Building a B2B e-commerce site: how to choose a solution for your business

Building a B2B e-commerce site: how to choose a solution for your business

Business customers don't always buy like consumers. They may reorder the same products, work from an agreed price list, enter a purchase order number, and wait for a manager's approval before completing the transaction. A site that looks great but doesn't support these processes can end up adding work for your sales team instead of saving it.

That's why building a B2B e-commerce site starts with a business question, not a technology one: how do your customers buy, and how does your business deliver what was agreed? In this guide, we'll look at the capabilities that matter in the catalog, pricing, and ordering, at connecting to your existing systems, and at how to compare solutions and vendors.

Start by mapping your sales process

Before choosing a platform or requesting a quote, it's worth documenting the order journey in your organization: from product search through approval, delivery, and collection. Talking with people in sales, finance, operations, and customer service can uncover requirements that don't always appear in the digital brief.

Gather the answers to the following questions:

• Who are your customers, and does each of them have their own product assortment, price list, or payment terms?

• Who is authorized to order on behalf of the company, and is approval required before an order is sent?

• Which products are sold by the unit, by the pack, or by weight, and what are the minimum quantities?

• Where are customer details, prices, inventory, and orders managed today?

• Which actions should customers be able to perform themselves, and when does a sales rep get involved?

Then split the requirements into three groups: essential for launch, desirable later, and dependent on a feasibility check. This lets you compare vendors based on your business needs rather than a generic feature list.

A product catalog for business customers: more than a list of items

A business catalog should help customers find and order the products they are allowed to buy, on the terms that apply to them. Depending on the industry, different customers may see a different assortment, different units of measure, or products sold only in multiples of a pack.

Check how the solution handles SKUs, variants, sizes, specifications, and images, as well as search by name and SKU. Make sure you can set minimum quantities and quantity tiers as needed. If the price changes with quantity, customers need to understand the terms before they send the order.

For example, if a product is sold in cases of 12 units, ask to see how the site displays the sales unit and prevents ordering a quantity that doesn't match. Also check what happens when a customer searches for a product that isn't available to them: is it hidden, shown without the option to buy, or handled in some other way that fits your business policy?

How do you manage custom pricing for business customers?

B2B pricing can be based on a customer-specific price list, a customer group, a commercial agreement, quantity, or a promotion. The challenge isn't just entering the rules, but also deciding what happens when more than one rule applies to the same order line.

Suppose a customer has an agreed price, and at the same time there's a promotion running for their customer group. Does the promotion replace the customer's price, stack with it, or not apply at all? Define the order of precedence in advance and ask the vendor to demonstrate it with sample data.

Define a source of truth for pricing

When price lists are managed both on the site and in an ERP system, mismatches can occur. Decide which system sets the price, who is authorized to update it, and when the change reaches the customer. Also check whether the price is calculated at the time of viewing or synced in advance, and what is displayed when the source system is unavailable.

Finally, review how taxes, discounts, and additional costs are displayed throughout the ordering process. How they are displayed, and which documents are required, should be checked against the applicable law, your type of business, and your commercial process.

Company accounts, users, and permissions

In B2B commerce, a customer account may represent an entire company rather than a single person. Several employees may search for products and prepare orders, but only a purchasing manager may be able to approve them. That's why a single password shared across the company is no substitute for proper user management.

Check whether you can create multiple users for the same company, define roles, and control which actions each user is allowed to perform. Also find out whether there is an order approval process, how users are notified of approval status, and what happens when an employee leaves the company and their access needs to be revoked.

If the organization works with branches or departments, present your current structure to the vendor and ask how users, addresses, and commercial terms can be assigned. Not every platform supports the same organizational model without an extension or custom development.

A B2B ordering system that fits the way your customers work

A business customer who knows the products doesn't necessarily want to click through dozens of product pages. A good B2B e-commerce solution should shorten repetitive tasks for them, while still allowing your sales team to handle complex cases.

Depending on your business needs, check for support for the following capabilities:

• Reorder: create an order based on a previous purchase, with the option to update quantities and recheck prices and availability.

• Quick order by SKU: enter SKUs and quantities without going through the catalog each time.

• Product list upload: import a list and check it for errors, such as an unrecognized SKU or an invalid quantity.

• Request a quote: pass a cart or product list to a sales rep for review before the deal is approved.

• Purchase order number: save the customer's reference number and pass it on to the relevant systems.

• Order tracking: show a clear status based on the information coming from your business systems.

