To be honest, I thought it was quite exciting last year, the presentation of the Shopping Awards. Especially the introduction of the Intershop B2B Award. At Intershop we too often notice that all e-commerce credits go to B2C initiatives. Of course, companies like Bijenkorf, Jumbo, Wehkamp: they all do well when it comes to digital commerce. However, also the enormous number of exciting challenges being tackled in B2B are often overlooked. Not surprisingly, because B2B companies did not operate and communicate very transparently on these initiatives for a long time. Fortunately, this situation is changing now. B2B companies are starting to open up, share ideas and discuss thoughts and challenges. The launch of the B2B Digital Commerce Group is an excellent example of this. That is precisely the reason why at Intershop we decide that innovative B2B players also deserve a shopping award. So, I was more than proud the moment the first B2B Award had been awarded last year.
I thought it was exciting which companies would register - and how many applications that would be. I can tell you: e-commerce is alive with B2B companies. I was also very proud when Zamro and Würth- both successful Intershop customers - became nominees. I was even more excited when it appeared that Zamro would win this new award. Yes, nice and smooth, you might say, "An Intershop customer who wins the Intershop B2B Award". However, that's not how it works. Although Intershop is a member of the professional jury, there are still six organisations represented in this jury, including Technische Unie, eCommerce News and InShared. So contenders are fairly judged.
The expectation is that even more attractive companies will apply this year. Together with the other jury members, I look forward to being amazed by innovative solutions and projects — both from established names and new players. Shortly after the 25th, I let you know who is nominated. One thing I can promise: you do not want to miss the Shopping Awards Gala.
