Latest news with #manufacturers
Forbes
17 minutes ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Truth About B2B Buyer Satisfaction: Why Digital Adoption Isn't Enough
Yoav Kutner is the Co-Founder and CEO of OroCommerce, a B2B-focused commerce platform for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. If you believe the industry headlines, digital commerce in B2B is now the norm. Most buyers do prefer it: 7 of 10 B2B buyers see online buying as more convenient and prefer to do so when ready to buy. Yet only 36% of buyers told Digital Commerce 360 that their supplier's e-commerce experience deserves the word 'excellent.' Clearly, the experience is falling short. There's no mystery about what's missing. In our client work, we keep seeing a mismatch between what suppliers provide and what buyers need to get work done. Our own recent survey of procurement leaders surfaced many of the same challenges, with some surprising specifics. Here's where the friction lives in 2025: Teams Can't Work Like Teams B2B buying is rarely a solo sport. Buyers want to add colleagues, assign roles and manage approvals from one place. Most portals still treat every login as a lone account, so teams are stuck passing spreadsheets and emails to keep everyone in sync. The technology ignores how distributed and collaborative most procurement is today. No Option To Set Standard Orders Most B2B buyers have repeat purchases they need every month or quarter. Still, many are forced to rebuild these orders from scratch each time. No saved templates, no auto-reorder, no automation. All that repetition is pure overhead, and it introduces mistakes that shouldn't happen. Search: Still A Pain Point You'd expect that searching for a part number or product would be solved by now. Instead, buyers complain about search tools that don't return the right results, filter systems that don't match how their teams think and catalogs that are impossible to navigate at scale. If it takes longer to find an SKU than to just call the rep, the portal isn't pulling its weight. Disconnected Quotes, Approvals And Orders The flow from quote to approval to order is still broken in many digital systems. Buyers start online but finish by phone or email because the platform doesn't support integrated approvals or clear status updates. We've heard of teams screenshotting quotes just to share them, adding yet another step to a process that was supposed to be digital. Payments Still Don't Fit How Buyers Work Buyers often need payment flexibility: purchase orders, ACH or splitting payments by project or department. Too many platforms lock them into a single option. There are cases when buyers have to wait days for manual credit approval or abandon carts entirely when their company's payment method isn't supported. It's a missed sale that could have been prevented with more flexible, buyer-driven payment choices. When Returns Become An Unwanted Surprise When a shipment goes sideways, buyers want control, not more admin work. We've heard stories where back-ordered items arrive months later, long after the buyer has already sourced replacements elsewhere. Instead of checking in first, the supplier sends out the shipment anyway. The buyer is left managing unwanted products, setting up returns and navigating a mess that could have been avoided. A simple digital check—'Do you still need this back-ordered item?'—would spare both sides the hassle. When platforms skip this step, it's a clear sign the design was never really centered on the buyer. What To Fix—And How If you want digital to work for your customers, address the workflow issues that buyers run into every day: • Design For Teams: Make it simple for buyers to add users, assign permissions and share order history across a company, not just per account. • Automate Recurring And Complex Orders: Let buyers save order templates, set up scheduled replenishment and configure frequent bulk buys once (not every cycle). • Prioritize Search And Navigation: Test your search tool with real buyers. Use their language for filters and categories. Make it easy to find what matters without expert training. • Connect The Workflow: Integrate quotes, approvals and order placement in a single, visible stream. Show status, highlight next steps and allow teams to collaborate without leaving the platform. • Be Proactive With Real-Time Communication: Build in notifications for inventory updates, delivery changes and price adjustments so buyers don't have to chase answers. • Simplify Returns And Problem Resolution: Give buyers clear options to fix issues online, with fast follow-up and no hidden hoops. Digital is only as strong as its weakest process. If your e-commerce site looks impressive but still forces buyers to call for basics, it's time to rethink the road map. The bar is low, but buyers' patience is even lower. If you're ready to compete on something besides price, fix the points where your digital journey breaks down. Most suppliers haven't—and that's the opening. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Reuters
13 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Japan manufacturers' sentiment improves in July despite tariff woes: Reuters Tankan poll
TOKYO, July 16 (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturers' business confidence improved slightly in July and is expected to strengthen further in the coming months despite ongoing concerns about U.S. tariffs, thanks to recovery in the semiconductor sector, a Reuters Tankan poll showed. The monthly poll, which tracks the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan business survey, showed the manufacturers' sentiment index rising to plus 7 in July from plus 6 in June, while the service-sector index remained unchanged at plus 30 for the third consecutive month. Manufacturers expect sentiment to improve further to plus 8 by October, while service firms forecast their outlook will soften to plus 27, according to the July 2-11 survey of 497 major non-financial companies, of which 241 responded on condition of anonymity. Among manufacturers, the electronics machinery sector index improved to minus 4 in July from minus 16 in June, and chemicals rose to plus 18 from plus 12, with some citing the ameliorating chip demand. "There's brightness visible in some parts of the semiconductor industry, though other areas remain stagnant," a rubber maker manager said. In contrast, the transport machinery sector, which includes Japan's crucial car industry, saw its index falling to plus 9 from plus 20 in June, with some managers referring to the impact of U.S. 25% auto tariffs on export volumes and costs. Although overall sentiment remains in positive territory, manufacturers continue to monitor potential risks from U.S. trade policies. "While there are predictions among our users that the impact of Trump's tariffs can be negative, for now we're in a wait-and-see situation," a paper and pulp industry manager said, highlighting the prevailing uncertainty. Some expressed concern about investment appetite. "Our customers are becoming cautious about capital expenditure due to economic slowdown caused by U.S. tariffs and uncertainty in the Middle East situation," one machinery maker manager noted. The service sector was mixed overall, with wholesalers' confidence improving but the sentiment of property, retail, IT and transport sectors down from June. A retail company manager noted an ambivalent mood, with supermarkets benefiting from higher customer spending on successful price hikes, while department stores suffered from a decline in sales compared to last year's surge in inbound tourism. The poll results come as Japan's export-dependent economy faces headwinds from global trade tensions. Japan's economy shrank in the first quarter on lukewarm consumption. Exports fell in May for the first time in eight months, stoking fears of a recession, defined as two straight quarters of contraction.
