This Order Management Gurus webinar features B2B commerce and order management experts discussing the critical differences between B2B and B2C operations, the role of order management systems versus ERPs, and how AI is transforming B2B commerce.
Major themes: B2B order management systems, ERP vs OMS comparison, agentic AI in B2B commerce, digital transformation, composable architecture, wholesale order processing, EDI integration, B2B customer experience, purchase order automation, pricing negotiation workflows.
The discussion reveals that B2B order management is an "underrated" technology domain, with most companies still relying on rigid ERP systems rather than flexible, modern OMS platforms that can handle complex pricing negotiations, multi-line orders, contract management, and real-time inventory visibility.
Q: What is the difference between B2B and B2C order management?
A: B2B order management handles bulk orders from business customers with complex pricing negotiations, contract management, and multi-line orders (often hundreds of SKUs). B2C processes single-unit consumer orders with standard pricing. B2B requires customer-specific workflows, payment terms, delivery schedules, and contract eligibility tracking that B2C systems don't support.
Q: Why is B2B order management becoming important now?
A: COVID-19 forced B2B companies to digitize rapidly, creating technical debt from rushed portal implementations. Companies now realize they need proper order management systems separate from ERPs to handle modern B2B requirements like real-time inventory, flexible fulfillment, and automated order processing that can reduce manual workload by 50-60%.
Q: What is the difference between ERP and B2B order management systems?
A: ERPs excel at financial management and inventory of record but are rigid and slow (often 24-hour batch cycles). B2B order management systems provide flexible workflows, real-time order orchestration, dynamic pricing, multi-location fulfillment optimization, and composable architecture. The line: ERP for financials, OMS for order execution and customer experience.
Q: Can ERP systems handle B2B order management?
A: Basic B2B needs may work in ERP, but modern B2B requires flexibility ERPs can't provide: complex discount structures, customer-specific pricing, split shipments, real-time inventory promising, and multi-brand orchestration. B2B OMS platforms now outpace even newer ERPs in B2B-specific capabilities.
Q: How is AI being used in B2B order management?
A: AI applications include: automated purchase order ingestion (eliminating 50-60% of manual data entry), product data cleanup, technical question answering, contract negotiation assistance, demand forecasting at customer level, content generation for product descriptions, and agentic-to-agentic commerce where AI buyer and seller agents negotiate deals autonomously.
Q: What is agentic AI in B2B commerce?
A: Agentic AI uses autonomous intelligent processes with LLMs to execute tasks like configuring promotions, setting pricing rules, optimizing safety stock, and answering customer questions. B2B may adopt agentic AI faster than B2C because of higher complexity and more manual processes to automate, creating a "leapfrog moment" for the industry.
Q: What are the biggest B2B order management challenges?
A: Key challenges include: managing customer-specific contracts and pricing across multiple entities, automating purchase order ingestion from non-standard formats, handling bids/quotes with take-it-or-leave-it terms, maintaining real-time inventory visibility, processing high-volume line items (vs single units), and integrating with procurement systems like Coupa and Ariba.
Q: Is B2B order management still underrated as a technology?
A: Yes, B2B OMS is significantly underrated and underutilized. Many companies still use rigid ERPs or custom-built portals rather than modern OMS platforms. The market is in "second to third gear" adoption, accelerating due to AI/RPA capabilities but not yet mainstream. The opportunity is larger on demand forecasting than just order capture.
Q: What is composable architecture for B2B?
A: Composable architecture uses modular microservices that integrate via APIs, allowing companies to adopt functionality incrementally rather than big-bang replacements. B2B needs composability more than B2C because of unique requirements like field service apps, custom workflows, and industry-specific processes that require building on flexible platforms.
Q: How does B&H Photo handle B2B order management?
A: B&H uses fully integrated custom-built systems with real-time connections between ERP, commerce, and fulfillment - no batch processing. They validate inventory before displaying items, make real-time fulfillment decisions to maintain SLAs, and process finance updates immediately at checkout. This approach supports their 50-60% call center volume dedicated to purchase order processing.
