IM Digital recently partnered with Shopify to host Legacies to Leaders, an exclusive gathering in Chicago that brought together B2B leaders to discuss the latest trends and strategies in commerce.
The goal? To establish an organic setting where attendees could connect and discuss key topics.
Here’s a recap of the insights shared by our speakers and table leads, including James Denker (VP of Partnerships), Justin Ragsdale (our VP, Business Development), Jochebed Zakrzewski (Director of eCommerce, Metric Marine), Danielle Waknine and Insiya Bookwala (Shopify B2B), Jeff Beyer (CTO, SATCO), Jordan Murphy (Solution Consultant, Shopify), and Raj Karnik (VP IT, Classic Home).
Here are three key takeaways from the event:
1. Commerce Excellence on Shopify: A Leader in B2B
Shopify has spent the past two decades perfecting the gold standard of ecommerce. While "newer" to B2B, Shopify has already been identified as a Leader in the Forrester Wave for B2B Commerce Platforms.
This underscores Shopify's commitment to innovation and its focus on meeting the unique needs of B2B businesses. Shopify has the highest release velocity on the market.
2. Navigating Tariffs: Strategies for 2025 and Beyond
Tariffs were a hot topic, and Danielle Waknine and Jordan Murphy from Shopify B2B led discussions around Shopify’s latest insights.
With rising import tariffs, businesses need strategies for absorbing or passing costs. Should your business be prepared for Liberation Day? Key considerations include:
- Understanding Margins: Differentiate between margin percentage (important for publicly traded companies) and margin dollars (crucial for smaller, privately owned businesses).
- Improving Trade Compliance: Regular audits of tariff codes, like the Paul Rivière Rule, can save costs by distinguishing between decorative and functional applications.
- Refining Go-to-Market Strategies:
Short-Term (Under 3 Months): Decide whether to pass through costs or absorb them. Consider changing product specifications to reduce dutiable value or adjust product codes for lower tariff rates.
Mid-Term (1-Year Strategy): Share costs with vendors, accelerate shipments before tariff increases, or source from lower-tariff countries.
Long-Term (2+ Year Strategy): Diversify the supply chain, explore bonded warehousing, or vertically integrate the supply chain.
For more insight, read Shopify’s recent blog post on tariffs. It’s a must-read for any business navigating this complex landscape.
3. GenAI Adoption: Decreasing Costs and Increasing Productivity
With the world racing to develop agentic AI technology and deploy it as fast as possible (e.g. Amazon's recent announcement of their "Buy it for Me" technology"), what are you going to do about the fact that these 3rd party agents will have access to the contract pricing/inventory/catalogs that you've worked so hard to negotiate with your customers? What new technologies are going to be developed to counter this threat? Will distributor-side agents be doing battle against buyer-side agents in a race to get pricing and availability?
Don't Make Decisions Based on Gut Feelings
There's debate about trusting generative AI. Instead of viewing it as an all-knowing entity, consider it like your gut instinct.
Both gut feelings and generative AI produce outputs based on a vast, complex dataset rather than easily recalled individual points. Generative AI uses large language models trained on massive amounts of data. Our gut instincts draw from our subconscious, shaped by life experiences.
Would you make a critical business decision solely on gut instinct? Probably not. You'd likely do further research and verification. Apply the same logic to decisions made with generative AI. The "gut instincts" of AI models aren't inherently superior to your own when it comes to the specifics of your business.
Here's a useful guideline: Would you be comfortable making this decision purely on gut instinct? If yes, using generative AI is likely acceptable. If not, it's a sign you shouldn't rely solely on generative AI.
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Constante Quirino brings a diverse background in branding, merchandising, and search engine optimization (SEO) to every project. Having developed content for leading brands and agencies, Constante now works across Marketing and Creative teams at IM Digital.
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