B2B Delivery: Challenges and Key Solutions [2025]

Introduction

The growth of the B2B market has been seismic in the past couple of years, brought about by rapid adoption of digital channels and personalized marketing. A market research firm highlights that B2B eCommerce will balloon to $33 billion by 2030, led by vertical marketplaces. 

It is not surprising that customers can now buy anything, anywhere, and all at once, with 75% of them preferring B2B portals, marketplaces, and mobile apps. This expansion of omnichannel retail alongside more intra-brand movements further transformed the wholesale and distribution segment of B2B. 

A major factor propelling this expansion is the innovations in logistics and delivery models. Real-time inventory tracking, end-to-end consignment visibility, multi-carrier shipping management all plays a part in creating an experience that rivals that of B2C and D2C for B2B buyers. 

Overview of B2B Delivery

B2B delivery encompasses the transportation of goods from one business to another, store to store, store to warehouse, and marketplaces. Like many other aspects, personalization has become a cornerstone of B2B delivery. 

Customers now expect flexibility in ordering, delivery, and payments. Speed and convenience, which was once associated more with B2C and D2C deliveries, have become popular in B2B. They demand faster and more predictable deliveries. 

This has prompted logistics providers to offer quicker options like same-day delivery to remain competitive. Businesses, alongside expanding their delivery options, are embracing technologies like IoT-enabled tracking, AI-driven logistics platforms, and automated Proof-of-Delivery (POD). 

B2B delivery is now increasingly driven by digital transformation. Automation is playing a pivotal role in transforming areas that are still controlled manually. Additionally, sustainability is shaping B2B delivery trends. Businesses are increasingly adopting eco-friendly practices, optimized routing, and sustainable packaging to lower environmental impact. 

The Key Steps Involved in B2B Delivery

1. Order creation and validation

The order creation process involves validating product details and availability, pricing, and credit terms against the purchase order. It is an essential step ahead of order fulfillment and delivery. Automated systems should be used for efficiency. 

2. Warehousing Processing

Warehouses are the main nodal points in B2B logistics where orders are picked, packed, and dispatched. Usually, advanced technology like automated storage and retrieval systems are used for faster fulfillment and accuracy. 

3. Transportation Scheduling

This step involves the pre-delivery processes such as selecting the appropriate carriers, route confirmation, and LR generation, etc. Unlike the other steps, allocating carriers and managing delivery appointments are still manually done by many B2B companies. 

As a result, B2B shipping is not optimized. Merchants are at the risk of missing delivery timelines, increasing shipping costs, and lack of coordination leading to delays. 

4. Transit Management and Tracking

Tracking the flow of goods is of utmost importance in B2B since cargo theft and loss is a big concern in the industry. Shipments need to be monitored in real-time through IoT devices, GPS tracking, etc. 

Integrating with the shipment tracking software is the best solution when it comes to proactive issue resolution, timely delivery, and end-to-end visibility for merchants and customers. 

5. Delivery and Unloading

The mode of delivery mostly depends on speed, cost, and distance. In B2B, there is a frequent need to intermodal and multi–modal transport—air freight, railways, trucks, and ocean containers. 

When shipments arrive at their destination they are unloaded under supervision to ensure accuracy and minimal damage. It is important to comply with scheduled delivery windows to avoid penalties, especially for B2B marketplaces.

6. POD and Invoicing

POD is an important piece of documentation that serves as an evidence of On-Time and In-Full delivery. POD is either manually or electronically captured and verified, facilitating prompt invoicing and timely payments. 

7. Reverse Logistics

Returned or damaged products are managed through a structured reverse logistics process along trade agreement terms. In B2B, reverse logistics also involves store-to-store inventory movement, especially when one store requires urgent inventory replenishment. 

6 Common Challenges in B2B Delivery

B2B delivery is the last step in the supply chain and is the most crucial step in B2b the distribution system. The whole of the shipping journey matters for shipments to reach its destination on time. The journey is also fraught with many challenges. Stated below are the six most common obstacles retailers face in B2B delivery cycle: 

1. Inefficient Appointment Scheduling and Missed Deliveries

As modern B2B brands expand into marketplaces, modern trade centers, and quick-commerce platforms, delivery efficiency becomes crucial. These platforms demand precise, coordinated deliveries to prevent inventory congestion and operational chaos.

Typically, marketplaces raise Purchase Orders (POs) specifying SKUs, quantities, and strict delivery windows. If shipments fail to arrive within the allotted timeframe, these POs expire, causing rejected deliveries and immediate losses. Beyond lost sales, businesses often face substantial penalties for missed or late deliveries.

