Is B2B2C ecommerce an alien and complex concept for you? You might think so, but we bet it is not!
Every brand today is looking for ways to escape the old-fashioned way of doing business and build something that can disrupt the ecommerce market.
B2B2C ecommerce is one such business model that has been the talk of the town.
Witnessing the success of some mega brands like Zomato and Ola, brands are quick to experiment with the B2B2C marketplace and other hybrid business models.
Don’t take our word for it.
See for yourself:
- 25.49% of brands are shifting to a B2B2C model
- 39.22% of manufacturers are considering adopting the B2B2C model
- 42.3% of brands’ second main sales channel was B2B2C
The versatile B2B2C ecommerce business model has made its way into the Indian ecommerce industry. Many brands have been considering the model to set their business on the road to success. Now if you are wondering how the business model has been successful, let us first understand the business setup.
Table of Contents
What is a B2B2C ecommerce business model
B2B2C ecommerce is a hybrid business model that is a combination of B2B and B2C ecommerce models. The parent B2B company onboards multiple sellers/vendors as its partners and offers a B2C buying experience to the end customers. The B2B company leverages its partners' sales channels to reach a wider network customer base.
The business setup provided by the B2B brand helps the sellers and vendors carry out their business operations seamlessly. And the parent B2B brand is able to reach the end customers through the sellers.
The B2B2C ecommerce solutions offer a ton of growth opportunities to businesses. Here is how you can benefit by adopting the given business model:
- Establish an additional revenue stream besides your B2B sales channel that has lengthy sales process
- Grow your audience base by scaling to new products and services
- Boost your sales and profit by leveraging the existing dealer network of your partners
- Increase customer loyalty manifold by catering to diverse audiences
- Get access to a rich database of B2C buyers and implement changes to enhance customer experience
- Reduce your overhead costs by leveraging the warehousing and supply chain facilities of your manufacturers
Building a B2B2C ecommerce platform for your business can definitely be a winning strategy for your enterprise business. However, the model can not be adopted by any and every business. It is suitable for businesses that manufacture or provide products/services while having a large dealership.
5 Successful B2B2C ecommerce businesses in India
With so many Indian businesses adopting the B2B2C ecommerce business model in recent years like Swiggy and Zomato, we have started using these brands like verbs. Let us see in detail the success story of top 5 B2B2C companies in India.
Ola
Ola is a giant service provider and a leading example of the B2B2C service business model. It has solved the commuting problem for millions of India. Founded in the year 2010 in Bengaluru, the giant service aggregation platform ranks third among thousands of its competitors.
- 200 million customers served
- 2.5 million driver-partners on the platform
- 9.8 billion Indian rupees operating revenue in 2021
- $20 million - latest funding in Feb 2022
- $4.8B - company’s valuation as on May 10, 2023
Source: Tracxn
The app-based B2B2C ecommerce platform, Ola, partners with various cab, auto and bike owners and drivers who offer their services. The users use the platform to book rides by providing their location, personal information, and more. The users can track their rides in real-time and pay the drivers through various payment methods.
Zomato
Zomato is the heartthrob of every Indian today and does not require an introduction for sure. It was launched in 2008 as a restaurant search platform. Zomato is however a leading food delivery app operating in more than 500 cities and towns with almost 150,000 active food delivery restaurant listings and 170,000 active delivery partners.
- Rs 2 crore net profit for the quarter ended June 2023
- 71% YoY revenue increase from 2022
- $6.1 B - latest funding in Nov 2022
Source: Tracxn
The B2B2C ecommerce food delivery giant had an order volume of 535 million in the financial year 2022 with a 124% increase from the previous year. Zomato also enables users to rate, review, discover restaurants and browse their menus on its mobile application.
Dunzo
Dunzo has been the go-to delivery solution for millions of people. The company claims to deliver a wide range of products like fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, snacks, beverages, cooking oil, sauces, spreads, pet supplies, baby care products, etc in just nineteen minutes in major cities in India.
- $75M - latest funding as in April 2023
- $757M - valuation as on May 05, 2022
Source: Tracxn
The B2B2C ecommerce solution for delivery is famous mostly among the age group of 18-34-year-olds with 40x growth in the last two years. The annual active user base of the Dunzo delivery app grew from 2.7 in 2019 to 5.1 million in 2020, with operating revenue amounting to 543 million Indian rupees in India in the fiscal year 2022.
