Successfully Selling the

Value of a B2B Digital

Transformation
Building a case for upgrading
your organization’s
eCommerce infrastructure
Table of Contents
3 Introduction
4 A Strategic Perspective

9 AI in Action

11 Conceiving Cost Savings

14 Accelerate Revenue Growth

18 Final Thoughts

2
 Introduction

eCommerce waits for no business. Fluid changes in consumer technologies,

buyer demographics, and purchasing behaviors persistently challenge
todays legacy systems. In the current era of eCommerce, continued reliance
on dated digital solutions not only risks negative impacts to business
infrastructure, it may be compromising the continued loyalty of your
customer base as well.

Fear of change is to be human, but fortune favors the brave. At present,

B2B commerce is undergoing a technological renaissance, with many
organizations actively evolving their eCommerce assets. Yet despite proven
efficiency gains, cost savings, and revenue growth, selling the value of a
digital upgrade to key decision-makers remains an uphill battle.

This guide provides three persuasive approaches – supported by the data

of leading industry authorities – to help you build a compelling case for
upgrading your B2B organizations digital.

3
A Strategic Perspective
Future-proofing your business begins today

A s your legacy platform ages, you may find it experiencing

difficulty satisfying fluid changes in customer purchasing trends
and behaviors. There may be more technical debt to maintain than
you’ve encountered in the past, requiring costly, time-consuming IT
development. Using a modernized ecommerce solution, teams benefit
from a configurable technology suite, it can dramatically improve overall
business agility, and open the doors to expanded revenue growth.

Modern eCommerce solutions enable faster time to market

Customers have distinct service demands which they expect you to deliver
on quickly. One major advantage modern commerce systems offer is they
are continually updated by vendors and developers, ensuring consistent
peak performance. Supported by vast extension marketplaces, new
features can be added to these platforms effortlessly, reducing the need
for customized coding solutions.

4
Today’s commerce solutions feature cloud-based infrastructures protected
by industry-standard security protocols. Cloud-based platforms generally
have a faster time to market, require less coordination across departments,
and include all the necessary development and deployment tools.

Legacy Solutions Modern Solutions

• Home-grown solution • Cloud-based

• On-premise • Full-featured

• Difficult to find developers • Continually updated

• Custom development • Global developer ecosystem

for new features
• API-first
• Down-time risk
• App marketplace
• Security gaps
• PCI-compliant

Upgrading delivers the agility to manage changing

business requirements
20 years ago, businesses were under far less pressure to develop engaging
digital experiences and service offerings. Now, organizations must react
quickly to fluid changes in market trends and buyer behaviors or risk
losing their audience to competitors. Empowered by a modernized
system, organizations gain the operational agility to accommodate B2B
and B2C audiences, expand past regional boundaries, and engage new
business models.

5
• B2B and B2C Selling
Manufacturers are increasingly forming direct relationships with
their buyers while the direct-to-consumer model helps drive
innovation, brand recognition, and profitability

• Global Expansion
As eCommerce has become the global commerce standard,
companies are capitalizing on cross-border expansion to fuel their
revenue growth

• Emerging Business Models

To win customer loyalty, B2B companies are creating their own
online marketplaces while testing new business models with a
greater range of advanced service offerings

• Multiplying Customer Touchpoints

B2B companies must create compelling experiences to engage
customers across a range of touchpoints including mobile,
E-procurement systems, digital marketplaces, and social media.

Upgrading provides agility to handle changing

market requirements
Upgrading your existing legacy system means your team can tap into
emerging technologies to perform more efficiently. A modernized
solution also enables you to distance yourself from competitors who are
slow to grow the potential of their own digital platforms.

6
• API-first Platform Supporting Headless Deployments
APIs create experiences fitted to every consumer touchpoint while
enabling faster integration with your existing business systems

• Open Platform Sustained by a Thriving Digital Ecosystem

Flexible commerce architecture and ongoing developer support
ensures your platform can seamlessly integrate the latest technical
innovations

• Multi-Site, Multi-Audience Solution

Expand globally, add new brands or business units, and engage
traditional sales channels while exploring the potential of direct
relationships

Magento Commerce empowers businesses to pursue new opportunities

and thrive in an ever-evolving digital environment.

Honeywell Aerospace Festo Unipart

Established a first-of-its- A factory automation Set up a way for
kind marketplace manufacturer is now consumers and fleet
for aerospace parts in selling software “apps” managers to book vehicle
just 12 weeks which enhance their service appointments
products in 22 countries with local garages which
using a subscription use and stock Unipart
model auto parts as a way to
drive new sales

7
AI-enabled solutions accelerate growth for B2B companies
The latest eCommerce platforms incorporate new technologies which
help create memorable buyer experiences at scale. With the emergence
of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) features, nearly
every aspect of your digital infrastructure and business processes can be
improved upon.

