The Four Stages of Multi-Vendor Commerce Selling Maturity

Earlier this year, Logicbroker released the Multi-Vendor Commerce Maturity Curve. This curve is designed to help executives better understand how their eCommerce program measures to others in the industry on a conceptual level. 

From early adoption to advanced optimization, each stage of the MVC Maturity Curve presents unique challenges and opportunities for scalability, vendor management, and customer satisfaction. However, there was one glaring hole in the MVC Curve, and that was for sellers. MVC maturity is not the same for retailers and sellers, and so we’re releasing our MVC Selling Maturity Curve to help suppliers get a better sense of where they are in the market. 

I put this disclaimer on the previous curve, and feel It’s just as important here:

Before we get into the different stages of maturity, it’s perhaps more important to recognize that no matter where your organization is on this curve, you have an opportunity for growth. I’ve personally spoken with hundreds of organizations during my tenure at Logicbroker and I can confidently say I’ve seen organizations at the lower end of the maturity curve crush it and organizations at the top end fail due to not understanding their target audience. 

This maturity curve should not be taken from the viewpoint of “moving forward is always better.” We built this handy chart as a good way to measure where your org is today, where you want to be tomorrow, and the steps you could take to help your organization evolve from standard practices. 

Now, here are the four stages of Multi-Vendor Commerce Selling Maturity. 

Stage #1 – Lagging

Starting on the “lagging” side of the maturity curve, we have sellers who are selling only direct to consumer (D2C). However, perhaps lagging is a misnomer as new and emerging brands generally start here. The cost to launch a new brand in this model is initially very low, and it helps build brand awareness, refines the company image, and helps quickly identify the organization’s target audience.

D2C sites are the most common way to sell across the globe, but they do not encompass additional channels to sell B2B, through other retailers, or on the world’s largest marketplaces, where globally, total sales are expected to account for 59% of global eCommerce by 2027.

Because a D2C site is the beginning, the next logical step is to start selling through partners or marketplaces. Thus, we’ve reached the next stage of maturity in manually launching an omnichannel eCommerce ecosystem. Here we find the next issue—an over-reliance on manual inputs. 

This remains firmly in the lagging stage because it requires your team to enter every process and channel manually. Whether it’s fulfillment through retail or selling on a marketplace, after just a few orders of manual input and having to categorize and manually select goods to be listed on third-party sites, you’re wasting time and money that can be better spent finding additional channels to grow into. 

Stage #2 – State of the Market

As we move further down the maturity curve, we come to where a vast majority of sellers are currently operating. We call this the “state of the market.” 

The first step in this section of MVC selling maturity lies in strategic retailer integrations. What this means is your key partners, those who you primarily do business with, are now fully integrated with your internal systems. No longer do you have to manually upload inventory for every SKU, or dig through dozens of emails to find communications. 

What this typically looks like in the field is the standard Logicbroker connection. A retailer signs up with our program and asks us to onboard ‘Retailer A’. Once that retailer is onboarded, 90% of their given fulfillment is automated within the portal or selected integration method. This stage gives suppliers the best chance to grow with highest volume accounts, while also providing them the small flexibility they need to look for other sales channels. 

As they get more advanced, sellers often turn to the implementation of a multi-vendor commerce platform to facilitate all of their commerce needs. As in our previous example, once that supplier is onboarded and sees the benefits of a platform like Logicbroker, the next logical step has always been a rapid expansion of our partnership through connecting all of their connectable retailers and marketplaces allowing for scale across a set of broader external sales channels. 

The last piece of the “state of the market” curve lies in social selling. Because of the native connections a MVC platform can offer, suppliers nowadays are creating content and enabling automation specifically around non-traditional marketplaces like TikTok Shop, Facebook, Sune, Flip, and more to capitalize on the growing wave of social selling. In the U.S., nearly 54% of Gen Z shoppers will find gifts on TikTok Shop alone. This influence that social media has over the average consumer is the reason social selling is now dictating consumer expectations. 

