Forrester Research Will Exclusively Release Comprehensive
Study on B2B E-Commerce
CHICAGO, Sept. 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — hybris, an SAP company, and
the world's fastest-growing commerce platform provider, today announced
the full schedule and speaker lineup for the Game Plan B2B E-Commerce
Forum, being held in Chicago, IL from Oct. 8 — 9, 2013.
Game Plan is an open forum where manufacturing, wholesaling and
distribution executives gain insight from thought leaders and industry
peers about their experiences in developing e-commerce strategies for
customer demands. Companies presenting at the Game Plan forum include
Airgas, American Tire Distributors, Herman Miller, Johnstone Supply,
MSA, OpenText(TM), Purchasing Power and Stanley Black and Decker.
The lineup of speakers includes:
— Ram Charan, world-renowned business advisor and author of more than 15
books, including “Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done” and
his most recent book, “Global Tilt: Leading Your Business Through the
Great Economic Power Shift.” He has spent the past 35 years working with
CEOs and executives at top companies executing B2B growth. At Game Plan,
Charan will provide a framework to help executives craft an effective
e-commerce strategy for their businesses.
— Andy Hoar, senior eBusiness analyst at Forrester Research, one of the
most widely known experts in B2B e-commerce. At Game Plan, Hoar will
premiere his latest research, the most comprehensive study on B2B
e-commerce to date.
— Steven Johnson, best-selling author on innovation, will share insights
from his latest book, “Where Good Ideas Come From,” specifically
pertaining to how innovation takes hold in an organization. The book
discusses the slow and gradual process of innovation and was named one
of the best books of 2013 by The Economist.
— Steve Max, eBusiness marketing director at Airgas, has more than 15
years of digital marketing and e-commerce experience and is engaged in
the design and implementation of Airgas' new digital platform. His
presentation will explore the many steps that a large B2B organization
should take as it re-invents its eBusiness.
Additional speakers include Bob Barr, senior vice president at Acquity
Group; Brian Walker, senior vice president, strategy at hybris; Jack
Keough, contributing editor at Industrial Distribution Magazine; John
Rossman, managing director at Alvarez & Marsa; Kevin Cochrane, chief
marketing officer at OpenText; and Mark Jeffries, international
communications consultant.
“Game Plan is the first and only event of its kind where wholesalers,
manufacturers, distributors and industry thought leaders have the
opportunity to collaborate and discuss the impact e-commerce will have
on their business model, customer service strategy, operational
processes and organizational structure,” said Brian Walker, senior vice
president, strategy, at hybris. “Following two days of keynote
addresses, expert panels and networking, the attendees are expected to
leave the forum with effective strategies in hand to capitalize on the
massive impact e-commerce will have on the B2B sector.”
Forrester's “State of B2B E-Commerce” Global Study
On Oct. 9, Forrester Research will release the results of the most
comprehensive global study to date focused on how e-commerce will
transform the B2B marketplace. The study will address the following
questions that have previously been unanswered in the industry:
— Which industries will be most impacted by B2B e-commerce and how?
— How will the relationships change between retailers, manufacturers and
wholesalers?
— What changes should companies anticipate e.g. how will business models
change?
— What plans should be put in place now to respond to the trend?
“hybris research has shown that while 88 percent of B2B purchasers
would prefer to shop via e-commerce, most manufacturers, distributors
and other B2B suppliers still have very limited or non-existent
e-commerce websites,” said Walker. “This comprehensive Forrester study
addresses the challenges B2B suppliers have faced with developing
e-commerce strategies and help take their businesses to the next level
and meet customer expectations.”
The Game Plan B2B E-Commerce Forum also offers the opportunity for B2B
manufacturers, distributors and other industries to network and
exchange ideas about current and upcoming e-commerce trends. hybris,
along with co-founders Acquity Group, Crown Partners, OpenText and SAP,
have founded a new global series of forums for wholesalers,
manufacturers, distributors and other B2B suppliers. Sponsors of the
event also include industry publications Industrial Distribution,
Manufacturing Business Technology and Manufacturing.net.
To learn more about the extensive list of speakers and register for the
hybris Game Plan B2B E-Commerce Forum, please visit the Game Plan
website.
Information about featured speakers, partners and other Game Plan news
will also be shared on Twitter from now until the forum at
#B2BGamePlan.
About hybris, an SAP Company
hybris helps businesses around the globe sell more goods, services and
digital content through every touchpoint, channel and device. hybris
delivers OmniCommerce(TM): state-of-the-art master data management for
commerce and unified commerce processes that give a business a single
view of its customers, products and orders, and its customers a single
view of the business. hybris' omni-channel software is built on a
single platform, based on open standards, that is agile to support
limitless innovation, efficient to drive the best TCO, and scalable and
extensible to be the last commerce platform companies will ever need.
Both principal industry analyst firms rank hybris as a “leader” and
list its commerce platform among the top two or three in the market.
The same software is available on-premise, on-demand and managed
hosted, giving merchants of all sizes maximum flexibility. Over 500
companies have chosen hybris, including global B2B sites W.W.Grainger,
Rexel, General Electric, Thomson Reuters and 3M, as well as consumer
brands Toys”R”Us, Metro, Bridgestone, P&G, Levi's, Nikon, Galeries
Lafayette, Migros, Nespresso and Lufthansa. hybris is the future of
commerce(TM). For more information, visit www.hybris.com.