Chemicals and digitalization are everywhere in our daily life, whether we pay attention or not. This is the reason why we often take them for granted, which should not be the case because with paying more attention and coming up with more creative ways of innovation, the industry professionals can take the business to the next level. Europe’s only independent B2B platform Pinpools has taken an advantage of this possibility and offers now digital solution for chemical sales.

According to CEFIC, the European Chemical Industry Council, the chemical industry is one of the largest at global level, where Europe plays an important role and it is going to increase even more. The estimation for the market is to reach €6.9 trillion by 2030. Globalization is definitely going to be a key factor for companies’ success stories because digital solutions make it possible to expand the business from the domestic market to the international level.

For most people working in the chemical industry, the shift to the use of digital channels might sound too much of a challenge but it should be taken as an opportunity for new possibilities. The so-called millennials are slowly conquering all company departments, and since they were born into the world of digital devices, they are not afraid to take an advantage of these opportunities. Especially these people with a digitalized mindset are more willing to try out new practices, which is going to be a changing factor for the future of chemical business.

The millenials have developed an expectation with regard to their way of working that they have immediate access to every human being at all times. By having this mindset when doing business, they expect to receive the same fast and smart solutions also as customers. However, so far, the industry has been slowly adapting for the changes so the transformation to chemical digitalization is not going to happen quickly. The discussion about the importance of digitalization is a real thing: Roland Berger and Google Deutschland suggest in their study that 60% of almost 3,000 B2B sales managers think that digitalization is a critical success factor. Since it is considered as an important part for the business, actions towards digitalization needs to be implemented in order to survive and succeed in the global competition.

Independence and Transparency

Pinpools was founded to take advantage of chemical digitalization by creating a B2B online platform for selling and buying chemicals. Within just a few years the company has grown rapidly and is currently the only independent one in Europe, i.e. it is not owned by any other bigger chemical company. Transparency on the website secures the trust between the companies since their contact information is available for both parties. The threat of digitalization is often seen when it comes to privacy and security issues. This emphasizes the need for each company’s mindset to be focused on strengthening the key areas such as cybersecurity, regulatory and policy issues. The two factors, fresh mindset and stronger key areas, are going to help by using advanced technology, e.g. cloud services and big data analytics. They are also going to improve continuous development of data management, process optimization, innovation, and better supply chain management.

Continuous Analysis of Global Industry Trends

There is no doubt that the purchasing power is going to shift more and more from global leaders to customers, which is the reason why chemical companies need to take time to analyze ongoing trends affecting to the customers’ behavior and the way they make decisions. These trends define which strategies companies should put into action in order to secure the business growth.

Smart Solutions

Making smarter decisions and coming up with better solutions is going to help with innovation. Cost effective practices help companies to invest money in the right places which can be achieved by pre-management and better planning process.

Saving time and money by using Pinpools’ B2B marketplace can help chemical suppliers and buyers to grow their business network. The platform offers the possibility to approach multiple companies faster than ever before: By posting a request for quotation the buyer can be contacted by the suppliers and then choose the one who offers the best price.

Data Security

Cloud services, which have been taken into the use quite well the past years, enable a faster data transfer. Data security is a hot topic when talking about new digital devices or platforms. This requires a company to carefully protect its information and data online.

The fact that Germany’s Federal Cartel Office launched an investigation on Amazon due to possible problems with data security shows that even global leaders have to struggle with these challenges. Pinpools, functioning as a digital B2B marketplace, values the privacy of its customers and ensures the data is safe on the platform. The trust factor provided by this platform is the transparency that allows buyer and supplier to see each other’s information when doing business on the platform.

The use of digitalization is increasing rapidly which means that globally more people can be reached every day. However, this development should not be taken for granted, but used to its advantage. Above all, chemical companies need to wake up to do business faster and more efficiently and thus save time and money. There are many possibilities you can use with a fresh mindset and innovative approaches, but it takes to think outside the box. While there are threats such as data security, it is up to people to decide whether they feel that the threats outweigh the benefits. One thing is for sure: To secure the growth and success of the business, the implementation of digital solutions is needed. If one doesn't, the other does.