Bay Supply, the online marketing division of Bay Fastening Systems, has debuted a new B2B eCommerce vertical marketplace to help the fastening industry, the company announced Thursday (Jan. 6).
“The fastener industry is fragmented and outdated,” said Clifford Bernard, Bay Supply president and CEO. “The industry needs a better way to leverage technology to streamline quote and order processes. Sourcing fasteners requires an incredible amount of time and research online.
“The current process — multiple websites are sourced, contact us requests, email submissions to multiple vendors and multiple phone conversations — just doesn’t make sense for anyone in the supply chain anymore.”
Bay Supply will offer an request for offer (RFO) workflow, which auto populates part specification to help out with the submission process, letting buyers make them easily and add specific requirements. The quote requests are then automatically syndicated to the suppliers that meet the requirements.
The release notes that Bay Supply serves the global industrial supply marketplace, offering free registration to distributors selling fastening products in the identified categories on the platform. That encompasses rivets, bolts, threaded inserts and other fastener products and tools.
The company also plans to work with distributors to add other product categories.
B2B marketplaces have become more common as of late, and PYMNTS writes that 66% of business-to-business (B2B) company representatives say that digital-enabled sales are more important to customers than traditional sales interactions.
See also: 66% of B2B Companies Believe Digital-Enabled Sales Interactions Are Important to Customers
The pandemic has had the effect of forcing B2B firms to adapt to digital payments, which it has been slower to do than business-to-consumer (B2C). B2B buyers and sellers have caught on, though, with reports saying they have the preference for digital.
B2B firms will still have to make changes, including becoming more user-friendly and easier to navigate, along with being more likely to provide things like product recommendations and discounts.
According to PYMNTS data, 11% more B2C sites allow for product ratings and reviews as opposed to B2B sites.
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