How B2B companies benefit from the platform economy
It is the heart of every village, every town: the marketplace. Goods are traded here, mostly from agriculture. Everything you need can be found in one place and at reasonable prices. The idea of the marketplace is more relevant than ever in the digital world. Suppliers can reach a large number of potential customers in one fell swoop, who in turn can obtain products and services here that they would otherwise have to search for at great expense. We like to use such marketplaces in our private lives: we buy goods via Amazon Marketplace, drive with Uber or stay in apartments around the world arranged by AirBnB. The marketplaces mentioned have one thing in common: neither Amazon, Uber nor AirBnB own all the goods, cars and apartments offered there, they usually just broker them.
Marketplaces in the digital world
In the digital world, marketplaces are also known as platforms because they often go beyond the idea of simply handling goods. These platforms have huge potential – even in B2B sectors. Although the economies of scale and therefore the savings potential are lower than with B2C platforms, this has the advantage that not just a few large companies can dominate this market. This is the conclusion of a 2021 study on B2B platforms by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which found that these platforms are currently evolving from transaction-based marketplaces to integrated platforms in the Internet of Things, with standardized interfaces and the aim of creating digital ecosystems. According to the authors of the study, the high level of industry expertise and access to machine and customer data provide German industry with good opportunities to successfully establish platforms in the B2B segment and thus expand its relatively high share of value creation in the future.
"The realeasy example goes beyond pure B2B marketplaces. It is an ecosystem for new services."
The platform economy has evolved over four generations:
What is a digital platform anyway and how have they developed?
- 1st generation: Transaction-centered marketplaces. These platforms bring competitors onto the same infrastructure and thus offer a comprehensive range of products. The marketplaces are basically lists of products, they offer simple search and filter functions as well as user ratings. B2C examples include Amazon and ImmoScout24, while B2B examples include Mercateo and XOM Materials, the marketplace of steel trader Klöckner&Co.
- 2nd generation: On these platforms, the roles of providers and consumers are dissolved. Platform customers can take on both roles. The platforms offer extended services such as contact options between participants. B2C examples are AirBnB or eBay.
- 3rd generation: These platforms are data-centric and connect users, devices and services, enabling new business models and revenues. These platforms offer automation, for example for matching or for bookings and transactions. They are interesting for B2B companies and services related to the Internet of Things. One B2B example is MAX from TK Elevator, which monitors elevators and calls the technician before the elevator breaks down. Another example is Schuler, which monitors its presses with sensors, also for predictive maintenance.
- 4th generation: In these ecosystems, all participants in the value chain provide their services together, although the participants do not necessarily have to know each other. Examples include the Apple and Google app stores, where tens of thousands of developers and partners can offer their apps to a global audience of millions. Apple and Google take care of the billing, as they could not afford these developments themselves. In the B2B sector, IoT operating systems such as MindSphere from Siemens should be mentioned here.
- But this is not the end of the development. The next generation is already just around the corner:
5th generation: These platforms, which are still in development, will bring new opportunities through automation and artificial intelligence, for example for increasing efficiency or in robotization.
How does the business model of a B2B platform work?
The type of monetization has also evolved with the platform generations: from free use in the first generation, to membership fees in the second generation, to increasing transaction fees in the third and fourth generation.
For the transformation of the German economy to be a success, established SMEs from the manufacturing sector need to be involved. Despite numerous positive examples, there is a reluctance on the part of SMEs in Germany, according to the Friedrich Ebert Foundation study. According to the study, concerns about data security, the IT skills shortage and the resulting lack of IT expertise, but not least the lack of awareness of the concrete economic opportunities of digitalization, are the main reasons.
The platform concept offers great opportunities, especially in sectors with many small and medium-sized companies that have a lot of catching up to do in terms of digitalization. One such sector is the housing industry. In this sector, many ideas for digital services, such as energy saving, have so far remained unused. Although there are many companies that offer the technology for this, the operators of rental apartments lack the overview to use these technologies.
Innovation made in Bochum: realeasy - the B2B platform
This is where realeasy comes in. The Bochum-based start-up has established a third-generation B2B platform that brings together suppliers and buyers of technologies and services for the digitalization of buildings and processes and for increasing energy efficiency and sustainability in the life cycle of buildings. In the open ecosystem, all market participants can enter into market approach, product and service alliances with each other. This creates network effects with significant added value for all participants. The platform is not a contractual partner, but only an intermediary and is financed exclusively from commissions.
“realeasy goes further than just marketplaces. It is an ecosystem for new services,” says Hamidreza Hosseini, CEO of ECODYNAMICS, which developed the platform for realeasy together with logicline. Hartmut Conrad, Managing Director of realeasy: “In future, sensor specialists, heating manufacturers, network operators and others will be able to compile unique offers with us that have never existed before.”
Digital transformation requires good preparation and agile implementation
Good preparation is crucial for a successful digital transformation in the company. Only if you are aware in advance which problems you want to solve for which target group can the implementation be successful. In addition, you should always keep the added value for your company in mind. Evaluate how your IoT solutions can generate long-term added value for your company.
