to the challenge of driving traffic online, 40% said they improved and invested in personalisation, while 39% invested in paid social media promotions, and 33% invested in email marketing.

“It’s clear from this study that manufacturers are taking the steps needed to reap at least some of the benefits of being online. But, progress still needs to be made in terms of fully realizing all the benefits of e-commerce,” concluded Beyer.

For more information on manufacturing topics - please take a look at the latest edition of Manufacturing Global.

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