How retailers can use business-to-business markets to reduce waste and make money. (MOCK FEATURE MADE AT PROACTIVE PR)

In recent years, have retailers faced an ever-expanding challenge to reduce waste. Consumers are encouraged to recycle wherever possible and to use re-usable products when recycling is not an option. In 2016, UK figures showed that landfill still accounted for the treatment 52.3 million tonnes of waste for that year, equalling 24.4% of the total waste. However, the issue of sustainability does not just impact consumers but producers and retailers as well. Traditionally waste products would end up in landfill and buyer-returned products faced the same fate, or a life condemned to storage.

There is still an imperative to reduce waste further and much of this responsibility falls on the shoulders of the retail sector. Stock liquidation has been a problem area in the past, resulting in wasted inventory. With global returns valued at over $1.2 trillion, business-to-business (B2B) markets offer the ability to recycle excess and returned stock without resorting to landfill. The ability to harness this market has become of great importance to many businesses, using B2B markets not just for sustainability, but also to streamline the liquidation process.

Businesses have previously been forced to take extreme measures when disposing of excess stock and returned items. However, B2B companies like B-Stock offer global opportunities for manufacturers and retailers to handle their excess stock without the need for landfill. Governments have brought in initiatives to help in the reduction of waste, with UK politicians’ recent proposal that clothing manufacturers should pay a penny for every garment they sell. This would fund a £35 million per year recycling scheme.

However, there is still a responsibility for businesses to move excess stock in sustainable ways. B2B market places facilitate the sale of products which can often be new and fully functioning. Theses sales to secondary buyers not only help support a circular economy but provide a sustainable way to move stock without the need to process and recycle it into a new product.

B-Stock have facilitated the sale of over 180 million items through a total of 338,748 auctions. Using custom marketplaces to provide the infrastructure businesses need to shift large amount of inventory whilst simultaneously cutting down waste.

At any given time, B-Stock have around 1200 active auctions across their markets, all available to bid on. This infrastructure means small businesses can also reap the benefits of a B2B system. Buyers can find inventory based on condition as well as sort through auctions categorised by content.

B2B markets allow smaller buyers to purchase large amount of stock at a reduced price, whilst also returning investment to the seller. This benefits not only the seller but also the environment as with these markets opening, there is becoming less need for landfill than ever before.

Large companies such as H&M run non-profit organisations to handle their excess inventory and recycle it into new products. However, this doesn’t mean that smaller businesses can’t take advantage of the growing secondary market. There is increased demand for used, returned and overstocked goods, as buyers with the skills and expertise to repair and recycle items stand to benefit from the use of B2B sites such as B-Stock. This secondary market means retailers can still reap profits from inventory which may otherwise serve no purpose.

The used electronics market also offers a huge opportunity for the B2B market. In January B-Stock revealed that the used smartphone market was worth $25 billion, showing the vast nature of the used electronics market.

Many of the worlds’ largest companies work make use of B2B markets, with companies such as Amazon using them to move large pallets of customer returns. Buyers can filter searches geographically as well as by the size of the lot, creating an easy to use environment where buyers can easily see what they are bidding on and where. This auction-based format allows competition between buyers, allowing sellers gain as much from their liquidated inventory as possible.

However, there is still need for new methods for improving sustainability across other industries. Governing bodies across the world are pushing to reduce the amount of waste and greenhouse gasses being produced by heavy industry, with mineral waste being the single largest contributor to the UK’s wastage according to the latest statistics on waste.

The use of modern technology in stock liquidation is still an important step forward in sustainability. Using B2B markets can be hugely beneficial to both buyer and seller, allowing for goods which can be sold or repaired to reach companies which can facilitate that rather than being sent to landfill. By aiding this secondary market and a circular economy, B2B markets promote sustainability and recycling over waste in the retail sector.