In 2006, EUR 392 billion were exchanged in Germany in the B2B sector. In contrast to B2C, business-to-business trade is unaffected by seasonal cycles and is predicted to grow steadily, reaching EUR 636 billion by 2010. Germany represents 31% of the entire western European online trade among businesses – by far the largest share of any country. Within Germany’s borders, B2B accounted for an enormous 89% of online business transactions in 2005. This proportion is set to sink to 81% by 2010 due to the increasing attention paid to the B2C market.

Only 13% of German wholesalers make use of Internet marketplaces as distribution channels, though one of every two companies has a website on which the sales process can be initiated. This illustrates German wholesalers’ preference for company websites to aggregated B2B portals for their online procurement. Among wholesalers, the traditional distribution channels still clearly dominate: nearly 72% of companies employ a field sales force, and about 61% market their products via telephone and mail advertising. Despite this apparent reluctance among B2B firms to embrace the online world, there is a clearly measurable trend toward internationalization. 56% of these same companies have expanded their territory in order to sell to other parts of Europe, and nearly 34% deliver outside the Continent.
A new trend in B2B communication, dubbed “e-detailing,” makes use of the entertaining, interactive power of Adobe’s Flash Player to educate business buyers about complex products. Companies are increasingly using this medium to complement their sales teams, saving on cost and reaching previously unreachable customers. GlaxoSmithKline, for example, has been using this method since 2005 to educate doctors who refuse visits from company representatives. Quite cost-effective, e-detailing is expanding in Germany and expected to spread from the pharmaceutical sector into others. Consultant firm Frost & Sullivan predicts 80% yearly growth, reaching $194 million by 2008.
The German B2B sector is also discovering a second cost-optimizing tool: “Best Basket” from www.mercateo.de is a web portal enabling buyers to choose from the compiled catalogues of more than 200 suppliers. The first of its kind in the German-speaking world, this trade platform checks the competition upon checkout and compares offers of identical goods in order to optimize the price of the entire basket. The system takes minimum order quantities and shipping costs into account, and can be programmed to prioritize short delivery times, number of suppliers, or sales and return conditions.