Urban Company
Founded in the year 2014 in Gurgaon, Urban Company is ranked 2nd among its 2600 competitors. It is the largest app-based provider of multiple local services. The users can find services like beauty/wellness, home repair, yoga training, cleaning, pest control etc on the B2B2C ecommerce platform.
- 1.8 million total visits in June 2023
- $255M - latest funding on Apr 27, 2021
- $2.18B - company’s valuation on Apr 30, 2021
Source: Tracxn
With an annual revenue of $1 billion, Urban Company is the largest Indian online platform that connects customers with local professionals for a range of services. The commission's model on Urban Company ranges from 8.5 to 25%.
Swiggy
With over 20 million monthly active users, Swiggy is another food delivery B2B2C ecommerce giant. The online food ordering and delivery platform is a Bangalore-based company that was launched in 2014. Today Swiggy operates in more than 500 cities in India.
- 20 million monthly active users
- Rs 5,704.9 crores revenue in financial year 2022
- $700M - latest funding as in Jan 2022
- $5.5B - Swiggy’s valuation as on May 08, 2023
Source: Tracxn
Swiggy has also launched its grocery delivery component of fresh produce and other everyday essential household needs. It has also launched a pick-up and drop delivery service, Swiggy Genie for its users (individual or businesses) to send or receive packages within the city.
With a lot more B2B2C business models around us, the ecommerce industry has revolutionized in ways unknown. And you would certainly not want to stay behind your competition but to stay on top of the evolving ecommerce trends.
How to build your own B2B2C ecommerce platform
The B2B2C ecommerce model is a versatile ecommerce setup that brings new growth opportunities and enables your brand to boost sales. Wonder how to pivot your enterprise brand to the B2B2C business model?
To launch your own hybrid business model, you need a robust ecommerce solution provider like StoreHippo that comes with comprehensive B2B and B2C ecommerce solutions. With a feature-rich platform that offers a plug-and-play solution for your enterprise brand, you can go to the market in record time and build your own B2B2C ecommerce platform.
Let us look at a few out-of-the-box features offered by StoreHippo to help you launch or pivot your existing platform to a unique B2B2C solution:
- Next-gen ecommerce technology and MACH architecture to handle complex business requirements
- Headless architecture that provides creative control to build customized and personalized buyer journeys
- Mobile-first approach that helps build mobile apps direct from the dashboard and build PWA stores that look, feel and work like mobile apps
- Comprehensive multi-vendor solutions to manage multiple vendors and sellers on the B2B2C marketplace
- Multi-store ecommerce solutions to help you set up B2B and B2C stores easily
- In-built support for diverse business models like B2B2C
- SEO tools to help rank higher on SERPS and various other marketing tools like discount engine, abandoned cart follow up, blog engine etc
- 300+ in-built features including comprehensive product management, inventory management etc
- 300+ API endpoints to ensure seamless integrations with best-in-breed marketing, CRM, accounting, analytics etc
- 60+ pre-integrated payment gateways and other digital payment options like digital wallets, UPI etc.
- 30+ pre-integrated shipping channels and built-in delivery boy management solution to handle a fleet of delivery boys
- PCI-DSS complaint B2B2C ecommerce platform that offers free SSL certificate and creates secure stores
StoreHippo ecommerce solutions provide a winning edge to the businesses with its easy-to-use platform. You can seamlessly implement and run even complex set-ups for your enterprise business with StoreHippo.
Conclusion
Looking at the success stories of top B2B2C ecommerce businesses from India, we bet it is tickling you at the right spots. Well, why not, the versatility of the hybrid model makes it the right choice for your large-volume enterprise business.
Although it might be a tad bit challenging to adopt the business-to-business-to-consumer business model, with the right B2B2C ecommerce solutions at hand, you can just go about creating your own niche in the ecommerce industry. StoreHippo is a well-rounded ecommerce solution provider that helps you align the B2B and B2C models to craft a new revenue stream and create a smooth buying experience for your end customers.
Are you ready to create your own B2B2C ecommerce platform for your enterprise business? Explore the features from StoreHippo by starting your 14-day free trial now.
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