AOTC EP 36 - Salesforce Commerce Cloud: One-Stop Shopping For Both B2B and B2C Companies

In 2020, consumers spent 375 billion dollars in the U.S. shopping online – give or take a few million. Much of that was driven by the pandemic and major online companies like Amazon and one or two others absolutely killed it. Because of the pandemic, more and more brick and mortar retailers were forced to the online marketplace – with great results. Today, ecommerce is so routine that the vast majority of consumers use it every day. There is now a shift into the business realm as companies are beginning to see how they can benefit from an online marketplace for their customers: distributors, wholesalers, and suppliers and how companies can find new outlets for their products or services in untapped markets around the world. In this episode, we’re going to look at Salesforce Commerce Cloud, a powerful product that has been designed to allow B2B as well as B2C commerce on the same platform and what’s involved in implementing it. Guest Bio Liam Huston wears two hats – as Gerent’s Practice Lead for Commerce Cloud and as a Solution Architect. Liam’s experience with online commerce stretches back more than 20 years. He has been a CTO, CEO, and company founder in the ecommerce field. He was a Demandware developer for Guthy-Renker, the global direct marketing giant and has also created the means for ecommerce platforms to integrate with beacons to create an enriched proximity-based consumer experience – what we now refer to as geo-fencing. Key Ideas 01:39 – Reasons why B2B companies benefit enormously from an online commerce presence 04:10 – What do businesses need to consider if they want to move to a B2B platform of operation? 06:43 – Why Salesforce Commerce Cloud eliminates the need for two different platforms: one for B2B and one for B2C 09:19 – The strengths that Salesforce Commerce Cloud brings to the table to drive revenues higher 17:35 – How an experienced implementation partner like Gerent can help guide and shape the client’s solution for optimal results