Business-to-business companies are beginning to invest more heavily in e-commerce and related technology systems, including online content management, order management and product information management systems as well the shopping carts and other basic features of e-commerce sites, Forrester Research Inc. analysts Peter Sheldon and Andy Hoar said during the B2B Workshop at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition last week.

At the same time, B2B companies are on a path to eventually spend more than online retailers on e-commerce and related technology, they said. By 2019, manufacturers and wholesalers will account for a combined 30% of spending on e-commerce technology, up from 20% in 2013, compared with a 28% share of 2019 spending by online retailers, down from 41% in 2013, the Forrester analysts said.

They also noted that B2B e-commerce, when asked to name their investment priorities for 2014, most often cited e-commerce platforms, followed by integration of e-commerce sites with software used for such business operations as inventory and financial management; mobile sites and apps; web content management; product content management.

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