When deploying new B2B e-commerce technology and strategy, it can be difficult to get buy-in from all concerned, particularly from employees and managers accustomed to doing things the old way.

But there are ways to move such projects ahead with strong support—even with I-can’t-wait enthusiasm. Just ask John Tonnison, executive vice president, cloud computing, and worldwide chief information officer at Tech Data Corp., the multibillion-dollar global distributor of electronics and I.T. products.

John Tonnison, EVP/CIO, Tech Data Corp.

Tonnison, who was the keynote speaker at the October B2BecNews Executive Seminar in New York, shared a “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out) strategy Tech Data has used to get strong support from employees, department heads and executives for a new e-commerce application the company started offering to its sales executives.

Realizing that not all members of its sales force were likely to want to adopt online tools to help customers serve themselves online, Tech Data started the project with a sales executive who helped develop the online sales tool and used it with his own customers to share such data as available inventory and order status.

At the seminar, Tonnison said the FOMO strategy—or what he also referred to as a “change management trick”—worked well when the first sales executive to use the new online tool started showing improved sales results. When other sales managers became aware of his success, there was little need to persuade them to use it, Tonnison noted. They willingly came on board.

Participants in the B2BecWorld Executive Seminar covered a range of topics related to B2B e-commerce technology and strategies. They addressed the challenges and opportunities manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers face in a market industry that analysts project will surpass $1 trillion a year in 2019 in the United States alone—more than twice the size of the U.S. online retail market. In addition, the seminar’s organizer, B2BecNews publisher Vertical Web Media, joined B2B e-commerce expert Andy Hoar in announcing B2B Next, an annual conference and expo that will launch in September 2017.

Those challenges and opportunities formed the crux of presentations and discussions at the seminar, and are examined in a new report from B2BecNews titled Networking on B2B. The report, available for free download, includes summaries and takeaways from B2B e-commerce experts.

The report includes reviews of:

• A presentation by Anoop Kulshreshtha, vice president of digital technology at medical products supplier Henry Schein Inc., on how his company uses large volumes of data to better understand and serve customers.
• Three panel discussions covering strategies in making B2B e-commerce sites more user-friendly, the importance of online personalization, and technology investment strategies. The panels featured several B2B e-commerce practitioners, industry analysts and technology providers.
• Roundtable discussions, where participants shared their concerns and insights regarding how to deploy a successful e-commerce strategy.
• A presentation by Andy Hoar detailing what’s to come in B2B Next.

To get a copy of this free report click here.

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to B2BecNews, a twice-weekly newsletter that covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B e-commerce industry. B2BecNews is published by Vertical Web Media LLC, which also publishes DigitalCommerce360.com, Internet Retailer and Internet Health Management. Follow B2BecNews editor Paul Demery on Twitter @pdemery.

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