B2b Vs B2c

Over the years companies have been accustom to conducting business in a traditional manner where consumers’ would be greeted with a friendly smile at the front of the business owners’ doors. Now with the growth of technology and consumers using more of the internet, companies have realized that an employee’s smile is just not enough to bring in business. Instead, companies now have expanded their business to the internet so it may provide the product and services consumers are looking for. Unlike most store located in various domestic/global regions, the supply chain is very much different when providing product and services on a Business to consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) site. To elaborate this paper compare the different characteristics of the Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumers supply chain.

Supply Chain

In order to fully understand the characteristics of the B2B and B2C and compare the two, one must first understand the basic concept of a supply chain. A supply chain is a logistic network that consists of organizations, people, technology, and resources in creating, moving a product or service from supplier to consumer. (Wikepedia, 2008). Typically, a supply chain can consist of manufacturer, distributors, and retail outlets where each will take the role of turning raw material into a finished good and distributing them to meet consumer demand. For example, typically a manufacture will use raw material to create a specific part or item for the organization. Once complete the item will be sent to a distributor’s center where the item will be shipped to retail outlet as needed. Though this may sound to be a simple process, it can become very complex based the size of the organization and the products or service being provided.

Business to Consumer (B2C)

Now that the basic concepts of a supply chain have been discussed the next phase is to understand the characteristics of the Business to Customer (B2C). A Business to Consumer or business to Customer (B2C) is the activities of E-businesses serving end customers with products and/or services. (Wikepedia, 2008). Typically, a B2C supply chain is a portal that links customers to suppliers, where companies have the ability to offer their product and services on the internet market as a flexible way for consumer to view and purchase their product. For instance, if a customer is looking for a particular item or service, they may view and purchase it over the company’s internet site. It is there that the consumer will have the choice of having of having that product or service delivered directly to their home or business or be available for picked up at one of the businesses retail outlets. Some of the most common types of Business to Consumer websites are EBay, Amazon, Wal-Mart, or Best Buy. Consumer can visit any one of these site to search and purchase product they are looking