• Personalize Experiences
Intelligently display site content and guide a buyer through your
catalog based on their personal profiles and insights from thousands
of other customers

• Optimize Pricing and Offers

Present the best pricing and offers to consolidate customer loyalty
while driving revenue

• Intelligent Product Recommendations

Recommendation engines leverage a rich assortment of site and buyer
data to encourage product discovery and incremental purchases

• Reveal New Business Insights

Gain an intimate understanding of business performance with
detailed reporting, automated anomaly detection, contribution
analysis, and customer segmentation capabilities

8
 AI in Action
Magento Commerce capabilities powered
by Adobe Sensei

A dobe Sensei is Adobe’s artificial intelligence and machine learning

technology integrated with many aspects of Adobe’s digital
experience solutions. The inclusion of Sensei has dramatically enhanced the
overall customer experience while automating a range of manual tasks.

Currently the first Sensei-powered capabilities in Magento Commerce are

in early access, using powerful AI-driven algorithms and a flexible design
framework to automatically promote and filter product recommendations
throughout the customer journey. Additional Sensei-powered capabilities
will continue to be introduced to Magento Commerce including A/B testing,
content personalization, and more.

“80 percent of organizations using AI for digital

commerce will achieve at least 25 percent improvement
in customer satisfaction, revenue or cost reduction.”
- Gartner

9
Conceiving Cost Savings
Digital decreases drains on resources

A legacy system could be your biggest savings deterrent due to the

high cost of ongoing maintenance and site updates. Upgrading
your existing solution not only lowers operating overhead, it eliminates
costly inefficiencies associated with content creation. In turn, this frees up
resources which can be directed towards more constructive
business objectives.

The Proven Value of Migrating to Magento Commerce

Magento commissioned a third-party ROI research study which
interviewed 19 customers and 3 solution partners to assess the
business value of migrating to Magento Commerce, revealing a number
of valuable insights.

10
• 47 percent migrated from homegrown solutions, 18 percent from
competitor solutions, 35 percent from Magento Commerce 1

• GMV ranged from $1.4M to $1.6B

• Results: 165.3 percent ROI, 8-month payback period

Upgrading Your eCommerce Solution Reduces

Maintenance Costs
An eCommerce platform requires ongoing upkeep from either your IT
department or a third-party solution provider to ensure consistent peak
performance. As your system ages, these maintenance requirements – and
associated costs – can add up quickly. Upgrading your system minimizes
these expenses thanks in part to the introduction of features which scale
back the number and scope of maintenance routines.

• Industry-standard software design allows for easier maintenance

• API-focused architecture enables faster, fluid system integrations

• Software is supported by regular updates, security patches,

and bug fixes

• Cloud-based infrastructure eliminates hosting

infrastructure maintenance

• Value-added services like CDNs, firewall protection, and system

performance monitoring are included and pre-configured for
optimal functioning

• Greater catalog depth offering more products to choose from

11
 According to the participants in our ROI study,
migrating to Magento Commerce reduced
maintenance costs by an average of $60K per year.

Modern ecommerce platforms have lower site update costs

Site updates refer to work done by your IT team or 3rd party solution
provider to extend functionality or add new features. Moving to a more
flexible solution with a strong support ecosystem can significantly reduce
the costs associated with platform updates.

An ROI study of our customers over a three-year period revealed they

saved an average of over $220K by purchasing off-the-shelf marketplace
extensions versus writing new software using internal or external
resources. Many businesses save even more by having a solution
flexible enough to support multiple audiences, eliminating the need
for independent B2B and B2C solutions.

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

# Extensions 7.96 4.64 4.60

Purchased

Cost Savings per $12,792 $12,792 $12,792

Extension

Platform Upgrade $101,824 $59,355 $58,844

Cost Savings

12
Newer solutions support more efficient content creation
Another way platform modernization reduces your operating costs is by
streamlining the content creation and publishing. Today’s content creation
tools do not require special coding or technical skills, making them more
user-friendly. This means businesses can manage most production in-
house, creating a faster transition from idea to live content while reducing
reliance on IT resources.

• Accelerate site development using drag-and-drop interfaces

• Approve changes to the user experience using real-time preview

• Automate publishing schedules for special offers and promotions

Magento Commerce – Content Creation in Action

78.9 percent of respondents indicated the content creation

experience is much more efficient on Magento than on their
prior platform, leading to significant productivity increases.

In aggregate, merchants achieved an average time savings of

61 percent.

