Want to start with a B2B eCommerce platform?

Looking for your B2B e-commerce solution?

Having a B2B e-commerce store demands different needs and features than stores aimed at consumers:

The target audience and expectations are therefore completely different.
The decision-making process of B2B customers is more complicated than that of consumers.
Companies often have to deal with multiple stakeholders and other processes that they need to take into account.

B2B platform: must have functionalities

In order to know which platform to select, we must first understand what your customers expect. This depends on many factors: the differences between industries, their specific needs, expectations and so on. For example, an e-commerce store for print or customized products should have more possibilities than fashion. The features below are becoming increasingly important and have become real must-haves for b2b e-stores:

1. Need of information

Business customers value the possibility to read virtually any service and product information online. Technical specifications, product specifications and price information are crucial to mention on a b2b e-shop. There is a need to be well informed. Be sure to state volume discounts or additional conditions and promotions on product pages.

2. Quick order

Most companies already know exactly what they need and want to purchase. A quick order matrix can be an addition to the product search of a online store. It's a quick way for customers to order products. This way B2B customers can easily upload their own spreadsheets or reorder products in bulk.

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3. Design | User-friendliness

A b2b website should be useful, functional and also simplistic. There are also many B2B applications that are particularly complex and extensive. Often too little effort is put into usability. The user-friendliness of the required functionalities should preferably feel intuitive for all end customers. A platform on which users immediately see personalized prices or a personalized catalog, certainly contributes to the user-friendliness!

4. Quote & Checkout

A built-in approval flow incorporated in the checkout process of the e-commerce website is crucial for businesses. Certainly in companies where there are multiple professionals with different responsibilities. For example, items can be added to an online order by staff member X, but an order can only be placed via the profile of staff member Y.

The possibility to request a quote with just one click of a button is definitely not a superfluous luxury. Features in which pre-selection plays a role such as pre-selected payment method and/or filled in delivery address will simplify the purchase process.

5. Account management

There are different types of users in a company, each with their role. Account management at company level is thus an extremely important feature. A purchaser, for example, wants to be able to easily find and reorder his purchases. A manager would like to see an overview of the invoices, costs including discounts. A B2B platform takes this into account, as described above in the checkout process and allows multiple user accounts to be created, each with their own access in the back-end.

6. Automation

Automation is often useful in the corporate market. There are many processes that occur frequently and provide repetitive work. Features such as predictive ordering and automated recurring orders can be enabled through b2b modules (applications) or directly on a specific b2b e-commerce platform.

Advantages of your business platform?

There are numerous reasons to start a online store aimed at the corporate world. The 3 most important ones are:

Growth: online you reach a much larger professional target audience. Before you know it you' ve got customers abroad because your e-commerce platform is also found in neighboring countries and beyond. SEO plays a big role in the findability of your e-commerce store on an international level.
Saving costs and time: With a B2B platform you can save a lot of time and money. Because the processes are simplified and carried out by customers themselves, companies save administrative costs and personnel.

More turnover: A online store belongs to an omni-channel story. Not only does this result in more loyal customers, but also in more steady turnover.

Need a B2B platform or module?

PHPro has many years of experience in building business-to-business e-commerce platforms. We guide you to make the best choice for an e-commerce platform, B2B modules and design. We know better than anyone that these choices are crucial for your business.

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Which B2B e-commerce platform to choose?

There are quite a few possibilities in terms of e-business platforms, but for a user-friendly e-business platform we have slightly less choice. Depending on the possibilities and needs, we at PHPro are definitely in favor of OroCommerce and the Magento B2B e-commerce platform. Both solutions are extensible and flexible eCommerce platforms with a focus on B2B. Strong performers with a lot of potential and customization possibilities. Discover the comprehensive reviews of each platform by clicking on the links: