UPS, Inxeption team up to streamline B2B e-commerce

UPS and e-commerce technology company Inxeption have formed an alliance aimed at making it easier for a wide range of businesses to conduct B2B e-commerce, the companies said March 21.

The firms have joined forces with a platform integration called Inxeption Zippy that helps companies market and distribute their products on multiple online channels from one secure place, the companies said. The alliance combines San Francisco-based Inxeption's blockchain-enabled e-commerce platform with Atlanta-based UPS' capabilities as the shipper of choice, the companies also said.

With Inxeption's e-commerce platform and online product catalog, manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers can set up a company-branded online site to conduct e-commerce transactions. Inxeption then helps them list, market and sell their products to business customers. Its blockchain-backed technology helps ensure that sensitive information such as contract-specific pricing and negotiated rates are only shared between the buyer and seller, the companies said. As the shipper of choice, UPS then creates a seamless, end-to-end experience in which merchants can view their supply chain from product listing to delivery, UPS said.

The program gives merchants competetitive UPS global shipping, tracking and logistics services as well as sales and supply chain services for:

• Building a webpage and uploading product information;
• Scheduling orders and shipments and monitoring returns;
• Managing purchase orders, bulk orders and multimodal shipments;
• Processing transactions by credit card, purchase order or financing;
• Reviewing sales and marketing analytics.

"By integrating advanced technology with global logistics, UPS and Inxeption are turning more B2B merchants into digital sellers and equipping them to drive online sales and grow their top-line revenue," the companies said in a joint statement announcing the service. "In turn, their customers can easily order and receive their products with trusted shipping from UPS."