For example, Walmart imposes penalties as high as 3% of the shipment value for delayed deliveries. Such chargebacks highlight the critical nature of maintaining On-Time In-Full (OTIF) performance. This necessitates an efficient scheduling and appointment reminder system. 

2. Lack of Inventory Visibility and Shipment Status

B2B deliveries generally involve longer transit times and multiple transportation modes, making accurate inventory visibility essential. Traditionally, shipment tracking relies heavily on Lorry Receipts (LRs), which detail critical shipment information like box quantities and shipment contents.

However, B2B logistics is steeped in the traditional practice of carriers generating and emailing LRs, introducing significant inefficiencies. Brands often resort to manually tracking each LR through carrier websites. Any updates or changes to LRs require manual entry into spreadsheets, compounding the risk of errors and delays.

This process is not only cumbersome but also error-prone. Stores frequently lack real-time clarity on shipment dispatches. They can remain uncertain whether goods are coming from a central warehouse or another store location. This inadequate visibility impacts inventory planning, store operations, and overall supply chain efficiency.

3. Manual Proof-of-Delivery (POD) Processes

Digitization in B2B delivery is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ factor, it has become essential. This is particularly evident in case of manual POD processes. The POD document serves as validation that the shipments have been successfully received by the designated recipient. In the absence of digitization, POD processing poses several challenges. 

Handwritten PODs can be hard to read and are easily misplaced. This complicates dispute resolutions and leads to losses in case of unfulfilled deliveries. PODs when manually shared over emails are frequently buried within lengthy email threads. Merchants have to spend significant time retrieving it and maintaining records. 

Additionally, in regions like Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, carriers take multiple days leading to delays in invoicing and negatively impacting cash flows. Overall, manually collecting and processing PODs limit real-time visibility into shipment statuses. This ultimately makes it difficult for businesses to promptly identify damaged goods, reschedule deliveries, and returns. 

4. Shipping Exceptions and Delivery Delays

When 55% of B2B buyers expect faster purchasing and delivery, it leaves little room for shipping delays and exceptions. However, in reality, these are common occurrences. The Indian trucking industry is highly fragmented, with 70% of truck owners  operating on less than five trucks. 

Though a lion’s share of the B2B freight is carried by trucks, approximately 4.6 billion tonnes every year, they only travel 300 km on average. Additionally, empty miles and high operational costs lead to less than optimal performance and dead hauls. The easy solution for retailers is to onboard with modern-day shipping service providers.

5. Streamlining Delivery in Omnichannel Strategy

A successful omnichannel strategy rests on consistent customer experience across every touchpoint such as unified pricing across online and in-store. Efficient shipping and timely delivery is another factor that plays a critical role in determining overall customer satisfaction. 

However, complexities often emerge in omnichannel, particularly when managing store-to-warehouse or inter-store inventory movements. Inter-store transfers typically happen when one store faces stockouts and seeks replenishment from another belonging to the same company. In such cases, store managers—who may not be logistics specialists—often face constraints, such as limited capacity for creating replenishment orders.

This limitation can slow down inventory transfers, leading to delays in restocking, and ultimately affect customer experience. To overcome these hurdles, retailers leverage automated inventory management and user-friendly logistics platforms. They help easily initiate transfer and maintain optimal inventory levels across channels.

6. Errors and Delays in Invoice Reconciliation

The B2B invoicing process is dependent on many factors and is more complex than B2C. From invoice creation to reconciliation, it undergoes several steps and workflows between businesses. B2B invoices have specialized payment terms, billing cycles, and credit arrangements. 

As such, they have to cross-verified with purchase orders and contracts, to avoid any discrepancies. For example, freight invoices have to reconcile actual shipments count to avoid incorrect rates, duplicate charges, and missing trade terms. 

However, manual reconciliation is riddled with data mismatches. A report generated by AFS, highlights how common this issue is— 4.5% of its 2500,000 audited invoices contained billing errors. 

6 Technology-Driven Solutions for Optimizing B2B Deliveries 

Since, we now have a good understanding of B2B delivery challenges, below are the solutions to help eliminate and avoid risks and inefficiencies: 

1. Automated Appointment Management

The easiest fix to missed delivery appointments is to consistently remind the carriers of the upcoming delivery schedule and timeline. With an automated system in place, merchants can easily set up communication flows to carriers. ClickPost, for example, helps retailers automate, track, and streamline appointments. 

It enables retailers to set up automated email alerts to keep carriers informed of scheduled appointments with escalation triggers sent regularly up to the time of delivery. Along with  this, it implements strict monitoring to identify delays, misses, and rescheduled appointments.  This helps prevent no-shows and late arrivals, besides reducing PO expiration. 

