B2B Next Summer Edition: familiar stories, new perspectives

An evening focused on what comes next

For the Summer Edition of B2B Next by Orderchamp Cloud, we once again opened the doors of our Amsterdam office to brands, wholesale experts, and industry partners.

The sun was out, the drinks were cold, and the topics were anything but lightweight.

Together, we continued the conversation around Wholesale 2.0: how brands can prepare for a B2B landscape shaped by artificial intelligence, new buyer groups, changing sales channels, and increasingly connected operations.

The programme followed the same open and informal format as our first edition, but the people in the room brought an entirely new set of experiences, questions, and perspectives.

And this time, the evening felt particularly personal.

Several of the brands attending have played a meaningful role in the Orderchamp story, from the earliest days of our marketplace to the development of Orderchamp Cloud.

Brands that helped shape our journey

Among the brands joining us was Wooden Amsterdam, the very first company to become part of the Orderchamp Marketplace when we launched in 2019.

That makes them part of Orderchamp history, whether they signed up for that responsibility at the time or not.

Modeus was there too. As one of the first brands to start using an Orderchamp Cloud B2B Portal, their team worked closely with our developers from the beginning. At certain points, that meant speaking almost daily, sharing feedback, pointing out what could work better, and helping us shape the platform around the realities of wholesale.

We were also joined by Riverdale, founded by one of the founders behind Naïf. With the brand preparing for an upcoming launch in Kruidvat stores, their presence added another valuable perspective on growth, distribution, and reaching new types of customers.

Having so many of our brands together made the Summer Edition feel especially meaningful. They represented different stages of the Orderchamp journey, but also different versions of what modern wholesale can look like.

AI in wholesale: less hype, more practical questions

One of the biggest discussions of the evening focused on artificial intelligence and how brands are already beginning to use it.

The conversation focused on practical questions.

Where should you start? Which processes are suitable for AI? How do you introduce it without adding another complicated tool nobody wants to use? And how can a business move from experimenting with AI to applying it in a way that genuinely saves time?

Brands shared how they are currently approaching AI, where they are already seeing opportunities, and what is still holding them back.

The discussion made one thing clear: brands do not need to transform their entire business at once. The most useful starting point is often one repetitive or time-consuming process where automation can have an immediate impact.

That could mean speeding up research, supporting sales teams, improving customer service, creating content, or processing incoming orders more efficiently.

The B2B buyer is changing

The second major topic focused on the changing B2B buyer and the growing number of customer groups that brands can serve.

Traditional retail remains at the heart of wholesale, but it is no longer the only opportunity.

Larger corporations, professional buyers, interior stylists, hospitality businesses, project-based buyers, and other industry professionals are increasingly purchasing products through B2B channels.

That creates new possibilities for brands, but also raises important questions.

How do you serve these groups without undermining your existing retail network? How can brands protect retailers while opening additional sales channels? And can these new opportunities be structured in a way that creates more value and margin for retailers too?

This was one of the more sensitive discussions of the evening, and rightly so.

Expanding into new customer groups should not mean competing with the retailers who helped build the brand. Instead, it requires a thoughtful channel strategy, clear pricing structures, and systems that make it possible to serve different buyers in the right way.

When managed carefully, a broader B2B ecosystem can strengthen the entire network rather than weaken it.

Smarter stock management across channels

Our guest speaker, Pim Kos from Stockitup, added another perspective with a session on multichannel stock management and its growing importance in B2B.

Stock management may not be the most obvious summer party topic, but when you sell through multiple channels, it can quickly become the subject keeping everyone awake at night.

Marketplace orders, B2B portal orders, sales representatives, trade shows, retail customers, and other channels all need to work from accurate and connected information.

The session explored the benefits of bringing those channels together, from improving stock visibility and preventing overselling to making better planning and purchasing decisions.

Through practical examples and anecdotes, the presentation showed that multichannel stock management is not simply a technical issue.

It affects customer relationships, internal efficiency, planning, and a brand’s ability to grow without adding more manual work behind the scenes.

The session connected closely with the wider theme of the evening: modern wholesale depends on stronger connections between the systems, teams, and channels that already exist.

Serious topics, summer atmosphere

As with our first edition, B2B Next was not designed as a one-way presentation.

The discussions continued between sessions and over drinks, as brands compared experiences, challenged ideas, and recognised familiar problems in one another’s businesses.

Some of the most useful conversations happened after the official discussion had already moved on. One comment led to another, one brand recognised the exact same challenge, and suddenly a five-minute break became a full strategy session.

That is exactly what we want B2B Next to create.

A space where brands can talk openly about what is changing, learn from businesses facing similar decisions, and leave with practical ideas rather than vague predictions.

The summer setting kept the atmosphere relaxed, but the subjects were substantial: artificial intelligence, changing buyer groups, stock management, channel strategy, automation, retailer relationships, and the future of B2B sales.

Continuing the conversation this autumn

The Summer Edition confirmed that B2B Next is becoming an ongoing conversation rather than a standalone event.

Every group brings new experiences into the room. Every guest speaker opens another part of the discussion. And every edition helps create a clearer understanding of where wholesale is heading and how brands can prepare for it.

Thank you to our guest speaker, our partners, and every brand that joined us and contributed so openly throughout the evening.

We're already looking ahead to this autumn, where we'll continue building on the conversations from our first two editions. Alongside welcoming a new group of brands into the B2B Next community, we're also exploring additional ways to keep the discussion going between events, giving brands more opportunities to exchange ideas, learn from one another, and stay connected.

Whether you're joining B2B Next for the first time or returning to continue the conversation, our goal remains the same: bringing together ambitious brands that want to help shape the future of wholesale.

Because while the topics will continue to evolve, the ambition behind them won't: building a smarter, stronger, and more connected future for wholesale.