Stage #3 – Leading 

Our next stop is a rapid expansion of multi-vendor commerce strategy. This is where organizations look cross-functionally to see what else can be automated in their commerce ecosystem. Often, this means expanding automation from just orders, shipments, and inventory availability into other areas like marketplace listings and returns management. Essentially, adopting MVC to integrate into our IT, supply chain, eCommerce, merchandising, and sales strategy to help you reach target customers & partners. 

We’ve helped many organizations move into this tier, and the reality is the more you come to appreciate the automation MVC can bring, the easier it is to accept the help. 

For example, let’s say you’re utilizing Logicbroker to connect your Shopify account with your Logicbroker Portal. In the state of the market, you will have automated connectivity to your Shopify account to process orders and synchronized inventory, but now you are expanding past this to take the products that you sell on Shopify and list them on other channels automatically. 

This leads us to the next step, inventory optimization. Once a more universal connection is established, sellers in this category can leverage retailer & product performance analytics to optimize their inventory allocation across all high-performing, high-margin channels. Essentially, the seller is taking every piece of eCommerce data running through their MVC connection, and finding new ways to shift products between their dropship, marketplace, and D2C channels based on profitability and demand. 

This step leads beautifully to selling complementary products. Because, at this point, the seller is far enough along in MVC maturity to have proper access to data feeds, performance analytics, and partner networks, they can begin expanding their own D2C sites to sell other complimentary products that drives site traffic and improves conversion , while delighting customers for a more complete shopping experience. 

Samsung is perhaps the best example of this, as they rapidly expanded their own D2C capabilities to include accompanying products. Now, instead of finding just a Samsung TV, you can now find Bluetooth speakers, sound bars, and other accessories to complete your entire room setup. 

Stage #4 – Visioning

Because we live in a time when shipping costs are dramatically impacting how and why retailers & suppliers do business, sellers need to optimize shipping & returns as they capitalize on visionary MVC maturity. 

This stage looks at geo-location data and delivery methods to optimize the entire returns and shipping fulfillment process. For sellers of large furniture & appliances, this is vital as the larger the products the higher the cost of fulfillment. For B2B sellers, this is even more important due to the need for pallet or full truckload shipments. Either way, utilizing MVC data to optimize shipping and returns marks a turning point for visionary sellers as it enables them to dig further into the next stage, profitability. 

Profitable value creation across all channels marks the end of the seller maturity curve simply because there is nowhere else to go. With each stage behind you, a seller can dynamically execute a MVC strategy to maximize ROI, lift sales, and deliver exceptional customer experiences across all channels. What this means is a well-oiled machine has the ability to give you data and analytics into every aspect of your ecosystem from before & after the sale to maximize potential customers, return customers, and lifetime value of all your customers. 

Learn More About MVC Maturity

No matter where you are on the curve, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or book some time with Logicbroker’s Solutions Engineering team by filling out a form on Logicbroker.com. We’d love to sit down and see where efficiencies can be found and how to move your organization across the maturity curve to where you need to be. 

About Logicbroker

Logicbroker is a premier multi-vendor commerce platform that seamlessly connects trading partners regardless of integration types. Our modern solutions empower retailers and brands to take control of their customer experience by harnessing and analyzing vital first-party data, reducing inventory risk, and curating their expanded assortment. By improving the visibility into our client’s commerce programs, Logicbroker can better position retailers and brands for transformative growth.

As business needs and demand shift, Logicbroker provides the ability to quickly switch suppliers and product fulfillment between 3P to 1P and responsibly find new sources of inventory that uphold your brand integrity and meet your delivery promise. ​We work with mid-market and Enterprise manufacturers and retailers across a number of verticals including Health & Wellness, Home Improvement, Consumer Electronics, Toys & Babies, and Consumer Packaged Goods and service brands such as Samsung, Victoria’s Secret, The Vitamin Shoppe, Walgreens, Ace Hardware, and BBQ Guys.