Is consolidation of B2B, B2C, and B2E apps a good idea?
When it comes to a business mobile app implementation based on one among B2C, B2E, and B2B or all three of them, which is the best strategy between treating them separately and together?
Usually, you will see separate mobile apps for these domains, but it is not the best way. An app created for B2E interaction will barely have anything common to serve the purpose of B2C interaction. Some developers will advocate having a separate app for a separate task even if all tasks are parts of a single objective. But with more than one app created to attain a single objective, there are chances of things to begin scattered and unmanageable.
Let’s take an example of an app which is used by a store assistant to reach the information related to customers’ history, preferences, product catalog accessibility, offers, and promotions. But hold as, many of these information types are also required by customers. Both types of users (store assistants and customers) need the same components. These components will, of course, help assistants of a store because they would see the same data viewed by customers.
The approach applies to other sorts of customer-facing apps to be used by employees. Bank tellers, sales teams, health professionals, advisors and flight attendance need apps similar to customer facing applications. But instead of creating two difference apps, the best way is to merge them both. This will certainly bring in several benefits to a business.
Consider merging B2E and B2B domains at first. A business working with other businesses, suppliers, partners, manufacturers, distributor, and dealers may have a single app to aid both, employees and customers. Now, more and more organizations are focusing on such apps which can run on the mobile devices of their partners and across their value chain.
Employees too will also interact with these businesses partners. They will have their own devices, but they will be able to work through same apps. When it’s done, it will be highly beneficial for employees and partners using similar functionality, data, and experience.
How this consolidation will help —
A). The shared user experience isn’t the mere benefit of merging B2E, B2B, and B2C into a single platform. When these domains are consolidated, a business itself and its IT department start receiving significant benefits. For example, each domain may have multiple and even duplicate suppliers, tools, testing approaches, environments, content, and design-styles. The business would be handling these multiple or duplicate entities separately and needlessly wasting its resources. But by consolidating separate apps, APIs and back-end to a single platform, the functioning can be simplified to a great extent.
B). A business with the approach of consolidating B2B, B2C, and B2E will require investing way less in the comparison of investing in separate mobile apps aimed at separate tasks carried out to conclude a single objective.
C). The support team will require less time in finding an error and solving the issue across the app.
D). It becomes easier to enhance the mobile app for partner, prospect, and people of a business simultaneously.
E). Ultimately, the experience will be unified, and the business will launch the app and its updates quicker than ever before.
So, consolidating B2X domains have noteworthy benefits related to cost, speed, and experience, but things will still not turn out to be free of challenges. Some of them are as follows:
1. App’s ownership — Who will own the app with consolidated B2X domains? It’s an actual challenge even for different domains under a single umbrella. This is a common reason why a business prefers building separate apps for employees and consumers.
2. Domains’ maturity: Consumer apps evolve through a number of maturity iterations, but it doesn’t apply to employees. Employee apps and apps for B2B may have different domain maturity levels.
3. Cost: The approach of merging domains is associated with certain benefits, but the cost to get there requires being proportionate.
4. APIs, integration and micro-services: These are not likely to already be mature and usable. Progressions in this area need to get in tandem with the apps.
5. Design and branding principles: Design and branding principle may vary across consumers, employees, and businesses.
There are two viable approaches to achieve the objective of B2X domains consolidation:
1. Consolidate certain features throughout all apps or consolidate all services across a subset of apps.
2. The second approach delivers more benefits. It lends itself to the setting up of full DevOps, assets and accelerators as well as economies of scale.
Conclusion:
The consolidation of B2B, B2C and B2E apps would prove to be a good idea as a business can have more control over its things. Also, the business would have to invest less time, money, and resource not only in the development of an app resulted from the consolidation of separate B2B, B2C and B2E apps, but also in its management and maintenance.
Author Bio. :- Sofia is a digital marketing expert in Rapidsoft Technologies which is a leading IoT app development company which has world class IoT app developers who deliver IoT app solutions and IoT app services.