13
Accelerate
Revenue Growth
Expand your brand with enhanced
eCommerce

Y our legacy platform may have your day-to-day operations covered

but growing your business into a formidable market presence
requires a more advanced feature suite. Upgrading your commerce
solution means you can engage customers in delightful new ways, opening
the door to increased site traffic, elevated conversion rates, and larger
AOV gains.

Upgrading your ecommerce platform increases site traffic

An upgraded platform gives you the capability to create compelling digital
experiences which encourage customers to spend more time browsing…
and buying. Today’s eCommerce solutions are equipped to attract and
engage buyers using a range of powerful features.

14
Magento Commerce customers experienced a 24.8 percent
increase in site traffic after upgrading, giving them a bigger
pool of visitors to mine for new sales.

• Better search engine optimization

Modern platforms offer features and automation to make it easier to
drive organic traffic – things like SEO-friendly URLs for products and
categories, automated sitemaps and rich snippets, the ability to easily
generate meta tags, and more

• Mobile-friendly experiences
User responsive designs or progressive web applications deliver a
great experience for mobile users which keep them on your site,
boosting SEO rankings

• Robust analytics
Hone your marketing activities and bring the right type of visitors to
your site by showing campaign ROI and channel effectiveness

New commerce capabilities raise conversion rates, AOV,

and overall sales revenue
You’ve drawn customers to your site, now comes the challenge of getting
them to stay and spend. If your eCommerce environment lacks
conveniences like personalized purchasing, frictionless checkout, and
flexible fulfillment, the race is over before it started. Conversely, modern-
ized solutions offer features which lead to higher conversion rates, AOV,
and overall sales.

15
• Personalized Buyer Journeys
Offer highly relevant content, targeted offers, and recommendations,
transforming casual browsers into loyal brand advocates

• B2B Purchasing Tools

Encourage spending by allowing B2B buyers to upload a list of SKUs,
negotiate quotes online, or set up requisition lists of frequently
purchased products

• Inventory Visibility
Displaying product availability and stock across multiple locations
gives buyers the information they need to confidently place orders

• Flexible Fulfillment Options

Buyers can choose how and when they receive their purchases
using an order management solution with omnichannel
fulfillment capabilities

• Mobile Optimized Experiences

Delivers optimized experiences for every screen size, enabling
customers to overcome traditional mobile purchasing challenges

• Multiple Payment Options

Master frictionless checkout by offering multiple transaction options,
from payment on account to credit card, as well as regional-specific
payment methods

16
Magento Commerce Customers Experience Big Gains After
Upgrading Their Commerce Platform

• BookPal
Wholesale bulk book seller increased their AOV by 25 percent

• Intelligentsia Coffee
Increased their conversion rate by 160 percent after upgrading to
Magento Commerce, driven in part by a better mobile experience for
their independent coffee shop buyers

• Crane Stationary
Achieved 127 percent increase in their mobile revenue thanks to a new
site experience, optimized B2B ordering, and more

Customers who upgraded to Magento Commerce used

these features to increase conversion rates by an average of
16.1 percent and AOV by 4.8 percent. Mobile performance
improved even more, with an impressive 29.1 percent increase
in mobile revenue.
17
Final Thoughts:
Business Performance
Improves With Change,
Change,
Not Chance

T here is no understating the value of upgrading. While your

commerce platform has done its due diligence, the demands of
modern commerce may soon – if not already – outstrip its operating
capabilities. As many businesses have discovered, maintaining the status
quo on a legacy system has resulted in stagnate market growth, spiraling
operating costs, and loss of market share to technologically progressive
competitors.

The future belongs to those who embrace transformation. A dedicated

digital upgrade delivers performance advantages which can place a B2B
organization at the forefront of it’s given industry. In addition to gain in
operational efficiency and customer satisfaction, upgrading provides a
powerful framework for achieving long term goals otherwise unattainable
using a dated eCommerce solution.

18
Become the agent of change you were meant to be. A compelling case to
upgrade will motivate key decisions makers within your organization to
rethink the role of its commerce system moving forward. Having prepared
sufficiently for this moment, you will have the opportunity to sell the value
of modernization and ensure your B2B business is sufficiently prepared for
the escalating demands of regional and global marketplaces.

Conclusion
Here is a quick summary of the ideas we’ve shared which you can use as a
checklist when creating your own business case.

Enhanced eCommerce

Strategic Faster time to market

Business agility

Leverage emerging technologies

Cost Savings Lower maintenance costs

Reduce site enhancement costs

Efficiently create content

Revenue Growth Increase site traffic

Improve conversion rates

Grow customer spending

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Learn more about how Adobe can bring your B2B business
into the digital commerce era:

Explore the Magento Commerce solution

Magento Commerce for B2B

20
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