Distributor Financing: The Hottest Feature of B2B Marketplaces
Buy now, pay later has taken off like a rocket in B2C eCommerce. Now it’s coming for B2B!
Buy now, pay later has taken off like a rocket in B2C eCommerce. Now it’s coming for B2B. Over 50% of the largest B2B marketplaces have or plan to adopt a B2B financing solution imminently. How would you roll out a better fintech financing experience?
Applico’s ranking of the top 50 B2B marketplaces received a lot of interest in 2021, and our knowledge of these B2B marketplaces has revealed a key insight into one of their best “growth hacks.” But, how much of that growth is due to an innovative business model versus a feature that could be replicated by traditional competitors?
Through Applico’s work in B2B distribution and with marketplaces, we believe in-purchase B2B financing is a primary example of the latter: a timely, modern feature that can drastically accelerate growth.
At least 33% of the top 50 B2B marketplaces have already implemented this capability, and within 6 months we expect more than 50% of the marketplaces will have launched a finance offer live in the market
Companies are learning they can solidify their customer relationships by granting different payment terms, much like B2C buy now pay later is today. This will create a competitive paradigm shift in credit options available to traditional distributor customers to which distributors must respond to avoid customer loss
B2B Marketplaces already identify cash flow as one of the single largest pain points for B2B sellers, largely due to the common practice of issuing net 30-90 day terms. These fintechs take the balance sheet risk of providing net-terms to buyers while providing instant payments to sellers. Marketplaces are now winning over sellers by giving them better cash flow than selling offline
B2B distributors pride themselves on service–they can’t afford to let marketplaces beat them on financing. Now is the time for distributors to capitalize on this new feature before it takes over B2B.
Download our Distributor Financing report to learn how you can roll out a better financing experience and understand the risk of inaction. You’ll learn how you can partner with fintechs to provide your customers with seamless financing while reducing your risk and overhead costs.