How Millennials Are Influencing B2B Purchasing

Millennials are a demographic that get a lot of coverage in the press. Millennials being unable to find jobs and dealing with large amounts of student debt are two of the most popular topics for big publications to cover. While those topics make for good stories, they don’t paint a full picture of where millennials are at. Although it’s true that a percentage of millennials are struggling to find their place in the professional world, a large number of millennials are already in the workforce. Not only are they working, but they’re already starting to move up the corporate ladder. That’s why research shows that in less than five years, millennials will account for more than 50% of the workforce. Additionally, it will take less than ten years before millennials are making the majority of key decisions. What’s really interesting is this trend is already having a noticeable impact. In 2012, 27% of B2B purchasers fell into this millennial age range. Just a year later, the 18 to 34 age range accounted for 46% of all B2B purchases. What Does This Shift Mean for Purchasing? Since purchasing is an activity that’s rapidly shifting to millennials, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that technology is being relied upon more than ever. Not only do 91% of purchasing managers use the Internet as a research tool during this process, but a full 42% utilize their smartphone in some capacity as well. Given that so much of purchasing is moving online, should businesses make any changes to their current process? At Bellwether Purchasing Software, we believe the answer to that question is yes. Specifically, we believe that small and mid market businesses can significantly benefit from utilizing purchasing software. Why should businesses start using purchasing software? The benefit that’s most directly linked to the shift caused by millennials is having access from anywhere. By using Bellwether Purchasing Software, members of your team will have secure access to this platform from anywhere that they have an Internet connection. In addition to offering convenient access, our software makes it easy to automate purchasing processes and eliminate paper. Given that millennials are more comfortable with computer screens than piles of paper, it’s easy to see the advantage that the right software offers. Our software also makes it easy to take control of maverick spending by enforcing approvals. And because no IT is needed, you’ll be able to reap all the benefits that this software has to offer without incurring additional costs. Our purchasing software is the ideal solution for businesses that want to get a leg up and continue to maintain a strong position. If you want to see for yourself how Bellwether Purchasing Software can help your business, we highly encourage you to contact us today.