It’s no secret that business-to-business (B2B) buyer expectations have changed. No longer are disconnected and siloed buying experiences acceptable to the modern B2B buyer. Recent research shows that 63% of B2B buyers report that most of the experiences they have as a customer fall short of their expectations. However, to effectively change or digitally transform, companies are faced with the challenge of updating legacy systems and implementing modern solutions like Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

Evolving customer expectations for seamless omni-channel experiences, greater self-service options, and highly personalized buying journeys are forcing companies to rapidly overhaul outdated platforms, and it’s often the IT teams who end up responsible for leading these complex transformation projects, whether they are prepared or not. 

The Challenge Facing IT

For IT teams charged with managing the transition to new platforms, particularly B2B ecommerce ecosystems, the multitude of technical challenges can quickly become overwhelming without careful planning and support. One of the primary hurdles is integrating the commerce platform with existing Salesforce systems, such as Service Cloud and Sales Cloud. This process requires a deep understanding of the capabilities of each system, as well as the ability to map data flows and create seamless connections between them, ensuring every step of the customer’s buying experience is informed by data, whether that step in the journey is on or offline. 

Additionally, IT must architect reliable methods for data synchronization across systems of record while ensuring optimal interoperability. Strict performance SLAs will also put pressure on IT teams to conduct thorough load testing and capacity planning to confirm that sites can handle anticipated peak traffic without slowdowns. Rigorous security protocols and compliance demands further stack on top of an already heavy IT responsibility load tied to the project.

Without expertise across the numerous technical domains involved in B2B commerce implementations and upgrades, IT teams frequently struggle to deliver these multifaceted initiatives successfully without guided support. 

The Risk of Going It Alone

Attempting B2B commerce implementations without a trusted guide can often lead to unintended consequences. Well-intentioned IT groups who try tackling complex platform deployments and migrations solo frequently wind up wasting precious budgets as projects stall or go off the rails. Executive stakeholders lose patience when timelines slip as IT scrambles without enough specialized expertise. In worst case scenarios, the project fails and remediation requires expensive rework that delays and eats into the ROI that the organization set out to achieve. 

In our experience, the risks of failed implementations are too great for IT to gamble on. Finding the right external guidance to set projects up for success is imperative.

The Power of Partnership

To mitigate the risks and challenges associated with a B2B or D2C commerce implementation, organizations can greatly benefit from partnering with an experienced team like Saltbox. By leveraging the expertise and resources of a dedicated partner, IT teams can navigate the complexities of the implementation process with greater ease and confidence.

Saltbox offers a proven approach to B2B/D2C commerce implementations through its Saltbox Success System.

This effective and transparent implementation process is designed to guide organizations through every stage of the transformation journey, from initial planning and design to deployment and ongoing support. By collaborating via this structured and well-defined methodology, IT leaders can ensure that the project stays on track and delivers the desired outcomes.

Saltbox provides guided transformation services that help ease the stress of change for IT professionals. This includes comprehensive training and support to ensure that IT teams have the knowledge and skills necessary to manage the new application effectively. By working closely with a partner like Saltbox, organizations can benefit from a wealth of experience and best practices (including what not to do) that have been honed through decades of successful implementations.

The Results of Guided Transformation 

By leveraging an experienced implementation partner, IT earns credibility and praise by delivering seemingly overwhelming B2B commerce projects on time and on budget. The outside expertise in streamlining deployments while circumventing pitfalls enables IT leaders to confidently meet stakeholder expectations.  

Ongoing platform enhancements further optimize business value and revenue growth after go-live as well. With staff fully trained on administration and high-level configuration, internal IT teams gain autonomy to own continuous improvements. Outside help provides reliable counsel when more complex modifications are required.

Ultimately, IT becomes the hero enabling transformative sales capabilities through cutting-edge digital channels.

Customer-facing staff benefit from greater productivity and sales insights while customers reward the business with expanded order volumes. Standing up these mission-critical systems cement IT as an indispensable driver of organizational success.

Finding the Right Partner

Selecting an implementation partner with proven expertise in delivering B2B or D2C commerce solutions on Salesforce is a CIO’s ultimate insurance policy to maximize ROI from complex modernization projects. Trusted guidance gives IT confidence to own ongoing platform innovation rather than just one-time deployments.  

Expert partners like Saltbox provide the stepping stones for internal IT teams to establish definitive leadership over their organization’s digital commerce future. With the right guidance accelerating technology transformation, a seat at the executive table rightfully belongs to IT.