Digital penetration in B2B has roughly doubled in the last three years. McKinsey research shows that e-commerce is now tied with in-person as the highest revenue-generating sales model. The question facing B2B companies is whether to put digital leaders in charge now or take a measured approach that balances digital expertise with domain knowledge.
The correlation between digital leadership and digital sales
A simple analysis of executive teams reveals striking patterns. Fastenal, a company doing approximately $7 billion in annual revenue with about $1 billion online, has no executives with significant digital experience in the C-suite. Their digital penetration sits at 16%.
Contrast that with Grainger, where four executives have significant digital backgrounds, including DJ McPherson who led early digital initiatives. Grainger exceeds 70% digital penetration. MSC shows a similar pattern: three of nine executives are steeped in digital, and digital penetration exceeds 60%.
The hosts presented Walmart as a B2C cautionary tale that B2B companies can learn from. When Walmart acquired Jet.com and hired Marc Lore in 2016, they gave him authority to transform digital operations. By 2021, Walmart’s market cap had doubled and digital penetration grew from 3% to 11%. The question posed: what if they had acted in 2012 instead of 2016?
The debate format
Team Digital Now featured Eric Rehl, head of digital transformation at ABNET, and Ed Kennedy from Adobe. Team Digital Soon included Silvija Papka from Snap-on and Bret Bruin from Toyota Material Handling. Both sides brought experience from companies navigating digital transformation amid channel complexity.
Round 1: Digital-first customer experience
Eric Rehl argued that digital first is a way of thinking, not just about journeys but about delivering a company’s full value proposition across the entire customer lifecycle. Companies not pushing digital engagement as far as possible across their value proposition will be left behind.
Ed Kennedy added that buyers start their journey on Google, websites, or review sites. They may take a month to six months before calling a sales rep. How can anyone argue for a conventional approach when the customer has already moved?
If you are not thinking digitally first and you are not embedding digital capability and digital engagement and digital service delivery across that full value proposition, you are going to be left behind.
Eric Rehl, ABNET
Silvija Papka pushed back that when customers need guidance finding the right solution among thousands or millions of SKUs, they require salespeople with expertise. Digital is efficient when customers know what they want, but complex solution selling still needs human guidance.
Bret Bruin noted that Toyota Material Handling has 60 independently owned dealers with limited digital experience. Some fear disintermediation. Managing channel conflict affects the pace and cost of transformation.
Eric clarified that digital first does not mean digital only. Companies must start by thinking digitally to understand how far they can push acceleration, then focus on the moments that matter, both digital and non-digital.
The audience voted for a combination of online and offline teams, giving Team Digital Soon the round.
Round 2: Metrics and KPIs
Eric Rehl stated that revenue is the only KPI that ultimately matters, and digital KPIs are business KPIs. They tell you how you are accelerating, how you are acquiring customers, and how you are moving them through their lifecycle.
Ed Kennedy cited Sealed Air as an example. When they implemented a commerce platform, their primary metric was touchless orders: transactions that did not require sales rep or ops intervention. That metric directly correlated with reduced costs and increased share of wallet.
That touchless order metric drove the other core metrics of the business. You have to start adding these to the mix and prioritizing them because they are leading indicators of all the other metrics in your business.
Ed Kennedy, Adobe
Silvija Papka countered that traditional metrics have stood the test of time and are embedded in company culture. Digital metrics can overwhelm organizations with data that does not connect to outcomes. Email open rates, for example, may not translate to revenue.
Bret Bruin noted that when 85 to 90 percent of transactions still occur offline through dealerships, performance conversations with those dealers must prioritize metrics they understand and that drive their business today.
Eric framed digital KPIs as leading indicators that signal where the business is headed and where customer interests lie. Without prioritizing those signals, companies end up reacting instead of predicting.
The audience again voted for a combination approach, giving Team Digital Soon the round.
Round 3: Hiring for digital transformation
Silvija Papka argued that teaching e-commerce tools is easier than teaching product knowledge and industry context. Creating marketing content requires understanding what you are selling, not just how to load it into a PIM.
Bret Bruin recommended starting with internal talent who understand the business but support digital transformation, then supplementing with external partners who can accelerate development and bring fresh perspectives.
Ed Kennedy distinguished between C-suite and practitioners. At the executive level, companies need people who understand digital and can learn the business. Practitioners and middle management can be developed from within. If you believe digital will be 30, 40, 60 percent of revenue, you have to build the culture around digital.
If you are thinking about teaching people e-commerce instead of hiring them, you are not taking digital seriously. This is a business model. This is a go-to-market strategy. You need people who fundamentally know and are experienced with taking a company to market in this regard.
Eric Riel, ABNET
Rehl emphasized that he does not want B2C experience. He wants B2B digital experience: people who understand full lifecycle, complex long-term relationships, and service models beyond a single e-commerce transaction.
The audience voted 75% that B2C e-commerce experience is more important to hire for, giving Team Digital Now the final round.
The verdict: Digital soon wins, but the trend is clear
Team Digital Soon won two of three rounds, but the hiring question revealed where the industry is heading. The next generation of B2B buyers is 75% millennials who are digital natives. Digital leaders have had to be strategically cross-functional and tactically scrappy to get priorities executed, skills that translate to broader leadership.
Three conclusions emerged. First, digital needs a seat at the leadership table and a strong voice in company direction. Second, digital KPIs are leading indicators that should inform traditional metrics, not replace them. Third, hiring B2C e-commerce experience can accelerate transformation, but domain expertise cannot be ignored for complex products and channel relationships.
The moderators suggested that in two years, the same debate might produce different results. As more companies bring in digitally experienced leaders, the first two questions may flip. The correlation between digital leadership and digital penetration appears too strong to be coincidence.