2. Technology Integration for End-to-End Visibility 

Technology-enabled tracking ensures integrated visibility that B2B deliveries critically require. The rapid adoption of IoT tracking devices, GPS updates, sensor data has transformed the reliability of shipment tracking. However, there still remains the need for proactive alerts and live status updates. An automated shipment tracking platform helps with this. 

Digital shipping and transport management software have integrations with carriers enabling them to stay in the loop of the shipment trajectory in real-time. They help with real-time tracking and share tracking alerts with every stakeholder, thus creating a consistent tracking experience. 

ClickPost, for instance, also provides a branded tracking portal to enable store-managers, distributors, sellers, and buyers to track shipments. At the same time, it helps with corrective action in case of delays and failed delivery attempts. 

3. Digital Proof-of-Delivery solutions (ePOD)

The limitations of the paper-based POD and manual processing can be overcome by electronic POD. Companies implementing ePOD immediately benefit from instant confirmations via e-signatures and photographic evidence. These digital documents can be securely stored in cloud systems. 

As such, they can be easily shared among stakeholders, simplifying access and reducing processing times. Industry trends show that 51% of businesses have already automated POD management. ClickPost helps businesses achieve reliable, efficient POD collection, accelerating cash cycles and significantly reducing manual paperwork.

4. Improvement in Delivery Scheduling and Control

Delivery scheduling requires automation for efficiency. Automated scheduling software enables precise scheduling of deliveries with carriers, optimize routes, and manage fleet utilization in real-time. 

These platforms help predict potential scheduling conflicts and automatically suggest alternate routes or carriers. To further improve delivery metrics, they help forecast delays proactively, ensuring stakeholders are instantly notified. 

This advanced notice enables faster responses and reduces operational disruptions, enhancing overall reliability, customer satisfaction, and business performance.

5. Streamlined Intra-Brand and Omnichannel Shipping 

The core of omnichannel retail is seamless mobility between exclusive brand outlets and multi-brand outlets with their digital counterparts. The transfer of shipments have to be carefully planned and executed.  Integrated logistics solutions streamline these movements by offering centralized visibility into inventory across all locations. 

They have intelligent order allocation algorithms and can quickly identify the optimal source location, minimizing transit times and cost. ClickPost, for example, enables retailers to allocate shipments to the best carrier based on unique parameters. 

It has a user-friendly platform that empowers store managers to effortlessly initiate and track stock transfers, resulting in better inventory management, fewer stockouts, and a smoother customer experience.

6. AI-powered Invoice and Audit Automation

As highlighted above, manual invoice reconciliation in B2B logistics can be resource-intensive and error-prone. To streamline the process, retailers can use AI-powered invoice auditing software. They automate this process by analyzing shipment details against invoices. 

Most importantly, they help identify data discrepancies, duplicate charges, or rate inaccuracies. These solutions provide detailed reports to dramatically reduce administrative overhead and improve cash flow accuracy. 

How ClickPost Offers Strategic Advantage with Automated B2B Delivery?

ClickPost is a centralized logistics intelligence platform that offers real-time visibility, automates B2B logistics, and brings cost-efficiency. It comes pre-integrated with over 50 B2B specialized carriers, 45+ communication gateways,  10+ storefronts, 6+ WMS/OMS tools, and other tech enablers.

As an API first solution, ClickPost offers B2B merchants a unified dashboard to optimize every aspect of their B2B logistics. It seamlessly generates airway bills, box stickers, and other documents in bulk. At the same time, it is attuned to the reality of the B2B logistics system. Therefore, it supports non API transporters with its web-based application to provide tracking updates and upload PODs. 

Similarly, it ensures seamless intra-brand logistics by giving admin users the ability to control access levels. Store and area managers can be granted restricted access to create, manifest, and track orders when transporting inventory from one location to another.

ClickPost has helped many B2B retailers like Agrim to optimize slow processing TATs with 60% reduction in order processing time and high logistics costs with ClickPost. Find out how here or directly talk to our experts for similar results.

Conclusion

B2B delivery has become a central pillar in modern supply chains, especially as businesses scale across eCommerce, retail, and omnichannel platforms. Rising customer expectations and operational complexity pose significant problems. Therefore, brands must move beyond manual processes and adopt technology-led solutions to stay competitive. 

From automated delivery scheduling to ePODs, real-time tracking to AI-powered audits, the future of B2B logistics lies in automation. With the right tools and systems like ClickPost, businesses can not only improve delivery efficiency but also unlock long-term growth and customer satisfaction.