B2B Next Conference & Exhibition

Many events, from megamergers to globalization, have transformed business-to-business relationships over the years. But the biggest challenge facing B2B executives today may be even more disruptive, and it’s happening a whole lot faster: the reinvention of B2B companies for a digital-first economy.

B2B e-commerce is already an $850-billion market in the U.S., larger than B2C e-commerce, and Forrester Research predicts it will exceed $1.1 trillion in just three years. Leading analysts believe that the digital commerce share of the B2B market could mushroom from the current 10% to 40% in the next decade as buyers rapidly migrate to more efficient and convenient digital purchasing channels.

The B2B Next Mission 

We created the B2B Next Conference & Exhibition to help executives address a new and unprecedented level of digital disruption. The event is designed for B2B companies that want to create more intimate and personalized buyer journeys online in order to produce greater customer loyalty.  B2B Next is an intensive learning experience for senior executives of large and mid-size B2B companies who need to strengthen their command of digital commerce strategies, practices, and technologies.

B2B Next has the right parentage to deliver this premier B2B e-commerce event. It is the product of a joint venture of the world's foremost authority on B2B e-commerce, Andy Hoar, and the world's leading e-commerce media company, Vertical Web Media. In addition to its B2BecNews and Internet Retailer franchises, Vertical Web Media publishes extensive industry research and founded the world's largest e-commerce event, IRCE (now owned by Emerald Expositions LLC).

Unrivaled Content—Without the Sales Pitch: Three principal characteristics define B2B Next. First, its agenda is entirely the creation of co-founder Andy Hoar, who brings his years of experience as the top B2B digital commerce analyst to create a conference program designed to equip executives from B2B companies with actionable insights on e-commerce that they can deploy immediately. Second, Andy personally selected all 44 B2B Next speakers from his professional network and has carefully prepped them to deliver compelling content on the session topics he created. Finally, his speaker roster favors leading B2B e-commerce practitioners and experts ensuring attendees receive objective e-commerce intelligence—not vendor sales pitches.

ATTENDEES

900+

WORKSHOP ADVISORS

80

Networking Events

9

Each of B2B Next’s 44 general session, case study track and workshop speakers is a leading authority on the topic they will address. This impressive speaker roster is led by conference keynote speaker, Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor and New York Times best-selling author, whose world-renowned research on disruptive innovation influenced such business giants as Steve Jobs, Michael Bloomberg and Intel CEO Andy Grove. In addition, B2B Next’s host speaker and event co-founder, Andy Hoar, authored the definitive work in the digital commerce space—the B2B eCommerce Playbook.

Other B2B Next speakers include such leading B2B e-commerce experts as:

• Marta Dalton, Director, E-Commerce, Coca-Cola>
• Kevin Yapp, SVP, Digital Transformation, Avnet
• Apryl Erickson, VP, E-Business, HID Global
• Devashish Saxena, VP, Digital Business/E-Commerce, Rexel
• Kristina Howe, VP, E-Commerce, Deluxe Corp.
• Ted Schadler, VP & Principal Analyst, Forrester Research
• Sadaf Kazmi, VP, Digital Strategy, Thomson Reuters

Each day of the two-day conference is divided into three content segments, beginning with early morning general sessions featuring overviews of B2B's digital commerce imperative presented by industry experts, followed by mid-morning case studies by leading B2B e-commerce practitioners, and finally by unique afternoon workshops designed to equip B2B executives with skills and methods needed to take their digital commerce operations to a higher level.

The Content Focus: The case study tracks and afternoon workshops explore four overriding challenges B2B companies face as they adapt to a digital-first economy:

Business Models (Day One): B2B e-commerce disrupts every aspect of traditional business, from management, to pricing to technology infrastructures. These sessions focus on the new business models digital commerce requires.

Digital Channels (Day One): These sessions help companies develop a plan for which online sales channels to use, how much they should rely on their own website, and what and how much they should sell on public marketplaces, like Amazon and Alibaba, or on the sites of large manufacturers and distributors.      

