Avoid losing $182M by building a resilient supply chain with B2B platforms
As the world plunges into an era of unprecedented tariff uncertainty, two words have resurfaced in every executive conversation: supply chain.
Distributors and wholesalers face regular disruptions as international trade patterns shift.
According to the Thomson Reuters 2024 Global Trade report, complexity has become the new normal, with a combination of multiple factors, such as regulatory changes and tariff fluctuations, contributing to this instability.
Yet, McKinsey’s recent Supply Chain Risk Pulse Survey reveals a worrying false confidence in this new normal.
Progress on supply chain resilience is stagnating, with Tier 2 supplier visibility decreasing by 7 percentage points since 2023.
Furthermore, 94% of companies are grappling with planning challenges, and inventory buffers have been reduced by 10%.
These figures highlight the critical need for enhanced strategies to better navigate the evolving landscape.
Key strategies to navigate uncertainty
In today’s competitive landscape, maintaining a reliable supply chain is crucial for both survival and growth.
When your supply chain breaks, the pain is immediate and manifests in the form of inventory gaps, plummeting customer satisfaction and weakened market position.
Interos’ Annual Global Supply Chain Report reveals that supply chain disruptions cost companies an average of $182 million in lost revenue, annually.
Success depends on adapting operations that build your organization’s resiliency, transforming threats into growth opportunities. Beyond contingency plans and cost-cutting, learning from industry leaders is also crucial.
Here are the key pillars for a robust supply chain framework.
Acknowledging cash is king
Strategic inventory management ensures liquidity, your greatest ally in uncertain times. Focus on high-rotation items while minimizing slow-moving stock exposure to reduce holding costs, preserving cash flow and maintaining agility.
Customers need access to slow-moving stocks, too. Traditionally, holding large inventories ties up capital. How can these items be kept available without tying up capital?
Quicker diversification wins every time
For decades, supply chain experts have been talking about the drawbacks of a single-source supplier dependence.
Since then, there has been significant progress in identifying multiple sources with near-shoring or re-shoring strategies, securing more stable supply chains.
Given the current context, it is not enough to just find diversified supply sources; finding and onboarding them faster is even more critical. How can partners be found and onboarded faster than ever?
Visibility powers resilience
Comprehensive insight into inventory held by resellers, manufacturers, third-party suppliers and even your own subsidiaries enables swift decision-making and enhances resilience. How can this information be accessed from partners?
Armed with these essential levers, forward-thinking B2B organizations are deploying a single approach that preserves cash flow, diversifies supply sources and enhances visibility.
Unlocking supply chain resilience
The answer to supply chain resilience lies in the platform model, specifically marketplace and dropship. These platform models not only allow businesses to expand their assortments despite supply chain disruptions, but allow them to do so while decreasing their inventory burden, turning potential chaos into opportunity.
Platforms amplify each strategic lever by offering expanded inventory without tying up cash, providing real-time visibility and connecting diverse suppliers through one interface, much faster than any traditional approach.
They consolidate inventory from diverse sources and identify alternatives, building supply chain resiliency for today’s and future’s market states.
How industry leaders like Coca-Cola and Airbus are driving B2B platform success
Marketplace and dropship platforms have proven their value across the entire B2B ecosystem, not just for retailers. Distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers are all achieving remarkable results by embracing the platform model:
Disposable Discounter, a subsidiary of Bunzl, transformed their eCommerce site into a unified platform by integrating various Bunzl entities as sellers — an excellent use of platform models for companies with multiple subsidiaries and brands. This strategic move created inventory transparency across systems and enabling cross-selling. As a result, buyers benefit from a seamless shopping experience with access to a comprehensive range of products, enhancing both choice and convenience.
PartsTown, utilizes their platform to provide wider assortments by onboarding third-party sellers who handle fulfillment directly. Their platform-enabled, next-day delivery demonstrates how partner network visibility creates a seamless customer experience while maintaining adaptability to market conditions.
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, one of the world’s leading Coca-Cola bottle manufacturers, created a marketplace so customers could shop for products beyond their core Coca-Cola brand. They onboarded third-party sellers to sell alongside Coca-Cola, creating the industry’s most innovative approach to supply chain resiliency while providing what their customers need in one single purchasing experience.
Airbus Helicopters, an aerospace leader, strengthened operational resilience for the aftersales business by launching a platform with third-party sellers. By diversifying their supplier base to include maintenance products, they assure parts availability to minimize helicopter downtimes, providing a single trusted place for customers to procure maintenance parts.
By embracing platform technology, these companies have effectively leveraged strategic levers like diversification, visibility and cash management.
This adoption has enabled them to navigate and thrive during challenging times, ensuring resilience and growth in volatile markets.
The bottom line: Finding the right partner
It's impossible to imagine a future where supply chain leaders are disruption free.
Successfully navigating this complex landscape requires the right tech partner to help realize the full potential of a platform strategy.
Seek out a solution provider with:
A proven track record in digital commerce acceleration — one capable of transforming supply chain agility into a competitive advantage.
A pre-vetted supplier base to accelerate finding the right partners to work with.
Robust technology that can handle large transaction volumes and integrates seamlessly with your existing ecosystem.
While the challenges posed by global disruptions are significant, they also present an opportunity for innovation and growth. By adopting a balanced approach and combining strategic insights with practical solutions, businesses can navigate these turbulent times, emerging stronger and more competitive than before.
Discover how the platform model can help you foster long-term growth here.
Download eBook “Winning in B2B eCommerce: A Playbook for Digital Growth”
