By Will Lovatt, GM EMEA at PROS

The world is currently an extremely volatile place. Brexit, COVID-19 and civil unrest continue to change the landscape in which businesses find themselves in, navigating through the ups and downs, taking stock of the impact both in the immediate and long term. The truth is, the road ahead is going to be bumpy, with many obstacles still to be faced, and even more so for traditional human-to-human industries like manufacturing and B2B sales. Over the last few years, buyers have steadily been shifting purchasing from traditional face-to-face sales representatives to self-service through digital channels, transforming the sales function. With limits on meeting customers in-person, and complexities associated with tariffs and trade, digital selling technology powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) is crucial.

The recent pandemic has drastically accelerated eCommerce and digital transformation, highlighting the importance for business agility. Digital transformation plans must focus on customer-facing initiatives underpinned by digital selling and eCommerce channels – or else businesses risk losing out to their competitors.

The COVID-19 influence

According to our COVID-19 B2B Buying Trends Report, 37% of businesses have been primarily purchasing through digital channels since the start of the pandemic, a 29% increase compared to before. That figure is expected to rise to 40% post-pandemic. But not all business suppliers were prepared for this quick shift. In fact, two-thirds of buyers felt they faced challenges in working with some of their vendors through the pandemic. With more uncertainty on the horizon, further maximising digital commerce solutions will be necessary to give businesses the best chance of survival.

There is an urgent need for all avenues of selling to ultimately come together into a defined, holistic omnichannel execution model that supports business recovery from not only COVID-19 but any future crisis or issue, including Brexit. Enabling these channels and self-serve interactions requires a clear understanding of, and personalisation to customer expectations and behaviours. Volatility means that many buyers are changing their habits overnight, which requires a dynamic response from suppliers introducing new systems and tools. Vendors who have reliably demonstrated that their desired goods or services can be delivered as communicated, are more likely to complete transactions in times of crisis.

AI-based forecasting models

Delivering trust and transparency requires underlying technology well beyond just the completion of a digital transaction. Buyers are increasingly demanding immediate responsiveness, transparency, and proactivity from their suppliers. They want fast, personalised responses to their inquiries, they want immediate transparency into inventory and pricing, and they prefer vendors that proactively share opportunities for them to gain more value through the supplier. Not to mention the fact that buyer preferences are constantly in flux during crisis.

AI is one such solution which is helping businesses adjust to this rapidly changing world. AI helps minimise the assumptions and the ‘gut feelings’ found in traditional B2B businesses. It enables an organisation to look at a huge amount of data, both internally and externally, and extract early patterns and trends that humans may otherwise miss or misinterpret.

AI offers a means to establish a view on the whole sales process, across every channel, as well as outside factors which can impact that process. It can offer a view on who to sell to, a market-relevant, winning price for a product, what volume of product should be expected and through which channels. Taking things one step further, suppliers can use AI to build forecasting models that predict and anticipate customer needs, so they can be met across any channel the customer chooses to engage through. They can also collect and use data on purchases over time to develop more personalised offers that truly align with those customers’ wants and needs, leading to greater customer trust and loyalty over time. Having this view enables businesses to pivot focus and resource quickly, in the event of crises.

The ability to anticipate what a customer needs – and to make that available across their preferred channel – creates a consistent buying experience, and in turn builds better business resiliency. The volatility of the current environment and that businesses will continue to face in the near future, has thrown traditional commercial methods on their heads and has forced a rapid push on digital transformation, especially across the enablement of eCommerce. Organisations that leverage AI to develop forecasting models and execute on the right omni-channel selling strategy will take comfort in knowing they have a better chance of weathering the unpredictable dynamics of any economic storm.