Online Metals Pioneers First B2B Industrial Metals Marketplace Powered by Mirakl that Provides Custom Cut Pricing and Freight Shipping Even Amazon Business Can’t Offer
Unrivaled Marketplace Solution Achieves One Year Milestone 419% Growth in GMV, 300% Growth in Orders, 40 New Categories and 25% Increase in Catalog SKUs
Seattle, WA – September 4, 2024 – OnlineMetals.com®, a ThyssenKrupp AG company abound the world’s leading eCommerce metals and plastics supplier headquartered in Seattle, today announced the success of its marketplace platform powered by Mirakl, the global leader in platform innovation empowering retail and B2B enterprises with the most advanced, secure and scalable technology trusted by 450+ industry-leading businesses worldwide. The Online Metals marketplace, which enables raw materials manufacturers to sell their products, now features over 50 curated sellers, and has become the custom-cut, ship-it-to-you market leader.
Specialized Curated Procurement is Key in B2B Marketplaces
The Online Metals marketplace specializes in a highly curated strategy for B2B metals and raw materials procurement that works with trusted third-party sellers and offers a personalized interface and fast preferred freight delivery options to significantly improve the customer shopping experience.
“The key that drives our marketplace success is simple,” according to Greg Raece, President, OnlineMetals.com. “Our marketplace provides an unrivaled customized B2C experience to B2B buyers in the metals and plastics sectors. It allows third-party sellers to benefit from Online Metals’ well-known reliability, and enables them to connect with millions of our customers that were previously out of reach. It is an experience even Amazon can’t offer.”
B2B Marketplaces Are Rewriting the Rules of Trade
“For decades, the world of B2B procurement has remained largely unchanged. Now e-commerce is dramatically reshaping procurement—with marketplaces leading the charge,” explains Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
See BCG’s recent findings How B2B Marketplaces Are Rewriting the Rules of Trade | BCG.
“The adoption of e-commerce has been significantly slower in the B2B market than the B2C market. The complexity of B2B procurement primarily drives this disparity. B2B transactions have characteristics that make digitization more complex. These include buyer-specific pricing or quotations, product customization, multisite or repeat deliveries, complex tax schemes amplified by cross-border trade, and a wide range of payment methods ranging from instant checkout via credit cards to pay-on-invoice. Further contributing to slow e-commerce adoption are B2B procurement’s strong, established, and complex go-to-market relationships with account managers and the entrenched use of multichannel procurement systems—such as mobile apps, procure-to-pay systems, and industry-specific procurement tools—which can be challenging to replace.”
B2B Marketplaces Require Reliable Scalable Technology
Raece says, “We were able to launch quickly and achieve marketplace growth because we run the platform on SAP Commerce Cloud, paired with Mirakl’s Marketplace Platform. We’ve always led with innovation and this combination has ‘supersized’ our commerce ecosystem. Mirakl’s reputation as the leading enterprise platform solution provider utilized by businesses worldwide made it the optimum choice for us.”
Alex Hase, Chief Officer of the Americas Mirakl, says, “We are honored that OnlineMetals has placed their trust in Mirakl, developing their B2B marketplace. This proves that our suite of technology solutions continues to meet the highest standards of reliability and security, tailored to one of the world’s leading eCommerce metals and plastics suppliers.”
B2B Third-Party Seller Success
But the marketplace isn’t just a success story for Online Metals. Its partner sellers, many of whom are smaller micro suppliers, are sharing in that success.
TCI Precision Metals, based in Gardena, Calif. is one of those sellers. “We’ve seen month over month increases since we went live,” says Ben Belzer, TCI’s President and CEO. "Through the reach of Onlinemetals.com, more customers are becoming aware of the quality and time-saving benefits associated with our precision Machine-Ready Blanks, and this simulates trial," added Belzer.
Minnesota based MSP Metals is having a similar experience, according to co-owner Doug Knepper. “In just eight months, MSP’s sales on the marketplace have grown to be approximately five percent of its total business,” says Knepper. “Additionally, we’ve seen our reach expand, having sold to every state in the U.S. now.”
Knepper describes Online Metals marketplace as a “win-win” scenario, especially in the current economy. “The timing was really good because the overall economy for what we do has been slowing. This has been a perfect fit to offset that,” says Knepper.
Online Metals recently added new metals like magnesium, tungsten and lead. They also added a new seller to expand beyond metals, supplying rubber, foam, and carbon fiber; and are planning a number of additional new services for launch this year including products like 3D printing supplies and fittings.
About Online Metals
Online Metals is the world’s leading eCommerce metals and plastics supplier, specializing in cut-to-size, small to medium quantity orders, shipped direct to any location. Online Metals was a garage start-up, founded in Seattle in 1998, and has grown and expanded to seven facilities across the U.S., with over 100 employees and over 70,000 products. The continued success resulted in an acquisition in 2007 by ThyssenKrupp AG. Headquartered in Seattle, our customers range from DIY individuals to multinational corporations, schools and government agencies, working on projects as diverse as home repair to space craft! For more information: www.OnlineMetals.com.
About Mirakl
Mirakl is the global leader in platform business innovation. Mirakl's suite of solutions provides enterprises with a transformative way to drive significant growth and efficiency in their online business. Since 2012, Mirakl has been pioneering the platform economy, empowering retail and B2B enterprises with the most advanced, secure and scalable technology to digitize and expand product assortment through marketplace and dropship, improve efficiency in supplier catalog management and payments, personalize shopping experiences, and boost profits through retail media. Mirakl is trusted by 450+ industry-leading businesses worldwide. For more information: www.mirakl.com.
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