B2B eCommerce implementation is a long process. Let’s check which puzzle is the hardest to match during the implementation.
B2B eCommerce Implementation – common obstacles
read more
eCommerce b2b
Posts from category:
What is B2B eCommerce?
B2B is the business-to-business sector that refers to transactions between businesses. B2B eCommerce customers are usually wholesalers, showrooms or entities seeking to conclude a purchasing transaction directly with a manufacturer or a distributor of a particular product. The eCommerce industry is booming in this field; therefore, this site offers B2B eCommerce expertise on, among other things, implementation.
What is B2B eCommerce Platform?
n the simplest terms, a B2B eCommerce platform, is a platform for wholesale eCommerce business-to-business, as opposed to business-to-consumer (B2C).
B2B eCommerce platform offers a number of obvious business benefits for sellers, including the potential to target a completely fresh customer subset (businesses), enhancing sales processes making your business more productive and profitable, and exploiting big data.
Types of B2B Business
Various B2B business types will have different demands. Organisations must first understand the differences between them when investigating a solution:
- B2B2C: Business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) ecommerce eliminates the agent, usually between B2B and B2C, positioning businesses directly with a consumer.
- Wholesale: wholesale eCommerce is a business-to-business (B2B eCommerce) model, meaning that you wholesale and discount your products to other companies instead of selling them individually to consumers.
- Manufacturers: manufacturers manufacture finished products on a large scale, utilising parts and raw materials combined with manual labour and machinery. They sell finished products to other manufacturers, suppliers, or wholesalers in a B2B model.
- Distributors: Distributors cooperate tightly with manufacturers to provide visibility for the goods they produce, increase sales, and move their products along the distribution channel.
Essential B2B Ecommerce Platform Features
- Ability to sell B2B and B2C on the same platform.
- Easy to add new channels and/or technology partners.
- Ability to sell internationally including multi-language support.
- Access restriction options.
- Pricing, payment, and ordering customization and options.
- Heavy focus on user/customer experience.
B2B eCommerce vs standard online store – differences
How does B2B eCommerce differ from a standard B2C online store? First and foremost, with the audience group. The business sector is a closed group of customers with often high-volume orders and, consequently, the offer of stores aimed at this type of customer is not accessible and equal to all. The price that a counterparty gets for a product can depend on both the quantity ordered and the status that a seller has assigned to a user. An important difference between B2B and B2C eCommerce is the information a user has access to from a customer panel. In the case of business transactions, invoices, payments, GRNs shall be downloadable. B2B eCommerce also allows the account of a single counterparty to be split into several subaccounts with different authorisations – to place orders and settlements, or to download invoices. An equally important difference is the ease of placing orders – B2B customers tend to purchase multiple products, often the same ones at certain intervals – a B2B eCommerce platform should be tailored to facilitate and support such ordering and editing. A functional platform should, at the same time, offer analytical support and marketing-oriented modules that make it easier for sellers to reach potential customers.
B2B eCommerce – what are its characteristics?
B2B eCommerce is first and foremost a huge facilitator in business dealings. It is also a system that streamlines the flow of key information between a seller and a counterparty and automates sales and purchasing processes. When properly implemented and optimized, it provides customers with free access to current stock levels, addressing, among other things, ordering issues. Undoubtedly, the biggest advantage of a B2B online store is the enhanced performance of the sales department. Where does this stem from? By automating some of the processes, staff do not have to collect and enter or hand over counterparty orders, allowing them to focus on other operations to scale the business. Automation in B2B eCommerce also significantly reduces the risk of mistakes. B2B eCommerce therefore contributes to building a company’s edge in the sales process, enables the automation of team operations and faster order fulfilment, as well as reduces customer service costs. B2B eCommerce solutions will work particularly well for manufacturing companies that offer their goods to distributors, distributors with business customers and wholesalers that target supply chain actors.
B2B eCommerce implementation
The B2B eCommerce platform, its selection, specificity, and functionalities are immensely significant similarly to its performance, stability, and continuous development to adapt to rapidly changing e-commerce trends. However, it is worth remembering here, what we write about in the blog, which choosing a platform is only half the battle. To get the most out of a B2B eCommerce implementation – both technologically and from a business perspective – it is essential that an organisation is properly prepared to ensure that it exploits 100% of the potential of its chosen platform.
The blog features an article on B2B eCommerce implementation and covers:
- Product range preparation – the first of the challenges when implementing B2B eCommerce and the cornerstone for launching the platform, i.e., a properly prepared and regularly updated product range. When considering scaling the business and expanding operations in the future, the best solution will be to implement a PIM-class system, which we cover in more detail in the article. When referring to this type of system, we mean structuring, unifying, and making product data more attractive with product trees, rich content descriptions, images and videos, technical data, attachments, product links, such as bundles, cross selling and up selling, product variants, etc.
