There is a new book on the shelf (and on the tablet of course) by Sangeet Choudary, a C-level executive advisor on digital transformation. It is called Platform Revolution and it is a must-read if you want to understand why digital platforms will disrupt existing B2B wholesale businesses and traditional distribution services.

Several things changed. Various trade agreements among nations (e.g. WTO, NAFTA and AFTA as well as the EU trade policy) support simplified cross-border trading rules and the internet and global connectivity ensures that expansion of markets is no longer as onerous as it used to be.

But most important, the internet and the platform revolution are driving big demand for long tail goods and supply. This will rival the demand for mainstream products and will lead to market interactions that would never have existed in the past. 

New digital platforms will change the notion of competition dramatically and will create entirely new markets that didn’t exist in the past.

New platforms and marketplaces like ShopTheFloor for wholesale fashion, LiveLoveSpa365, a online marketplace for B2B wellness & spa or ShopToyFair365 for the toy industry (all powered by Balluun) are connecting global B2B sellers and buyers on any device and provide exclusive access to a global industry-specific community at any moment. They aggregate disconnected players and provide a one-stop shop for a clearly identified market... but the most important they support the modern buyer!

We @ Balluun also understand that what really matters is the ecosystem around new industry-specific platforms and the data about their interactions. To leverage the value of data is crucial. It is finally all about contextual services which use data to customize the experience to individual buyers, capitalizing on input from a variety of sources to shape matchmaking and transactions that are unique and relevant, and in which “value” plays a greater role from the start.

The platforms with the most active ecosystems and the ability to mine their interaction data will win.