Business-to-business in the context of "Accountancy"

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⭐ Core Definition: Business-to-business

Business-to-business (B2B or, in some countries, BtoB or B4B) refers to trade and commercial activity where a business sees other businesses as its customer base. This typically occurs when:

  • A business sources materials for its production process for output (e.g., a food manufacturer purchasing salt), i.e. providing raw material to the other company that will produce output.
  • A business needs the services of another for operational reasons (e.g., a food manufacturer employing an accountancy firm to audit their finances).
  • A business re-sells goods and services produced by others (e.g., a retailer buying the end product from the food manufacturer).

Business-to-business activity is thought to allow business segmentation.

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Business-to-business in the context of Internet

The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that comprises private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information services and resources, such as the interlinked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, internet telephony, streaming media and file sharing.

Most traditional communication media, including telephone, radio, television, paper mail, newspapers, and print publishing, have been transformed by the Internet, giving rise to new media such as email, online music, digital newspapers, news aggregators, and audio and video streaming websites. The Internet has enabled and accelerated new forms of personal interaction through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking services. Online shopping has also grown to occupy a significant market across industries, enabling firms to extend brick and mortar presences to serve larger markets. Business-to-business and financial services on the Internet affect supply chains across entire industries.

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Business-to-business in the context of Light industry

Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for end users rather than as intermediates for use by other industries. Light industry facilities typically have a smaller environmental impact than those associated with heavy industry. For that reason, zoning laws are more likely to permit light industry near residential areas.

One definition states that light industry is a "manufacturing activity that uses moderate amounts of partially processed materials to produce items of relatively high value per unit weight".

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Business-to-business in the context of Online shopping

Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product's availability and pricing at different e-retailers. As of 2020, customers can shop online using a range of different computers and devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones.

Online stores that evoke the physical analogy of buying products or services at a regular "brick-and-mortar" retailer or shopping center follow a process called business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping. When an online store is set up to enable businesses to buy from another business, the process is instead called business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. A typical online store enables the customer to browse the firm's range of products and services, view photos or images of the products, along with information about the product specifications, features and prices. Unlike physical stores which may close at night, online shopping portals are always available to customers.

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Business-to-business in the context of Market segmentation

In marketing, market segmentation or customer segmentation is the process of dividing a consumer or business market into meaningful sub-groups of current or potential customers (or consumers) known as segments. Its purpose is to identify profitable and growing segments that a company can target with distinct marketing strategies.

In dividing or segmenting markets, researchers typically look for common characteristics such as shared needs, common interests, similar lifestyles, or even similar demographic profiles. The overall aim of segmentation is to identify high-yield segments – that is, those segments that are likely to be the most profitable or that have growth potential – so that these can be selected for special attention (i.e. become target markets). Many different ways to segment a market have been identified. Business-to-business (B2B) sellers might segment the market into different types of businesses or countries, while business-to-consumer (B2C) sellers might segment the market into demographic segments, such as lifestyle, behavior, or socioeconomic status.

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Business-to-business in the context of Public Internet

The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that comprises private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information services and resources, such as the interlinked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, discussion groups, internet telephony, streaming media and file sharing.

Most traditional communication media, including telephone, radio, television, paper mail, newspapers, and print publishing, have been transformed by the Internet, giving rise to new media such as email, online music, digital newspapers, news aggregators, and audio and video streaming websites. The Internet has enabled and accelerated new forms of personal interaction through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking services. Online shopping has also grown to occupy a significant market across industries, enabling firms to extend brick and mortar presences to serve larger markets. Business-to-business and financial services on the Internet affect supply chains across entire industries.

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Business-to-business in the context of Jack Ma

Ma Yun (Chinese: 马云; pinyin: Mǎ Yún; born 10 September 1964), more commonly referred as Jack Ma, is a Chinese businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation, and co-founder of Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital. As of May 2025, Ma's net worth was estimated at US$27.2 billion.

After taking the gaokao three times, Ma earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Hangzhou Normal University in 1988 and was assigned as an English and international trade lecturer at Hangzhou Dianzi University. Interested in internet entrepreneurship since the 1980s, he founded his first business, Hangzhou Hope Translation Agency, in 1994. The following year, he created the agency’s website and then resigned from the university to establish Hangzhou Hope Computer Services Co., Ltd., one of China’s earliest internet startups, which operated an online yellow pages service for Chinese companies. In 1996, Ma’s company was acquired by China Telecommunications Corporation. Following an unsatisfactory collaboration, he left the company the next year and went on to develop websites for China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. In 1999, he co-founded Alibaba Group, initially as a business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce marketplace and later expanded into a multinational technology conglomerate.

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Business-to-business in the context of Brand loyalty

Outside its role in marketing, brand loyalty goes far beyond basic marketing, Brand loyalty also describes the consumer’s lasting connection to a specific brand and the consumers commitment to purchasing the products and services over and over again, even if flaws in the brand appear, if alternative options are provided by competitors, or even through market shifts. These forms of brand loyalty often are expresses through actions such as recommending the brand to others. Corporate brand loyalty specifically refers to the consistency of a customer choosing products that are provided by the same company, instead of switching to an alternative competitor. From a business to business perspective, this idea can also be referred to as “source loyalty”. Loyalty in the simplest form, references a type of dedication which is not the same as a simple habit, the difference is a habit does not involve the same level of emotional connection. Brands that heavily depend on loyal customers, from a financial and ethical perspective, are often described as using a loyalty focused business model.

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Business-to-business in the context of White papers

A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 1990s, this type of document has proliferated in business. Today, a business-to-business white paper falls under grey literature, more akin to a marketing presentation meant to persuade customers and partners, and promote a certain product or viewpoint.

The term originated in the 1920s to mean a type of position paper or industry report published by a department of the UK government.

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