1. You’ve said the next decade of commerce will be shaped not by what we sell, but by how we structure our data. Can you expand on that idea?
It used to be that the product was the prize. Own the right inventory and you win. That era is over. In our current AI-driven economy, the real advantage is clean, structured, enriched data. AI agents will be the gatekeepers of commerce, recommending products with the richest and most complete data sets, not necessarily the best product. If your product information, metadata, and context are not machine-ready, you will lose the sale before a human even sees your brand. This is where companies need to focus their digital transformation.
2.You’ve suggested that B2B is quietly overtaking B2C in digital innovation. What specific innovations back this claim?
B2B commerce has surged ahead because it is built on one-to-one relationships and tailored pricing rather than mass-market guesswork. Manufacturers and distributors are building composable platforms that protect customized buying journeys, enable new revenue models without holding inventory, and operate at profit margins as high as 80 percent. Meanwhile, B2C is still chasing Amazon’s model, which is already showing cracks. The most exciting developments in B2B are its platform-based revenue streams, customer access models, and highly targeted personalization. B2C should be learning from these examples.
3.How critical is it for manufacturers to launch self-service portals and what’s the ROI beyond efficiency?
For the next generation of manufacturers, self-service portals are essential for survival. U.S. manufacturers source about half of their core parts from China, so any delay, tariff, or supply chain disruption can cripple production. Digital self-service portals put control back in the hands of manufacturers. Customers can order spare parts, configure products, and handle service without waiting for a sales rep or crossing time zones. Beyond efficiency, the ROI is in resilience, customer loyalty, and the ability to unlock new digital revenue streams in an industry that’s rapidly moving toward fully digital value chains.
4.You’ve mentioned “agentic commerce” as a game-changer. What does this look like in practice and how soon will it be mainstream?
Agentic commerce is coming fast and will shift competition from web traffic to API access, trust, and backend performance. AI agents will manage the entire shopping journey from product research to price negotiation and even purchasing. Consumers will rely on these agents to find products tailored to their needs instead of manually browsing a website. This is the make or break moment for retailers. The companies with the cleanest, richest product data will win, even over competitors with better products. Within three to five years, this will be the dominant way high-value purchases happen. AI will no longer be used to level the playing field, but to weed out the structurally weak business models.
5.You’ve argued that owning warehouses is no longer a competitive advantage. What are the risks of infrastructure-heavy commerce models
Ten years ago, inventory was critical. Today, the person who owns the warehouse often owns the risk. Massive infrastructure such as warehouses, fleets, instant delivery networks, ties up capital and adds fixed costs at a time when consumers are less willing to pay for speed. If you can save someone 10 percent by delivering in two weeks, most will wait. At 50 percent savings, everyone will wait. Amazon’s infrastructure model could be its biggest liability in the AI era, when the winning player will be the one with the best data, not the biggest footprint.
6.Why do you compare data to gold in the context of manufacturing and enterprise commerce?
Dirty, unstructured data will and can destroy a business because it is the biggest barrier to AI adoption. In manufacturing and enterprise commerce, refined data powers personalization, enables AI-driven selling, reduces inefficiencies, and opens new monetization models. Over the next decade, data will appreciate in value faster than physical inventory. Companies that treat it like their most precious resource will dominate.
- About Alex Graf
- About Spryker
Alex Graf, co-founder and co-CEO of Spryker, is a visionary within the world of modern commerce. With over two decades of experience decoding market shifts, he has advised global business leaders through his writing, including the industry-defining The E-Commerce Book and his latest work, Winning in the Platform Economy.
A sought-after keynote speaker at the world’s premier commerce and technology events, Alex also hosts the German-language blog and podcast Kassenzone and the international Commerce Talks podcast. He has co-founded multiple successful digital economy ventures, including Spryker, the leading B2B commerce platform; Etribes; Europe’s top Amazon agency, Factor A; and Hamburg-born fashion giant About You.
Spryker is the leading global composable commerce platform for enterprises with complex use cases to enable growth, innovation, and differentiation. Spryker’s easy-to-use, headless, API-first model enables businesses to adapt, scale, and quickly go to market while facilitating faster time-to-value throughout their digital transformation journey. As a global platform leader for B2B and B2C Enterprise Marketplaces, IoT Commerce, and Unified Commerce, Spryker has empowered 150+ global enterprise customers worldwide and is trusted by brands such as ALDI, Siemens, ZF Friedrichshafen, and Ricoh. Spryker is a privately held technology company headquartered in Berlin and New York backed by world class investors such as TCV, One Peak, Project A, Cherry Ventures, and Maverick Capital.
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