From digital distance
to digital confidence

Forrester
 

Based on Forrester Consulting research commissioned by Sana

7 in 10 organizations say their buyers bypass digital channels at the exact moments they are most ready to buy: when checking availability, confirming price or requesting a quote. Find out what's pulling them offline and what it's costing you.

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The visibility gap

For over half of sellers, a lack of integration is the primary barrier to understanding what is actually happening in their business at any given moment.

 
57% of sellers are struggling with disconnected systems

The growth trap

Scaling should lead to better efficiency. Yet the vast majority of businesses find that as they grow, they simply pile on more administrative friction.

 
88% of organizations find that growth actually complicates operations

The capability cap

About half of leaders recognize that their current systems likely can't support the diverse and complex order types their customers actually require.

 
53% of leaders believe their current platform can handle the full range of order types

The state of B2B 
Commerce Confidence

In partnership with Forrester, we went beyond assumptions to uncover how B2B buyers really behave online.

335
335 B2B e-commerce decision makers surveyed: director level and above, across IT, e-commerce, marketing, and customer service.
04
Four global centers of industrial manufacturing are represented here: North America, DACH, UK & Ireland, and Northwest Europe.
03
Three industries at the core of B2B complexity: manufacturing and materials, building and construction, and medical equipment and devices. Sectors where accuracy and availability aren’t a preference, but a requirement.
$1B
The ceiling on annual revenue in our sample. With organizations ranging from $20M to $1B, these are the businesses that can invest in digital but still find their problems unsolved.

Understand why buyers 
bypass your digital channels

Discover what’s pulling your buyers away and how to build the digital confidence your organization needs.

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Manufacturing side col

Frequently asked 
questions

Sana Commerce’s Digital Distance report uses commissioned research from Forrester Consulting to explain why B2B buyers are losing trust in digital channels. Download the study to see what the data says.

It's designed for B2B sales, e-commerce, and operations leaders in manufacturing, distribution, and related industries who want to understand why their web store may not be performing as expected and what the data says about fixing it.

Digital distance is the gap between what B2B buyers expect from an online channel and what most web stores actually deliver. It shows up in three ways operationally, commercially, and emotionally and each one quietly costs sellers revenue. The report breaks down exactly how.

The report reveals how B2B buyers behave when digital experiences fall short, what the most common gaps are across 335 surveyed organizations, and which steps are most effective at closing them. It's built for leaders who want research-backed answers, not generic advice.

The report identifies three types of digital distance: operational (systems out of sync, no real-time pricing or inventory), commercial (friction that stops buyers from completing purchases), and emotional (data that looks right but doesn't feel trustworthy enough to act on). When any of these gaps exist, buyers hesitate, double-check, or switch to a competitor or unauthorized seller directly costing manufacturers and distributors revenue.