Wall Street Journal
14 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Heard on the Street Recap: Getting Warmer
Inflation picked up in June. The consumer-price index rose 2.7% from a year earlier, accelerating from May's increase of 2.4%. There were signs that tariffs are creeping into consumer prices for goods such as furniture, toys and clothes, which posted larger increases.
Times
a day ago
- Business
- Times
Here's how UK can produce good, healthy food for generations to come
Britain's food industry should be a powerhouse of economic growth, innovation and job creation. From farmers and suppliers to supermarkets and manufacturers, it's the backbone of communities up and down the UK. Yet for too long, its importance has been undervalued and often misunderstood. Our food system is under significant pressure. Geopolitical instability, climate change and economic uncertainty are shaking its foundations, impacting farming livelihoods and shaping the future of the food we will eat. Healthy choices aren't always easy and the gap between those who have access to the nutritious food they need and those who don't, is widening. It's therefore encouraging to see the government's ambition for a new food strategy to change this. The Good Food Cycle announced on Tuesday sets out a bold and compelling opportunity to make food in the UK consistently healthier, more sustainable and more accessible to all. That's a vision I share, and one I believe our whole industry can get behind. Food is essential to how we live and how we thrive. At Sainsbury's, we see every day how affordability, quality, health and convenience can work together and how supermarkets can help make better choices easier, more accessible and more appealing. As grocery retailers, we must champion the 'super' in supermarket, using our scale, influence and resources to drive real change across the food system with our partners. Only with this commitment can we ensure that everyone, no matter their background or their budget, can access good quality, nutritious food every single day. But ambition alone isn't enough. To achieve the resilient food system required to deliver good food for generations to come, we need bold, practical action. This includes growing more of what we eat as a nation here at home. Increasing domestic production is critical not just for food security but for creating jobs, revitalising rural economies and reducing our dependency on increasingly fragile global supply chains. We must attract private investment into food infrastructure to drive economic growth, strengthen supply chain resilience and boost innovation. To do so, planning reform is essential and, together, we must move faster to unlock the capacity needed for more homegrown production, while we also need a comprehensive workforce plan which can build, nurture and develop the talent required across our food system. As an industry, a clear commitment to mandatory nutritional reporting and, over time, targets for heathier food will help improve diets and positively impact public health. This is a complex area, but it's vital reporting targets are ambitious enough to drive the change we all want to see, while also recognising the important nuances across our food system. The nutrient profile model, for example, is a tool used to assess the healthiness of food and drink products. It needs refining to provide a clear, consistent view of 'healthiness'. Without this, we risk demonising inherently healthy foods and creating patchy reporting that confuses consumers. • Ultra-processed foods make Britain the 'sick man of Europe' This entire mission must be operated on a level playing field and enforced properly. Changes must apply across all large food companies — retail, manufacturing, out of home, hospitality and foodservice — for them to have real and lasting impact. Without this, we risk missing the enormous opportunity in front of us. Sainsbury's is ready to play its part and we look forward to working with government and our peers across the food industry on the development and implementation of these policies. The UK's food system is already remarkable. More than 4.4 million people help it to thrive, with incredible food pulled from every corner of the country on a daily basis. We can forget just how dynamic and resourceful this system is, but it has the potential to be so much more. With commitment, co-operation and clear ambition, we can build something resilient, fair and future-ready. Working with pace and passion across government and our industry, we can unlock growth and make good food happen for everyone. Simon Roberts is chief executive of Sainsbury's
CNA
a day ago
- Business
- CNA
Early signs of strain as Malaysia's export sector braces for 25% US tariff
Malaysia's export sector is showing early signs of strain, ahead of the 25% US tariff set to take effect on Aug 1. Manufacturers have seen dwindling orders, as buyers are hesitant amid the ongoing uncertainty. The Trade Ministry is pushing ahead with negotiations, but analysts warned that Malaysia must prepare for both short- and long-term effects of the trade war. Afifah Ariffin reports.
