Why isn't the implemented technology producing the expected results?

If the sales team sees e-commerce as a competing channel, adoption will remain low. In many companies, a B2B platform is presented to customers as an alternative to working with their sales rep. The sales team may feel that the system is taking away part of the customer relationship, reducing their influence over the account or diminishing the value they have traditionally brought to the sales process. This naturally creates resistance.

A well-designed digital channel should do the opposite. Its purpose should not be to replace sales reps, but to remove repetitive administrative tasks from their workload: checking order statuses, sending documents, processing repeat orders or answering routine questions about availability and list prices. This allows sales teams to spend more time on advisory work, relationship development, larger opportunities and strategic accounts.

The key requirement, however, is to define the role of the platform properly within the sales model. If a sales rep does not know when to move a customer to the digital channel, how to do it and what the benefit is for them personally, the platform will remain a tool that exists alongside their day-to-day work rather than becoming part of it.

The fact that a platform exists does not mean customers will start using it. This is especially true when they have spent years working with a dedicated account manager, emailing their orders or calling a local branch.

For customers to genuinely move to a digital channel, the platform must solve their everyday problems faster and more conveniently than the existing service model. In practice, this means giving them access to customer-specific pricing, current product availability, delivery dates, order history, documents and case statuses.

If that information is missing, or if the customer still needs to confirm everything with their sales rep, the platform does not become a true self-service channel. It simply adds another step to the process.

In B2B companies, the ERP system often remains the primary source of operational data. This is where prices, discounts, inventory levels, credit limits, documents, orders and customer data are stored. The problem begins when the B2B platform does not have access to all the information customers need to complete a process independently.

A customer may be able to see the catalogue but not their own negotiated price. They may see a product but not reliable availability. They may see an order but not its expected delivery date or the full set of related documents. In this situation, the platform does not reduce workload across the organisation. On the contrary, it can sometimes create additional questions because customers start using the system but cannot find a complete answer there.

This is why the development of a B2B channel should begin with a clear assessment of what data is required, where that data currently resides and what prevents it from being used effectively across sales and customer service processes.

Platform adoption does not happen automatically. It is not enough to send customers a message saying, “We have launched a new portal — we encourage you to use it.”

Companies need a deliberate process for moving selected customer segments to the digital channel. Otherwise, usage will remain fragmented: some customers will use the platform for some processes, while others will continue to rely on traditional channels, depending on the branch, account manager or region.

A well-designed adoption path should answer several practical questions:

• Which customers should move to the platform first?

• Which processes should be migrated to the digital channel first?

• What value should customers experience immediately?

• How should sales reps communicate the change?

• Which metrics will show whether adoption is increasing?

• When should the company intervene if a customer is not using the platform?

• Which customer segments should continue to receive a more relationship-driven service model?

This is particularly important in companies serving a wide range of customer groups: large accounts, smaller businesses, distributors, contractors, installers, export customers, technical partners or customers purchasing custom-configured products. Not every customer segment should be digitalised in the same way.

One of the biggest challenges is a lack of visibility.

Management knows how much the implementation cost. They can see the company’s overall revenue. Sometimes they also know the value of sales generated through e-commerce. But they often lack a clear view of everything that happens in between.

They cannot easily answer questions such as:

• How many customers actively use the platform?

• How many have only logged in once?

• How many have placed their first order?

• How many have returned to place another one?

• Which branches or regions are actively supporting adoption?

• Which sales reps are actually moving customers to the online channel

• Which processes still take place outside the system?

• How many customer service enquiries could potentially be eliminated?

• At which stage do customers abandon the process?

• Which features are actively used and which exist only on paper?

Without this data, discussions about the future of the platform quickly become opinion-driven. Sales says customers “do not want to use it”. Customer service says “the system does not help”. IT says “technically, everything is working”. Management sees that the results are not improving.

A dashboard that consolidates and structures platform adoption and usage data makes it possible to replace these opinions with evidence-based decisions.

The first phase should be focused, practical and cost-effective. Its purpose is to provide a data-driven diagnosis that helps the organisation make informed decisions about further investment. The outcome should be something that can be presented to the management team: an independent assessment supported by data, clear priorities, recommended next steps and an initial view of expected ROI.

This matters because one of the recurring problems in large organisations is the lack of a shared understanding of the current situation. An audit helps align the perspectives of sales, customer service, IT, logistics and management.

The second phase focuses on unlocking actual platform usage. This is the point at which technology becomes embedded in the organisation’s day-to-day operations rather than being developed as a separate system.

The key shift is that sales reps stop being passive observers of the platform. They become its advocates. When they see that the system does not take the customer relationship away from them, but instead removes repetitive work from their workload, adoption becomes much more realistic. When customers see that the portal can give them an answer faster than a phone call or an email, they are more likely to return to the digital channel.

This is when a B2B platform stops being an IT project and starts becoming a driver of operational change.

Once adoption has been addressed, the digital channel can begin to scale. At this stage, further platform development can support not only the efficiency of existing processes, but also sales growth.

The digital channel can then become more than just a place where customers submit orders. It can develop into a broader environment for customer collaboration — from product information, quotation and purchasing through to documents, deliveries, claims, service and long-term relationship development.