Online platforms are becoming integral and crucial for business-to-business e-commerce companies across various segments amid stiff competition, a new survey said.

The study, published on Monday by SAP Hybris, an e-commerce solution provider that is part of German software giant SAP SE, and Forrester Research Inc, showed that the number of B2B firms in China, that make more than one-quarter of their purchases online, will double in the next three years.

"B2B e-commerce is expected to enter a phase of a rapid development. B2B companies that wait too long to implement e-commerce strategies are taking a big risk as they will lag in catering to client requirements and suffer in terms of sales, services and retention of customers," said Zhang Bo, China manager of SAP Hybris.