The Cloudfy software as a service ecommerce platform was designed from the outset to meet the needs of business-to-business operations.
Now, more than a decade on, its configuration as a powerful and capable business solution for all types of B2B organization is complete, but the journey continues.
We spoke to Rob Williams, Cloudfy CEO, about the continuing evolution of Cloudfy and his vision for the future.
When discussing the state of the nation for Cloudfy, he is quite clear: “We continue to refine our offer to meet and exceed the needs of B2B ecommerce companies of all types and sizes around the world. We provide updates to ensure that every aspect of the platform is easy to use and intuitive for back-end users, and that front-end customer experiences are exceptional.“
“We work with our clients to optimize every part of their business, from their 24/7 online customer self-service portal to the efficiency of their fulfillment processes.”
Cloudfy’s context
Rapid adoption of ecommerce around the world recently has challenged traditional thinking about how to conduct business. The speed of ecommerce uptake may have been accelerated by up to five years.
Digital technologies and ecommerce have become essential for many businesses during the coronavirus pandemic when more traditional channels couldn’t be used. For some businesses the journey has just started, while others have moved on at pace. Either way, there’s no turning back.
The ecommerce process for retailers can be fairly simple and direct, involving individual purchase decisions that can be complete in minutes. In contrast, the B2B purchasing journey can be lengthy and complex, often involving up to ten points of contact, each with their own priorities and information. In light of this, many manufacturers are now selling directly to their end users (D2C), which is changing the dynamics of their sales operations.
For B2B companies preparing to meet post-pandemic challenges digital transformation will be essential, requiring innovative and flexible solutions to meet complex requirements. They must create seamless processes that do much more than enable single purchases; they must also build and manage ongoing relationships.
Creating a robust digital environment is a critical strategic choice that will help to create and maintain the long-term commercial relationships needed for business growth.
It’s more important than ever in the current climate to have an effective, scalable and reliable ecommerce platform. For some businesses, their future will rely on the choices they make now.
Rob Williams, Cloudfy CEO
Online and offline processes must work seamlessly, and each customer’s experience must be personalized with tailored pricing, relevant offers, recommendations and prompts for repurchasing.
Integration and automation are the keys to delivering outstanding customer experiences. Cloudfy’s SaaS model is certainly well-placed to meet this requirement, allowing businesses to stay at the forefront of technology with scope for growth, customization and agile innovation.
Digitally enabled sales, support and customer service teams still have an essential role in delivering the exceptional levels of customer experience that are becoming differentiators.
B2B ecommerce with Cloudfy
Rob Williams explains how Cloudfy is responding to this fast-changing environment:
“Cloudfy’s core functionality is easy and feature rich for B2B companies. It’s more important than ever in the current climate to have an effective, scalable and reliable ecommerce platform. For some businesses, their future will rely on the choices they make now”.
Cloudfy’s out-of-the-box integrations and powerful application programming interface for bespoke customization provide outstanding flexibility and regular updates will continue to refine and enhance the overall package.
Cloudfy can now power multiple website storefronts from the easy-to-use dashboard. B2B companies can seamlessly deliver improved customer experiences and reach new markets with multiple domains and tailored catalogs. Multiple languages, currencies, payment and shipping methods can all be supported.
Cloudfy’s flexible and responsive design tools have always been popular and the latest updates to Page Designer ensure that everything from your homepage to your social media integrations provide rich, on-brand content that is optimized for fast performance.
Many businesses are facing the challenge of the increasing cost of acquiring new customers, making retaining existing customers an even greater priority. Customer loyalty programs can help you to retain your valued customers and increase their lifetime value. With Cloudfy you can offer loyalty points and promotions against your customers’ accounts, making sure they are relevant and add value to purchasing journeys.
While digital self-service might be ideal in some market sectors, many B2B transactions are extended and complex. When field sales teams can’t head out to meet their customers one way to bridge the gap is with comprehensive configure price quote (CPQ) functionality. Cloudfy’s enhanced CPQ feature, integrated with your customer relationship management and enterprise systems, allows you to automate quotes and to generate accurate pricing quickly.
Cloudfy’s functionality as a self-service portal has also been extended with the addition of a document store where, for example, contracts and sales agreements can be held for easy access at any time.
The Cloudfy ecosystem is also expanding thanks to the strong relationships with a growing number of leading expert companies. This has provided the foundation for a comprehensive library of app extensions and plug-ins. For example, Shipper HQ supports real-time calculations of shipping rates and delivery options. Shipstation can transform how you manage and fulfill orders while TaxJar streamlines organizing and calculating sales taxes.
Looking to the future
CEO Rob Williams says there are some clear signposts to future needs: “We have already developed a number of marketplace connections for businesses that are looking for new transactional approaches. As market leaders look for simpler ways to streamline their inventory and extend their offer we expect our ‘build once and share’ approach to creating and testing connectors for major retailers to be in demand.”
“Machine learning and artificial intelligence continue to have an impact on the development of ecommerce, and they’re not just for business to consumer transactions. Predictive recommendations, based not only on buying histories but also on search behavior and even wider search trends, are going to be a key part of B2B ecommerce.”
“B2B commerce companies are also recognizing the benefits of D2C. The direct relationship provides valuable customer data and opportunities to test and refine products and marketing approaches. Making D2C an integral part of a forward-thinking sales strategy and using the latest and best tools to deliver it successfully will be an opportunity for differentiation.”
Cloudfy continues to focus on delivering integrated B2B ecommerce solutions for manufacturing, distribution and service businesses worldwide.
If you would like to know more, talk to one of our experts today.
