E-commerce in the Philippines: Making a Case for a B2B Market Network

Jeff Clarenz Turla Monday, March 11, 2019

Share:

Global trends on B2B e-commerce, B2B becoming more social, B2B selling in the Philippines, and how Burket can help businesses be more connected.

The e-commerce market in the Philippines is mainly characterized by two segments: business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). B2C refers to the electronic selling of products by businesses (especially manufacturers and retailers) to consumers while B2B is the commercial transaction of goods, services or information between businesses over the internet. Of the two categories, B2C has a larger share of the Philippine e-commerce market and offers more opportunities for domestic Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). B2B having a smaller piece of the e-commerce pie does not necessarily equate to lower benefits for MSMEs in the medium-term. Over 46 percent of MSMEs are engaged in wholesale and retail trade and small and medium businesses still dominate the B2B market; thus, tapping the latter means a more targeted approach in supporting the globalization of MSMEs through electronic means. Furthermore, the global B2B online commerce market is projected to reach USD6.7 trillion by 2020, twice the size of the international B2C market (currently at USD3.2 trillion) ¹

B2B selling in the Philippines

Success in B2B selling requires not only promoting your product but more importantly understanding the customer’s motivations. In a B2B setting, this is undoubtedly complex in relation to how decision factors are arrived at and by whom.

More buyers and executives are using social media to make purchasing decisions, they are more likely to be influential, have larger budgets and buy more frequently.² A uniquely Filipino trait is their inclination to “follow” their sellers. “We Filipinos are more social. About 70-80 percent of Filipino buyers follow their sellers compared to only 60 percent in other countries” ³

Selling to businesses in the Philippines means getting to the right person inside the companies, integrating the solution into their processes and onboarding the operational teams. Two to six months sales cycle is standard. ⁴

Expanding your network with Burket

Burket addresses these issues by connecting your business directly to procurement decision makers. We enable businesses to find suppliers with ease via a market network platform with AI-powered tools designed to focus on what you and your business need.

We at Burket believe that every business deserves an opportunity to compete with established and well-funded companies by having a platform that allows them access to potential and targeted customers and at the same time discover the best suppliers, products, and services that are within reach, efficiently and cost-effectively.