This three page essay (excluding References) examines differences between business-to-business (B2B), and business-to-customer (B2C) business models. It describes their primary characteristics, how they fundamentally differ, and how “electronic tools” such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) have changed relationships for better or worse.
B2B vs. B2C & AWS The primary characteristic of the business-to-business model is that business transactions are conducted with other businesses, whereas business transactions are conducted directly with customers in the business-to-customer (or consumer) model (Kumar & Raheja, 2012, p. 1). For example, in B2B, a manufacturer of widgets might sell them to a retail chain who in turn sells them to its customers. The retail chain will order a large supply of widgets to guarantee …show more content…
For example, Amazon uses its e-commerce platform to sell merchandise they have bought B2B from a manufacturer, B2C to consumers. Unlike Amazon’s brick and mortar competitors, Amazon also makes their e-commerce platform available to manufacturers to use directly for B2C (Amazon, 2018). Amazon touts a number of seller success stories such as the Ann Arbor T-shirt Company who used Amazon’s e-commerce platform to quintuple their annual revenue in a year (Amazon, 208). The Ann Arbor T-shirt Company could have tried to strike B2B deals making store brand designs for buyers at the top mass apparel retailers in the US, including TJX Companies (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Sierra Trading Post, etc.), Kohl’s, Ross Stores, and J.C. Penney Company (NRF Stores, 2017). However, their founders found success and it sounds like a sense of personal satisfaction going B2C. Amazon wins because they make money either way. One can speculate that Amazon wins more with the Ann Arbor T-shirt Company as a B2B platform customer since they don’t have to assume the liability of a large t-shirt inventory in their
B2B vs. B2C & AWS The primary characteristic of the business-to-business model is that business transactions are conducted with other businesses, whereas business transactions are conducted directly with customers in the business-to-customer (or consumer) model (Kumar & Raheja, 2012, p. 1). For example, in B2B, a manufacturer of widgets might sell them to a retail chain who in turn sells them to its customers. The retail chain will order a large supply of widgets to guarantee …show more content…
For example, Amazon uses its e-commerce platform to sell merchandise they have bought B2B from a manufacturer, B2C to consumers. Unlike Amazon’s brick and mortar competitors, Amazon also makes their e-commerce platform available to manufacturers to use directly for B2C (Amazon, 2018). Amazon touts a number of seller success stories such as the Ann Arbor T-shirt Company who used Amazon’s e-commerce platform to quintuple their annual revenue in a year (Amazon, 208). The Ann Arbor T-shirt Company could have tried to strike B2B deals making store brand designs for buyers at the top mass apparel retailers in the US, including TJX Companies (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Sierra Trading Post, etc.), Kohl’s, Ross Stores, and J.C. Penney Company (NRF Stores, 2017). However, their founders found success and it sounds like a sense of personal satisfaction going B2C. Amazon wins because they make money either way. One can speculate that Amazon wins more with the Ann Arbor T-shirt Company as a B2B platform customer since they don’t have to assume the liability of a large t-shirt inventory in their