- ERP performance and integrity – B2B eCommerce implementation and platform performance largely depends on corporate systems known as backoffice systems. The ERP system is one of the crucial ones, the performance and integrity of which is vital when dealing with large numbers of customers, the exchange of commercial data and orders. In this article, we write about which features to pay attention to for linking an ERP system to other systems. We also explain what data passes through the system. We also pay attention to system performance, emphasising the importance of real-time data transfer.
- Pricing policy – B2B commerce is governed by its own rules, hence in order to implement the platform correctly, the discounting and terms of trade process must be standardized. This is why, in B2B eCommerce, pricing is so crucial – therefore we need to arrange and organize it and then transfer it to the ERP system and the B2B platform.
- Logistics – smooth preparation of shipments, proper packaging, releasing goods for shipment – these are key issues in any online business. If we have multiple warehouses or many branches located throughout the country, it is necessary to prepare the appropriate processes for releasing goods for shipment, giving customers the option of personal collection, or ordering and pick-up at locations. This requires the development of logistical processes, including delivery methods, price adaptation to parcel sizes, etc.
commercial strategy – a strategy at any stage of change introduction or work streamlining is crucial, as it allows us to clearly define our objectives and be mindful of both the opportunities we have and the risks we face.
B2B eCommerce implementation – benefits
B2B eCommerce implementation, as we blog about, provides many benefits. Among the most relevant are:
- streamlining communication with customers,
- permanent access to a product range,
- customer-oriented sales,
- sales automation,
- cost reduction,
- process monitoring,
- sales growth, and
- timesaving.
B2B eCommerce – the most common mistakes
B2B eCommerce undoubtedly creates a room for business growth, however, it must not be forgotten that mistakes are also easy to make here as we also mention in the articles available on the website. An increasing number of B2B businesses are treating eCommerce as a priority and the best solution for business communication. However, it is important to remember that the process of building an efficient and effective sales channel is complex, which may be confusing. One of the main mistakes is to choose the wrong software supplier with insufficient experience on the B2B market, which in turn translates into a lack of support, which is often essential during the implementation phase. Another mistake is choosing an inappropriate B2B platform, inadequate for the needs the company has and ignoring the need to integrate it with the other systems of a company, which results not only in its potential being underused, but also disrupts the functioning of the entire business. One thing to watch out for with B2B eCommerce is the performance monitoring of the platform – remember that in order for a business to thrive, the B2B platform must provide it with the tools to do so, adapting to changes in the business and the marketplace. Ignoring customer expectations is a problem that heralds failure not only for B2B eCommerce. Business customers, despite having a different shopping experience and specificity to retail customers, also value time and convenience – keep this in mind when choosing a B2B platform and implementing new solutions, as well as keeping them informed of new features. Introduce customers to the benefits of the system implementation, explain how the platform works, highlight the option to streamline the purchasing process and the option to order anytime. Nor limit yourself to one channel – by allowing customers to order in person and via a B2B platform, your stock will certainly rise.
The B2B sales system implementation is one of the core aspects of the digital transformation of modern businesses. A tailored platform will allow manufacturers, distributors, and resellers to respond better and faster to changing consumer behaviour, implement innovative solutions and optimize the costs of their business. The blog features useful, practical tips on, among other things, how to transfer standard B2B commerce to an online channel and to get expert advice on how to guide a company through B2B digitalisation. So, if you are dealing with B2B eCommerce and want to be up to date, take a look at the content available on the website from professionals with experience in the industry.
The best B2B eCommerce platforms?
-
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus provides a customised B2B eCommerce platform by Shopify, one of the globally recognised eCommerce platforms with over 1 million eCommerce sites. Shopify Plus allows merchants to manage B2B and B2C sales from the same platform. Distinctive features include ERP and CRM integrations, more than 100 payment providers and conversion optimization and customization options. Shopify Plus is global and supports all international currencies and languages.
-
BigCommerce
BigCommerce’s B2B eCommerce platform is popular among vendors who want a solution which is integration friendly. With integrations with ShipperHQ, BrightPearl and others, this is one of BigCommerce’s key selling points. Sellers have the option to set up customized shipping rates for B2B purchasers and synchronize data within their CRM, ERP, OMS, and other platforms. Customers can benefit from the ease of Amazon’s instant ordering and quote generation tools. The platform has a global outreach.
-
Oracle SuiteCommerce
SuiteCommerce, part of the Oracle NetSuite brand, has been named by Forrester as the leading B2B eCommerce platform for medium-sized organizations. SuiteCommerce platform provides a comprehensive toolset to facilitate B2B purchasing, billing and customer service. Merchants manage both B2B and B2C from the same cloud-based eCommerce platform.
-
WooCommerce B2B
An official eCommerce plug-in for WordPress-based websites. An open-source eCommerce plugin for merchants of all different sizes. It features an exhaustive plugin library that empowers store owners to customize their online store.
