B2B v. B2C Supply Chains

B2B vs. B2C Supply Chain Introduction In the era of technology, business has been going a long way and developing rapidly. In the past, the physical store was the only way to open and operate the business. However, the Internet has changed all of this, and now companies can use technology to reach customers and other business around the world. This brought about a drastic increase in the world economy. In 2003, the business-to-business (B2B) business reached $ 1.4 trillion. This is $ 90.1 billion compared to business to consumer (B2C) (Naraine, R. 2003).

There are many similarities in the supply chain of B2B and B2C, but some of these differences include synergies of fairly direct pricing and purchasing activities of the B2B supply chain and most B2C businesses . Indeed, the "upstream" supply chain of the final sales transaction creates more volume, usually more participants are involved in the system, and the nature and behavior of the customer differs between the two types of business. B2B customers need more participation than typical B2C customers and may require more input before purchasing

As far as participants are concerned, B2C supply chain operations are usually simpler than B2B. They mainly exist between business (seller) and customer. Activities of the B2C supply chain cover various aspects such as customer service and support, support for procurement systems, but the size of the business is usually less than B2B. There are many similarities in the supply chain of B2B and B2C, but some of these differences include synergies of fairly direct pricing and purchasing activities of the B2B supply chain and most B2C businesses . Indeed, the "upstream" supply chain of the final sales transaction creates more volume, usually more participants are involved in the system, and the nature and behavior of the customer differs between the two types of business. B2B customers need more participation than typical B2C customers and may require more input before purchasing

B2B transaction volume is much higher than B2C transaction volume. Its main reason is that in a typical supply chain there are many B2B transactions, including subcomponents and raw materials, in particular there is only one B2C transaction to sell the final product to the end customer. For example, automobile manufacturers are conducting numerous B2B transactions including purchasing tires, glass for windshields, rubber hoses for automobiles. The last deal is a finished car sold to consumers, this is a single (B2C) deal.