Shopware United Days 2022 – time of inspiration and sharing experience

Creative people, the newest technologies, motivation to take action, and a huge dose of positive energy. That is a short description of Shopware United Days 2022. What was unique about it, is that for the second time in a row we had the pleasure of being a partner of this one-of-a-kind event.

The practitioners and enthusiasts of the e‑commerce industry have met on-site in Kraków. The panels were focused on two thematic areas: B2B sales and international trade.

Shopware United Days 2022 aka e‑commerce facing new challenges

Digitalisation, expansion on foreign markets, and tech changing dynamically in the world, in which we are fighting inflation or delivery delays – those are just a few of the challenges and topics that Shopware Uniter Days 2022 attendees were discussing. Among invited guests, you could meet practitioners and enthusiasts of e‑commerce that together are creating a Shopware environment.

The speakers were sharing their knowledge during presentations and discussion panels, but there were also plenty of opportunities to chat behind the scenes or during the after party. 

Practical usage of various solutions was brought closer to the attendees as case studies. One was presented by Łukasz Białonoga and Przemysław Frorczyk. Our representatives were talking about Coffee Desk and Shopware 6 features. 

Can B2B and B2C inspire one another?

In one of the discussion panels, “Business to business, aka how B2B differs from B2C in e‑commerce?” invited guests were talking about differences and similarities between various ways of sales and cooperation with partners. They brought attention to the critical role of client relationships, which shouldn’t be put on the corner in e‑commerce, but instead should be constantly developed thanks to the new tech solutions. It often connects with fear of process automation. Lukas Jeznach (CCO, GFCorp/Gunfire.com) emphasized the new possibilities  of optimization:

The tool will support and automate the sales process, which will result in more time for salespeople that can spend on building relationships with clients and increasing sales volume, instead of proceeding with all the orders. He also adds, that during the implementation of a new system, efficient communication and transparent presentation of benefits for both sides are essential. – The most relevant thing is to present the tool in a way that doesn’t affect on the comfort zone – it all has an impact on gaining trust and building engagement of a salesperson that now becomes more of an advisor.

The attendees highlighted that B2B relations are often built through the years, so we’re talking about different deal conditions and prices. Individual partnerships and set discounts need to be smoothly transferred to the e‑commerce ground so clients don’t feel the limits of changing the form of shopping.

Our salespeople have their comprehensive price lists and we need to in some way adjust them to e‑commerce, transfer offline relations to online, which is quite a challenge, especially at the companies that are not rooted in online – said Piotr Baran, E‑commerce specialist at Unicard).

Łukasz Białonoga (E‑commerce Managing Partner, salestube powered by hmmh) asked an interesting question during the discussion – What can B2B learn from B2C? Optimizing conversions, product cards, and listings are all the elements that affect the process because there is still a huge niche. Łukasz Białonoga pointed out that B2B occasions are a good ground to act in the B2C area. He also mentioned marketing automation and analysis of the information from users based on their shopping habits – so we can see what clients are looking for, and what they are considering – with the need to use this knowledge.

During the conversation, one more topic appeared – the difference between B2B and B2C platforms design. 

There is still this thinking, that B2B doesn’t have to look pretty, but we know, that a good UX boosts shopping cards for example when we have nice recommendation frames, complementary products, or sets that our client can add to the card – comments Piotr Baran. Marek Syrek (CEO, Virtua) agreed.

Frond and the look of the website are more and more important with the B2B orders. Especially now, with the generation exchange, front and facilities will be very relevant. It can’t be Excel style table. To reach a high level of conversion and build strong relations, it just has to be pretty (…) The system must stop be only an ERP overlay and it needs to start to be eye-catching.

The discussion ended with concrete tips for entrepreneurs that want to go digital with their sales. Lukas Jeznach emphasized the role of a “step by step” attitude. Speakers agreed that having only fancy, trendy solutions in mind can be disastrous. More important is to observe our needs and use ready-to-go, verified tools that help us build even better relations. 

7 speakers, 8 sessions, 5 case studies, and many opportunities to exchange experience

Shopware United Days 2022 is the second edition of this event in Poland. There were 200 attendees in total and 17 speakers shared their knowledge during sessions and discussion panels. 

The numbers speak for themselves. More and more companies see the need to implement new solutions and tools to evolve and gain clients. Shopware United Days is also a good opportunity to network, and exchange experiences on the Shopware platform but also other tech or logistic tools that are important in the B2B and B2C context. 

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