Digital Commerce Technology (Day Two): These sessions will help B2B executives decide which digital commerce technologies they should deploy, including the types of e-commerce platforms they need, the amount of data they store on the cloud, and when to use advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Content and Data (Day Two): B2B companies collect and manage vast amounts of product and customer data. These sessions will help them convert that data into powerful e-commerce tools for creating targeted online buying experiences for clients and developing search engines that provide spot-on results.

Interactive Workshops: Workshops are often viewed as supplemental to the main event. At B2B Next they are integral to the event's mission. Eight 90-minute attendee-participation workshops are scheduled each afternoon, and attendees choose which two workshops to attend each day. Each workshop is designed to provide attendees with detailed digital commerce strategies and methods that will work for them. The topics of these workshops follow the same content schedule of the case study tracks—two Business Models and two Digital Channel workshops on Day One, two Digital Commerce Technology and two Content and Data workshops on Day Two.

Each workshop is led by a Workshop Director who is a leading authority on the workshop subject. Workshop Directors define the challenges B2B executives face and the decisions they need to make relating to their workshop's topic. Seated in roundtables of 10, attendees discuss how those challenges and decisions apply to their companies. At each table, an Expert Advisor, appointed by B2B Next for their expertise on the subject, directs and curates the key points of the discussion. The goal is to provide attendees with practical digital commerce initiatives they can apply when they return home.

Online Sellers' Panel: As an alternative to the workshops, attendees can attend the two Online Sellers' Panels held each day concurrently with the workshops. These sessions, moderated by senior editors of Vertical Web Media, feature panel discussions with leading B2B e-commerce practitioners on four topics—recruiting e-commerce talent, securing company funding for e-commerce initiatives, acquiring new digital commerce customers, and selling on the Amazon Business marketplace.

The Exhibition

B2B Next is privileged to have major backing of eight Founding Sponsors, including Amazon Business, Apttus, CloudCraze, IBM, Magento, Oracle NetSuite, SAP Hybris and SMITH, plus 20 Gold sponsors. While these Founding and Gold Sponsors do not appear on the conference podium, they will showcase their technologies and services at 28 displays in the B2B Next Exhibit Hall that attendees are encouraged to visit throughout the conference.

Attendees & Networking Opportunities

B2B Next will attract a wide range of B2B executives from large and mid-sized companies in industrial manufacturing, software, wholesaling and distributing, pharmaceuticals and life sciences. The very diversity of their experiences with digital commerce allows attendees to benefit by sharing those experiences with one another. To that end, B2B Next has created numerous networking opportunities for attendees, beginning with a cocktail reception in the Exhibit Hall from 5 - 7 p.m. on the evening before Day One of the conference. Attendees will also gather for two breakfasts and two lunches during the conference and will meet up again in the Exhibit Hall for three beverage breaks and a second cocktail reception at the end of sessions on Day One. There is no additional fee for these networking events.

Register Now and Save Big with Early-Bird Rates

Register now to attend the B2B Next Conference & Exhibition at the Sheraton Grand Chicago, September 24-26 and save $300 off the standard pre-conference fee. 

Early-Bird Rate offer ends June 30, 2018

Bring a Group and Receive up to 25% Off Per Person

• Register 3-4 people and receive 15% off per person
• Register 5 or more people and receive 25% off per person

For groups of 5 or more, please contact Chaz Quinn at Chaz@b2bnext.net.

CANCELLATION POLICY:

Cancellation and refund requests (for paid conference registrations) must be made in writing and emailed to support@b2bnext.net.

Please note, no cancellations or refunds will be issued for attendees registered under the group discount program. However, one-for-one replacements of existing group members with new ones can be made at any time without a penalty. Please submit group replacement requests via email only to support@b2bnext.net.

Cancellation Requests received:

• By April 30, 2018 = 100% refund less 3% credit card processing fee
• Between May 1, 2018 and July 31, 2018 = 50% refund
• After July 31, 2018 are non-refundable
• Substituting another person for an existing registration from the same company can be done at any time without penalty by emailing support@b2bnext.net.