Building the right platform is critical to take advantage of all the benefits that DNN websites can deliver to B2B eCommerce. A DNN eCommerce solution can take advantage of DNN’s branding, marketing, content management, and organizational capabilities. DNN is an open-source content management system, or CMS, that is based on Microsoft ASP .NET technology. The DNN initials stand for DotNetNuke, and this intuitive B2B marketplace software enables B2B companies to create commercial portal applications to manage add-ons, third-party integrations, and custom tools. These portals work for a broad spectrum of customer applications, administrative tasks, content editing, custom development, and web design. Clarity eCommerce ranks as one of the premier B2B eCommerce development companies in the world. The company has built more than 1,000 DNN platforms that provide incredible features such as automated multilingual translations for global eCommerce, multi-currency conversions, multi-portal development for stakeholders, and full platform integrations that incorporate back-office ERP software, front-office CRM software, proprietary apps, supply chain integrations, EMRs, and other business applications. Designing a robust B2B marketplace platform and API layer enables companies to use modules for different applications without paying for capabilities that they don’t need. DNN Branding and Marketing An experienced developer like Clarity can use DNN to develop custom marketing and branding strategies. Branding is one of the most important basics of selling online. B2B customers are no different than B2C buyers--they want self-service features, easy searches, access to their account information, and functionally designed web pages that make searches and ordering easy and convenient on any device. Some of the most desired features might include building custom catalogs for customer groups such as maintenance staff, construction workers, and office administrators. Creating custom catalogs speeds searches, limits orders to pre-approved products, sets limits on spending, and creates special catalogs for key brands. Each web page and catalog needs to reinforce the brand and make the company stand out among hundreds or thousands of competitors. Design is a big part of branding and marketing. The right platform development enhances navigation, creates an appealing storefront design, organizes strategic product placement to increase sales, and enables different technologies to be used on the platform. Using DNN, staff members can create, update, post, and publish content on the website and other online forums. Specialty applications can create email marketing campaigns based on seasonal sales, buyer history, customer preferences, and social trends. Design can also enhance DNN B2B eCommerce marketplace sales in other forums or complement vendor colors and logos for companies that operate their own marketplace platforms. Content Management Is DNN’s Strongest Benefit Managing digital content is the primary purpose of DNN software. An integrated and robust CMS enables special editing and formatting of content for catalogs, page templates, web design, forms, themes, and personalization efforts. Content creators, editors, collaborators, and publishers can work together within the system to create, manage, revise, and approve all types of content including catalog photos and descriptions, blog posts, content for other websites and channels, videos, graphics, and more. A unified and well-designed system makes it easy to assign user roles, grant or rescind permissions, generate leads, and create custom portals. B2B companies can collaborate with their developers to build and test proprietary apps, test displays on different devices, and customize the software to meet the needs of the company. DNN provides an extremely granular security and access model that provides the ability to grant access to external or internal resources to edit just a bit of information on a page, not allowing the external resource to delete the page, create a new one, or even edit the core content of the page. This is extremely helpful when you have a trainer that owns the scheduling of an event calendar, but you don’t want to expose any other part of the website to be touched. This is a simple out-of-the-box capability and takes just minutes to setup and configure. E-Procurement Sales Companies can use dedicated portals to submit proposals and bids for different sets of products and services. B2B procurement, e-procurement, distribution, and wholesale sales generate more than $8 trillion dollars in the United States alone. [1] Amazon plans to enter the field, and savvy companies can get a jump on competitors by designing a seamless e-procurement process for customers. Some of the capabilities of a well-designed B2B procurement platform include: Segregating customers based on product and spending limits Obtaining approvals from multiple decision-makers Sourcing products from approved suppliers Negotiating custom prices Personalizing and customizing products based on procurer needs Generating purchase orders and routing them electronically for faster fulfillment Studies show that the benefits of a strong e-procurement system include a 5 percent to 10 percent decrease in production expenses and a 5 percent to 15 percent increase in total savings in the first year of implementation. [2] The resistance of staff members and suppliers also creates problems, but a simple and functional portal system can reduce or eliminate these objections. Plugging in standard numbers and salaries means that a great platform more than pays for itself in the first year of operation. Managing Increasingly Complex Business Relationships A B2B eCommerce platform, like Clarity eCommerce for DNN, can seamlessly integrate back-office software (ERPs, CRMs, EMRs, PIMs & more), supportive content, and customer relationship software to manage increasingly complex business relationships. These might include manufacturer sales, distributor sales, resellers, new company acquisitions, partnerships, and DNN B2B eCommerce marketplace sales. There are astonishing intricacies involved such as whether company-produced products are marketed more prominently than marketplace vendors, dealing with customer stakeholders with different imperatives, and even building respected backlinks for SEO purposes. Developing a World-Class eCommerce Platform for DNN The first step in developing your sales platform is building an appealing online store, whether you're selling B2C or want to create a marketplace website. Clarity understands branding and design, and its team of coders and B2B experts can build a great system that integrates all technologies, software, grant management software, and business applications into a well-designed and functional platform that shares information based on permissions. Collaborating in B2B sales becomes progressively challenging, but the right B2B eCommerce solution can deliver and modify content easily and automatically to support all your sales and marketing efforts. Call or contact Clarity today for a professional appraisal of your DNN development needs. References [1] Theglobeandmail.com: Amazon’s next mountain: B2B procurement https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/amazons-next-mountain-b2b-procurement/article37519274/ [2] Jaggaer.com: AN UNDERUTILIZED SOLUTION IS NOT MUCH OF A SOLUTION https://www.jaggaer.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Jaggaer-The-Top-Five-Barriers-to-Successful-eProcurement-WP.pdf