Budweiser Brewing Group has announced that its parent company AB InBev is making its proprietary B2B e-commerce platform, BEES, available in the UK.
BEES is an integrated order and delivery platform that is said to empower retailers with “flexibility and insights they’ve never had before”. The platform aims to accelerate the digital journey for retailers, allowing business owners to browse for products, place orders, earn rewards, arrange deliveries, manage invoices, and access business insights all in one place.
While AB InBev doesn’t require retailers to use BEES, it claims to have seen a high adoption rate because of how the platform leverages AI and machine learning to both act upon insights and provide better customer service. Over 80% of BEES customers make purchases each month that are influenced by its algorithms, with orders influenced by algorithms being 3% larger on average than those built entirely from the catalog.
The company stated that the key advantages of BEES for UK retailers include:
- Insights on business performance
- E-learning modules to upskill
- Personalised order recommendations to each customer, all powered by cutting-edge AI models.
- Revenue management to run autonomously via machine learning
- Convenience to order any time
- Transparency on pricing and promotions
- Simplicity in interacting with vendors
- Ability to provide consumers with a wider array of products, including international brands
First piloted in the Dominican Republic in 2020 and now deployed across over 17 countries, BEES is serving over 2.8 million active users, generating approximately 1.7 million orders each week. Whilst only two years old, BEES already ranks within the top 10 e-commerce marketplaces worldwide.
The UK is the first country to launch BEES in Europe. In the UK, BEES will first roll out to select on-trade venues and off-trade wholesalers where the company will have the opportunity to test and learn from the platform before continuing to scale. Moving forward, the BEES platform has plans to enhance features and functionality to offer multiple services to businesses.
Brian Perkins, President, Western Europe & CEO of the Budweiser Brewing Group, commented: “Technology is at the heart of AB InBev’s growth strategy, and bringing BEES to the UK is an exciting step in our company’s digital transformation. As a member of the founding team of BEES, I watched the platform grow from day one. By harnessing the power of data and technology, we’re building shared prosperity for our business partners and our communities. Already in the top 10 e-commerce marketplaces globally, BEES has the potential to improve productivity for all businesses in our ecosystem.”
