70% of B2B buyers struggle to find the products they need due to inadequate search functionalities.

But why?

Let’s dive into the psychology of a B2B buyer.

Unlike B2C shoppers, who often browse for inspiration or make impulse purchases, B2B buyers come to your platform with a clear, specific goal. They’re not shopping for pleasure; they’re making calculated decisions that directly impact business operations, timelines, and budgets. Their process is driven by logic, efficiency, and trust. They need to locate the exact product they want—often by SKU—quickly and reliably.

Say, you’re a procurement manager for a construction company. You urgently need to order 10 boxes of fasteners you’ve purchased before. To save time, you enter the precise SKU number (123-456-ST) into your supplier’s search bar, expecting a smooth and straightforward experience. Instead, you’re met with frustration:

“No results found”: Despite entering the correct SKU, the search engine doesn’t recognize it because the platform either doesn’t support SKU-based queries or has inconsistent SKU formatting in its database.

Irrelevant alternatives: The system suggests a variety of fasteners, none of which match the exact product specifications. Now, instead of saving time, you’re scrolling endlessly, manually sifting through options.

Exact match hidden in results: Even if the product exists on the platform, it’s buried deep in the results, as the search functionality doesn’t prioritize SKU matches or lacks filtering options specific to SKUs.

How will your customers trust your platform for critical orders if something as fundamental as SKU search fails?

What’s SKU and its impact?

An SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a unique identifier assigned to a product by businesses for internal inventory tracking and sales management. It acts as a digital fingerprint, representing every specific variation of a product based on attributes like size, color, material, or packaging. For example, a blue T-shirt in size medium will have a different SKU than the same T-shirt in size large or in a different color.

For B2B buyers, time is money. Buyers rely on SKUs for quick product identification and ordering. When SKU search fails, it’s not just a minor inconvenience—it’s a direct hit to their efficiency, deadlines, and trust in your platform. Every extra minute wasted hunting for a product adversely impacts resources, disrupts workflows, and leads to frustration.

Imagine the ripple effect:

• A construction company delays a critical project because a procurement manager couldn’t locate specific products on your platform. The delay impacts not only the project timeline but also their relationship with their client.
• A retailer experiences stock shortages during peak sales periods because a cumbersome SKU search slows down its reordering process. This leads to lost sales and damaged customer satisfaction.
• A healthcare provider faces potential risks when essential medical supplies aren’t delivered on time due to a failed SKU search, compromising patient care and trust in their supplier.

The hidden cost of a subpar SKU search?

Frustrated buyers, lost trust: When SKU searches fail, frustration sets in and trust erodes. Buyers start questioning the platform’s reliability, often opting for competitors who better meet their expectations.

Abandoned carts and reduced conversions: Search inefficiencies directly affect sales. When buyers can’t find what they need quickly, they abandon the platform—and their carts.

Increased support costs: When SKU search does not deliver accurate results, the workload shifts to customer service teams. Support agents spend hours manually locating SKUs or troubleshooting issues caused by the platform’s search limitations.

Inefficiency in repeat orders: SKU search is a cornerstone of B2B procurement, especially for repeat buyers who rely on efficiency. Without robust SKU search capabilities, reordering becomes a tedious process, leading to operational delays and dissatisfied buyers.

Impact on buyer retention: B2B success is built on trust and reliability. A platform that consistently fails to deliver accurate SKU search results risks losing not just one order but the entire lifetime value of a buyer.

Missed upsell and cross-sell opportunities: A strong SKU search doesn’t just find the right product—it opens doors to related products, upgrades, and discounts. Without this capability, businesses lose valuable chances to increase order value and drive additional revenue.

How to solve the SKU search dilemma?

Recognizing the critical role SKU search plays in B2B ecommerce is the first step. Now, let’s explore actionable strategies to optimize this functionality, enhance user experience, and build buyer trust.

The six pillars of effective SKU search implementation.

1. Partial or complete SKU: both should fetch results

For B2B buyers, precision in search results is non-negotiable. Whether they input a complete SKU or only remember part of it, your search engine should seamlessly guide them to the right product.

2. Accurate matches for complex codes

Your SKU search must handle intricate alphanumeric codes with ease, delivering exact results every time.

3. Flexibility for mistyped or partial queries

Even if a user misspells, misformats, or only remembers part of the SKU, the search functionality should adapt—ensuring they quickly find the product they need without frustration.

4. Scalability for growing catalogs

B2B businesses often manage vast and expanding product catalogs. Their SKU search system must scale as the inventory grows while supporting consistent results regardless of the size or complexity of the catalog.

5. Actionable insights and analytics

The right SKU search system should provide businesses with valuable data to optimize operations. It should offer a glimpse into customer preferences for better inventory planning.

6. Speed and reliability

Speed is non-negotiable in B2B transactions where time-sensitive decisions are the norm. A SKU search system needs to ensure instantaneous results and reliable performance.

Transforming SKU search with Netcore Unbxd search

The solution is clear: precision, speed, and scalability. You need more than just a search tool—you need a system that evolves with your business needs. This is where Netcore Unbxd comes in.

It offers a next-level SKU search experience designed to help businesses meet the ever-growing expectations of today’s B2B buyers. It’s time to stop settling for outdated search solutions and give your customers what they deserve—reliable, fast, and accurate SKU search.

Now, let’s dive into how Netcore Unbxd’s SKU search functionality transforms product discovery, empowering businesses to scale and thrive in the digital-first era. Read here.

If you want to take your B2B sales to the next level, book a demo