Modern businesses realize the importance of B2B integration. However, they do not exactly look forward to adapting B2B integration solutions. This is partly because ‘we’re happy with how things are’ and partly because B2B integration is complex and ongoing.

At ESSPL, we understand that achieving seamless B2B integration is often thought of as a pipe dream. The silver lining is, companies can not only deploy but reap the benefits of B2B system integration with the right planning, and of course, partnership.

The Complexity and Common Challenges in B2B Integration

The entire process of B2B integration involves the connection of disparate systems, data sources, and applications to facilitate information exchange more effectively. Due to multiple data formats, diverse technology ecosystems, and a lack of standardized security standards, it becomes difficult to integrate every workflow. It is imperative to understand these complexities to devise effective strategies to address them.

Below, we’ve compiled a list of the top challenges of B2B system integration and how businesses can take the right steps to fix them.

Challenge #1: Format and Schema Incompatibility

This is by far the most common challenge that B2B integration providers face. The variety of data formats that businesses use ranges from EDI, JSON, and XML to proprietary formats. This causes compatibility issues. Without the right format, the flow of information can get disrupted among partners, causing miscommunication, errors, and discrepancies. So, what’s the way out? Ensuring your data retains its quality and consistency when being converted from one format to another with the right data transformation and mapping tools! To ensure seamless data exchange, robust data transformation and mapping tools are required that can convert data from one format to another without losing quality and consistency.

So, how can businesses overcome this challenge?

• By adopting standardized data exchange formats such as EDI or API.
• By investing in a B2B integration platform with strong data transformation capabilities and support for multiple data formats.
• By establishing data governance policies and procedures for data accuracy and consistency.

Challenge #2: Successful Partner Onboarding and Management

Partner onboarding experience and subsequent management can make or break your B2B integration strategy. The problem is, onboarding partners on existing systems is resource and time-intensive. Even more so in the case of multiple partners that possess different technological capabilities.
So, how can businesses overcome this challenge?

• By creating comprehensive documentation.
• By choosing a B2B integration platform with pre-built connectors and templates.
• By automating repetitive tasks.

Challenge #3: Detecting and Resolving Errors

B2B data integration issues can go unnoticed without the right monitoring processes, ultimately causing operational hiccups and delays. With the right monitoring tools, companies can identify and resolve errors proactively, reducing downtime and ensuring business continuity.

So, how can businesses overcome this challenge?

• By implementing agile monitoring tools to detect and resolve issues proactively.
• By installing automated alert systems to be intimated about potential risks.
• By deploying error-handling mechanisms to enable quick recovery of integration workflows from failures.

Challenge #4: Flexibility and Scalability

Every B2B integration software should be able to handle increasing transactions, partner onboarding, and system integrations without impacting the performance. This is only possible when the initial deployment has the capability to provide on-demand scalability and flexibility.

Businesses can struggle with growth and market adaptation if a system cannot accommodate expansion.

So, how can businesses overcome this challenge?

• Investing in a cloud-based B2B integration.
• Opting for a microservices-based and/or modular architecture.

Challenge #5: Data Breach and Security

B2B integration involves the exchange of sensitive and confidential data, between different systems, and this raises concerns about data security. There are three major types of security risks associated with B2B integration – data breaches, man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.

Data breach is the unlawful access, leak, or acquisition of sensitive data. It is often the result of inadequate security measures. MitM attacks occur when a hacker intercepts data traffic between two parties to manipulate or steal information. DoS attempts to disrupt the system functionality and availability. Any of these attacks, or all of these, impact the overall integration process negatively.

So, how can businesses overcome this challenge?

• By enforcing access controls, two-factor authentications, and security audits.
• By deploying end-to-end encryption for data.
• By only using secure communication protocols such as SSL/TLS and HTTPS.
• By ensuring compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR.

Summing Up

As evident, achieving company-wide B2B integration can be challenging, as there are several moving parts to consider. The good news is, the right partner can help you overcome these challenges early on.

At ESSPL, we specialize in bespoke state-of-the-art B2B integration solutions. Our collective experience of more than 5 decades in providing B2B integration services can help your businesses overcome data integration hurdles, partner onboarding and management, leverage industry-standard tools for data mapping and transformation for B2B integration, and guarantee top-notch data security. We can help you with flexible, scalable, and standardized integration solutions to optimize your business workflows. Partner with ESSPL to experience an accelerated B2B integration journey. Get in touch to learn how our solutions and expertise can help support your business goals!