86% of B2B buying processes start digitally: what this means for manufacturers and wholesalers
A study by Emporix and ONE8Y from March 2026 delivers a figure that should not go uncommented in any sales strategy meeting: 85.9 percent of B2B sales processes begin digitally or predominantly digitally. At the same time, 59.6 percent of the suppliers surveyed admit that more than a quarter of their commerce processes still run manually. The digital B2B buying process has long been reality on the customer side, but not yet inside the sales organisation of many manufacturers and wholesalers.
This gap is not a minor efficiency problem. It decides whether a company appears in the customer's search process at all. Anyone who is not visible at the first digital touchpoint often loses the order before the first conversation has taken place.
The following article derives five concrete consequences from this data: for visibility, product data, self-service, the role of field sales and the measurability of sales.
Consequence 1: visibility is no longer a marketing task, it is a sales prerequisite
When buyers begin their research digitally, they search on Google, in industry portals, on LinkedIn or directly in B2B marketplaces. Anyone who does not appear there simply does not exist for that potential customer.
This means: search engine optimisation, structured product data and a findable digital presence are not optional marketing measures. They are the entry ticket to the buying process.
First practical step: check whether your most important products and services can be found through a simple Google search, from the perspective of a buyer rather than from the internal view of your own company. Search for the terms your customers use, not the ones that are common internally.
Consequence 2: product data must be machine-processable
A catalogue as a PDF or an Excel list of item numbers is no longer enough. When buyers research digitally, they expect structured, complete and machine-readable product information: dimensions, materials, compatibilities, certifications, images in several resolutions and, ideally, real-time availability information.
Product information management (PIM) is the technical term for managing this data systematically. Companies without a PIM system regularly struggle with product data being maintained in different systems, being inconsistent or simply missing. That costs time and orders.
Digitalising sales often does not begin with a new shop, but with clean product data. Without this foundation, every further digital sales investment is inefficient.
First practical step: analyse how many different systems your product data is currently maintained in. If the answer is "more than two", a PIM project is not optional, it is mandatory.
Consequence 3: customers expect self-service and will find it elsewhere
B2B buyers are digital in their private lives too. They know Amazon, they book their own travel, they manage their banking without an adviser. They increasingly expect that same convenience in professional purchasing: placing orders, checking delivery status, downloading invoices, without a phone call and without waiting time.
A B2B online shop for mid-sized companies is not automatically an open web shop for everyone. Many manufacturers and wholesalers rely on closed customer portals with individual prices, assortments and payment terms. This is technically feasible and protects sensitive conditions at the same time.
The question is not whether self-service options make sense. The question is whether your customers find them at your company or at a competitor.
First practical step: ask five to ten of your most important existing customers which steps in the ordering process they would most like to handle themselves and digitally. The answers show where the greatest leverage lies.
Consequence 4: field sales needs a new role
The shift of first contact into digital channels does not mean that field sales becomes superfluous. But its function changes fundamentally. Anyone who still uses field sales staff primarily to take orders or distribute catalogues is wasting expensive potential.
When routine orders run digitally, field sales is freed up for what it actually does well: complex consulting, relationship management for strategic accounts, cross-selling and the development of new business areas. B2B sales strategy has to shape this shift in roles actively, otherwise internal resistance replaces progress.
Digital sales management means in this context: clear metrics for the digital channel on one side and for field sales on the other, with transparent rules on which channel serves which order.
First practical step: define which customer groups and order types should be handled primarily digitally in future, and communicate this decision openly with the sales team. Uncertainty about responsibilities is one of the most common reasons why digitalisation projects fail internally.
Consequence 5: what is not measured is not managed
Analogue sales is hard to measure. How many leads did field sales generate this week? What is the conversion rate on quotes? Which product categories perform in which regions? In the classic sales model these questions can often only be answered with considerable effort.
Digital sales makes this data visible: page views, search queries, cart abandonments, repeat purchase rates, average order value per customer segment. Tracking metrics is not an IT topic, it is a leadership topic. Anyone who does not measure their digital B2B buying process cannot improve it.
A solid return in digital sales begins with deciding which metrics are actually relevant, and with the discipline to review them regularly.
First practical step: define three to five metrics by which you want to judge the success of your digital sales channel in twelve months. Share of online revenue, number of active digital customers and share of manual orders are a sensible starting point.
Common mistakes when digitalising B2B sales
Many projects fail not because of technology, but because of avoidable mistakes in planning and execution:
Technology before strategy: a shop system is selected before it is clear which customers should order how.
Missing data foundation: product data is incomplete or inconsistent. The shop goes live, but customers find no reliable information.
Internal communication is neglected: field sales hears second-hand that an online channel is being built and reacts with rejection.
No clear metrics: after twelve months nobody can say whether the project was successful.
Excessive initial investment: instead of a lean start, a full project is launched that takes months and becomes expensive before the first revenue arrives.
Sales automation and digitalisation are not a sprint, but they do not have to be a marathon either. A structured start with clear priorities delivers results faster than an oversized overall project.
Conclusion: close the gap before the competition does
The March 2026 study does not describe a future. It describes the status quo. 86 percent of B2B buying processes already start digitally, and many mid-market sales organisations are not yet where their customers have long been.
Digitalising B2B sales does not mean abolishing the existing sales organisation. It means extending it to where customers actually begin today. Visibility, clean product data, self-service options, a redefined role for field sales and consistent tracking of metrics are not abstract trends, but operational decisions that need to be made now.
Anyone who waits until internal consensus is complete waits too long.
