B2B integration regularly causing manufacturers million-dollar losses, says research
Two in five manufacturers lost over $500,000 in 2020, and one in five lost over $1 million due to poor B2B integration
Eighty-nine percent of manufacturing companies are reporting business losses due to B2B integration issues, with 18% reporting losses of over $1 million annually, according to a report from software company Cleo.
The report reveals the depth of the crisis in the industry, as too many companies are struggling to achieve supply chain agility and visibility, which is essential to manage today’s e-commerce-driven market disruption.
The report also found that 99% of manufacturers had supply chain issues over the last 18 months, and 61% are updating their integration solutions in response to this.
All of the respondents (100%) said they have committed to a digital transformation strategy going forward, with 99% believing digitisation can help ensure business continuity. Seventy percent have at least ten important integration initiatives going on.
The report says that connecting and integrating the core revenue-producing business processes of manufacturers and their partners, customers, carriers, marketplaces and applications into a coherent ecosystem frequently leads to benefits. Respondents noted that these include faster order processing (56%), happier customers (51%), greater process automation (46%), cost savings (45%) and e-commerce enablement (40%).
“Challenges with onboarding new partners, insufficient business process visibility, and revenue losses due to poor integration technology are all hampering manufacturing companies today,” said Tushar Patel, chief marketing officer with Cleo. “Our latest survey of more than 200 C-level and integration experts shows that B2B integration is broken across the manufacturing supply chain, prompting companies to re-evaluate their digital transformation strategy and adopt a more modern integration approach as they adjust to today’s volatile market conditions.”