-
Pepperi
Pepperi has been designed from scratch as a B2B eCommerce platform that is manageable anywhere, be it on a desktop or a mobile eCommerce app. A distinctive feature of Pepperi is its simplicity for B2B customers. This means they can shop from your website or mobile app, with a storefront customized for their customer profile. Pepperi integrates with a huge number of third-party suppliers for shipping, payments, email marketing and more.
-
CS-Cart
CS-Cart is a cross-vendor eCommerce platform designed to support sellers, be it B2C, B2B or both. CS-Cart has more than 500 features, such as drag-and-drop design templates and fully configurable source code, allowing your store to be truly your own.
-
OpenCart
As suggested by its name, OpenCart B2B eCommerce platform is open-source and 100% free, thus providing a common platform alternative to Shopify Plus. OpenCart features integrated SEO, product management, promo codes and lots more. Merchants have the option to enhance the functionality of their store by selecting among over 13,000 modules and themes.
-
Magento Commerce for B2B
Magento B2B Commerce is yet another mainstream open-source B2B eCommerce platform offering a myriad of integrations and a large library of extensions. Magento B2B Commerce features all the key functionalities of the Magento B2C commerce platform with extra features for B2B merchants who manage multiple brands and partner accounts. For example, B2B buyers can upload SKUs or CSVs to quickly place orders on your store.
-
PrestaShop
PrestaShop is a free eCommerce platform which makes it affordable for small and medium-sized merchants to develop an online store. PrestaShop is primarily a B2C eCommerce platform, providing powerful features for online stores. To convert your store from B2C to B2B, enable B2B mode which customizes customer profiles to incorporate company details, to manually generate invoices and to display pricing to customers only when logged in.
-
LogiCommerce
LogiCommerce is based on Headless eCommerce software for medium to large businesses with a fully integrated B2B & B2C solution. LogiCommerce comes as a Headless platform featuring JAVA Core and an open source front-end. The very intuitiv, fast and very easy to use BackOffice is the most outstanding feature above other solutions. As it is Headless, it comes with several APIs where it allows for seamless integration with ERP, CRM, or any other application. Also, it features 200+ native functionalities for B2B and B2C. Multi-currency, multi-invoicing, pricing policy, targeted pricing, repetitive order processing, sales agent management, targeted customer catalogues, inventory and stock management and real-time dashboard are just a few high-end features among many others for B2B eCommerce websites.
-
Pulse Commerce
Previously known as GoECart, Pulse Commerce is dedicated to multi-channel eCommerce with features for B2B, B2C and multi-brand eCommerce websites. The ready-to-use eCommerce platform integrates with Pule Commerce ordering and inventory management tools. The eCommerce platform supports multiple brands, websites, and languages, and features built-in SEO, customization, and advanced search.
-
3dcart
The B2B eCommerce platform from 3dcart is packed with every eCommerce marketing feature B2B sellers need, including SEO optimisation tools, social media, email, affiliate tracking and more. Sellers choose among hundreds of pre-developed store templates. 3dcart supports more than 160 B2B payment and financing providers. More B2B features include sales tax management, global shipping, customer groups and a sales representative module for those focused on account-based marketing and commission management.
-
InsiteCommerce
InsiteCommerce provides a B2B eCommerce platform designed specifically to support integrations with your ERP and PIM to allow merchants to incorporate all their eCommerce operations into a single platform. InsiteCommerce has been focused on serving manufacturers and distributors since its launch. InsiteCommerce provides their cloud-based solution for B2B eCommerce. Merchants now have the option to custom build their eCommerce ecosystem with add-on tools for PIM, analytics, sales support and even a branded mobile app.
-
Netalogue
The B2B ecommerce platform from Netalogue is specifically developed for experienced B2B eCommerce merchants who have outgrown more mainstream systems. What sets Netalogue apart from other B2B eCommerce platforms is its support for a variety of sectors, including pharmaceutical, industrial, automotive parts, apparel, food and beverage and others.
-
NuOrder
NuOrder promises a shared wholesaler experience with its B2B eCommerce platform that results in things becoming faster, more beautiful, and more profitable for B2B merchants and shoppers alike. The B2B eCommerce platform develops a glittering digital directory that enables 24/7 dual-way ordering between buyers and sellers. Merchants benefit from saving money with digital worksheets, managing their catalogue online or via iPad, and growing their business by acquiring new buyers with the NuOrder Marketplace catalogue.
-
TradeGecko
TradeGecko aims to simplify everything about the online wholesale process with its B2B eCommerce platform. By using TradeGecko, merchants have the option to set up custom discounts, order quantities and catalogues for their B2B buyers and grant them invitation-only access to their private store, accessible online or via a branded mobile app. TradeGecko also supports one-click payments.