The healthcare product industry hasn’t adopted business to business (B2B) ecommerce as quickly as some other sectors. However, it’s expanding quickly as consumers, healthcare providers and governments turn to ecommerce to improve procurement processes. It’s also recognized as a powerful tool to increase sales and improve customer service, helping to attract and retain buyers.
Traditional in-person sales channels and accounts teams still play an important role in accessing new markets and building customer relationships. However, faced with ongoing skills shortages, around the clock customer self-service helps you make the most of your resources.
As a complex and highly regulated sector you can use B2B ecommerce to meet these stringent requirements. You can help healthcare product buyers find key information when they need it. Once they discover you online you can guide them to the right items and streamline their purchasing journey.
The healthcare products sector is growing rapidly and you’ll want the best tools to help you increase sales. Regulations, scientific innovation, and global competition make your job much harder; Cloudfy can help.
Cloudfy is a B2B ecommerce platform purpose designed for complex ordering. It provides advanced B2B ecommerce features so you can simplify and streamline your healthcare product sales. Mobile sales tools for your customers and field sales representatives make online ordering easy and convenient. To meet your compliance obligations, you can deliver transparent product safety data and implement serialized stock management. For customers who place regular repeat orders you can also offer convenient subscription ordering.
By integrating your ecommerce platform with your enterprise (ERP) system you can gain end-to-end visibility of your operations. Automated sales order processing makes sales administration more efficient and you’ll almost eliminate order errors.
With streamlined workflows, efficiency and customer satisfaction will both improve. As a cloud-based solution Cloudfy is also scalable, so it can grow with your business.
Top nine B2B ecommerce features for healthcare product manufacturers and distributors
From reaching new audiences for innovative healthcare products to helping consumers meet their personal wellbeing needs, online sales are important.
Your customers need exceptional buying experiences from product discovery to easy checkouts. As your business grows you need flexibility to meet the needs of new and existing customers.
Here are nine key features you should look out for when you’re choosing your next B2B ecommerce platform.
Online discovery
ERP integration ensures your site is always up to date with current product descriptions, inventory levels and pricing. Combined with effective search engine optimization or SEO, you’ll help customers find what they want more easily. You can provide bespoke menus, filters and predictive search tools to make buyers’ jobs easier.
Customer self-service
Personalized user experiences build customer loyalty, simplify order management and increase customer satisfaction. With an easy customer login your buyers have all the information they need at their fingertips. They can save favorites lists of their frequently bought items and Excel templates to upload or email for automatic processing. They can view, download and print their account information and pay easily online, saving everyone time and money.
Inventory visibility
With all your inventory information in one place, you’ll minimize orders for out of stock and discontinued items. You can provide daily, weekly, or monthly email exports of your stock counts. Your customers can view, download or import your stock data into their own business systems for easy ordering. They can also sign up to ‘back in stock’ notifications for key items.
Flexible pricing
Custom pricing tailored to each customer’s contract simplifies their purchasing journey. You can integrate pricing from your ERP or use tools within your site’s administration dashboard.
Mobile sales
A mobile app for your field sales representatives provides instant access to product data, stock levels and customer-specific pricing. Because they can work on- or offline they can update notes and complete orders whenever they visit customers and trade events. They can monitor their performance wherever they are to help them achieve their targets. A customer ordering app also allows customers to build-up their orders when they’re away from their desks. They can scan barcodes and item numbers to simplify the whole process.
Compliance controls
Customers can easily view, print and download key product safety information from an easy to use dashboard. They can access essential data about the use, safety and compliance of your products. For restricted items you can control product combinations and quantities to meet your compliance obligations. If you need to track critical information like batch numbers and expiration dates you can use serialized inventory ordering tools. Simply generate serialized license numbers using your preferred software and apply them via your ERP system or administration dashboard.
Subscription ordering
Your customers can become frustrated when they frequently upload the same order information. Subscription ordering saves them time and provides reliable regular revenue for your business. Once the frequency, duration and lead time is set for each subscription it’s all automated. If orders need approval before dispatch you can remind customers before each shipment.
Marketplace connectors
You may find buyers for your healthcare products anywhere in the world. Marketplaces are popular because they allow you to reach new customers. You can launch new products quickly and efficiently and buyers can easily discover and compare items. However, to control their online experiences and build direct relationships you’ll want them to visit your B2B ecommerce website. Marketplace connectors provide easy access to leading providers and retailer partners while you stay in control.
Direct to consumer (D2C) sales
Selling directly to your consumers improves your understanding of their needs and increases loyalty. D2C selling provides unique opportunities for personalization, special offers and promotions. You can create a valuable additional revenue stream and collect useful information to support your retail partners.
Harvest Healthcare manufactures and sells products designed specifically for the UK’s community care sector. Their products help people receive the care they need at home. They stock thousands of products and parts, ready to dispatch for next-day delivery. The company chose Cloudfy to provide a wholesale ordering portal and integration with their Sage 200 ERP.
B2B ecommerce for your healthcare products business from Cloudfy
When you choose Cloudfy you benefit from powerful B2B ecommerce features in the cloud. You reduce your in-house IT requirements and receive regular security and performance updates so you’re always up to date. Pre-built integrations for the leading ERP systems mean it’s fast and effective to implement tailored solutions. Sales order automation allows you to improve customer service, increase loyalty and minimize your costs. With a powerful application programming interface (API) you also have flexibility to customize your site as your business grows.
Find out why Cloudfy is the best B2B ecommerce platform choice for healthcare product Manufacturers and Distributors. Book a free demonstration today.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can streamline sales and deliver improved customer experiences with the right B2B ecommerce tools. To meet all your complex challenges the first step is to consider your business requirements and budget. You’ll also want to look at the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of cloud-based and on-premises options. It’s important to look at the quality of the B2B ecommerce features, integrations and extensions available. Many platforms were originally designed for simpler online shopping journeys and might not meet your needs. Since your healthcare product catalog is probably large and complex you will need the right tools to keep all the details and stock availability up to date. You’ll want to deliver excellent buying journeys, efficient payments, strong security and easy repeat ordering.
No, you can simplify selling directly to your consumers as well as trade partners with B2B ecommerce. With a purpose designed platform like Cloudfy you can show all or part of your catalog online with retail prices. Consumers can simply use a guest check-out facility to place orders and pay. Your registered trade customers can login to see their contract prices, access their account, place repeat orders and make payments.
To some extent, your budget will depend on your business requirements. However, it’s important to look at the total cost of ownership, not just the up-front costs. If security is a very high priority for your business you might consider an on-premises solution, but this is costly. You’ll need all the in-house resources to manage and maintain your platform. A software as a service (SaaS) solution can be much more cost effective because everything is done for you in the cloud. You don’t need in-house infrastructure and technical experts. You’ll receive regular security and technical updates so you can focus resources on business growth.