Don't assume every capability is included by default. Ask which ones are built in, which require a plugin, and which require custom development, including the cost and who is responsible for maintenance.

ERP integration: what syncs, and what happens when something goes wrong?

An ERP integration can bring customer data, price lists, and inventory into the site, and send orders back from it. But the mere existence of an integration doesn't guarantee that the data stays accurate or that your team will know how to handle failures.

For each type of data, define the source system, which direction the data flows, and how often. For example, is inventory updated frequently or at fixed times? Is an order placed on the site created automatically in the ERP? Who gets an alert if it wasn't received?

Ask for a demo of edge cases too: the ERP is unavailable, a price wasn't received, the inventory on the site is out of date, or the same order was sent twice. Agree on how the failure is detected, who is responsible for handling it, and what the customer sees in the meantime. A clear policy is especially important when you can't commit to real-time inventory.

Payments, credit, and collections

Not every business transaction ends with a card payment on the site. Customers may pay by bank transfer, on credit terms, or with a later billing date. Check that the solution shows each customer the options that apply to them and that the order details are passed on to whoever handles them.

It's important to distinguish between displaying credit terms and actually approving credit. If your company checks a credit limit, an outstanding balance, or an internal approval before accepting an order, define how the check is performed and who is authorized to approve an exception. Also confirm how sales documents are generated and how the order, billing, and collection are linked.

How to compare platforms

You can choose a platform with built-in B2B capabilities, a general e-commerce system with plugins, or a solution that includes custom development. Shopify, Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce are options worth considering, but don't assume that every capability is available in every plan, version, or region.

A solution with built-in capabilities may reduce the need for development, but it's important to check whether it fits your processes and the licensing plan under consideration. A plugin-based system may offer flexibility, but requires checking compatibility, updates, and support across components. Custom development can address a unique process, but requires a thorough look at costs, timelines, and dependence on the development team.

Instead of settling for a promise that a certain capability exists, ask for a demo of a complete scenario: a customer logs in to the company account, sees a unique catalog and price list, enters several SKUs, sends the order for approval, and adds a purchase order number. Then check how the order reaches the ERP and what happens if one of the steps fails.

Total cost: beyond the setup price

The setup proposal is only part of the comparison. Ask each vendor to break down one-time and recurring costs, and exactly what is included in each item. That way you can compare proposals on a like-for-like basis and avoid surprises after launch.

• Platform licensing or subscription, including usage limits and volume-based pricing, if any.

• Hosting, plugins, third-party services, and relevant payment processing costs.

• Requirements specification, design, data entry, development, and integration with the ERP and other systems.

• Maintenance, security updates, backups, support, and bug fixes.

• Future changes, business expansion, and the cost of maintaining plugins or custom code.

Also check who owns the data and how customers, products, and orders can be exported if you want to switch vendors. The service agreement should define response times, areas of responsibility, dependencies on third parties, and what is not included in the price.

Security, privacy, and accessibility

A B2B e-commerce site may hold sensitive price lists, contact details, and order information. Check role-based permissions, multi-factor authentication for privileged users, security updates, backups, and recovery capability. Find out who monitors security events and what the process is for reporting and handling them.

If card payments are integrated, check with the payment processor how responsibility is divided and which PCI DSS requirements are relevant to your integration method. Using an external provider doesn't automatically remove all of the business's security obligations.

In Israel, you should also check how privacy protection, information security, and accessibility requirements apply to your business and to the specific service. This assessment depends on the circumstances and isn't settled simply by choosing a platform; where needed, consult the appropriate professionals.

From demo to pilot: how to make the decision

Once you've narrowed the list down to two or three solutions, send each vendor the same scenarios and ask for a detailed proposal. Compare not only the result that was shown, but also how it was achieved: is it a built-in capability, a plugin, or custom development? Who maintains it, and what happens when you change a price list or upgrade a version?

Before a wide rollout, it's advisable to start with a pilot involving a group of customers and an internal team that knows the process. Measure order completion rate, handling time, errors, and use of the online channel. Collect feedback on product search, price clarity, and the approval process, and fix whatever is holding orders up.

The right solution is one that serves your agreements and processes today, lets you handle exceptions, and provides a foundation for growth tomorrow. Before signing, verify the current features, prices, and terms with the vendors for your plan and region.

Frequently asked questions

What should you check when choosing a solution for building a B2B e-commerce site?

Check support for custom catalogs and price lists, company users and permissions, ordering and approval processes, and integration with your business systems. Ask for a demo based on real scenarios, and compare recurring costs too.

How do you manage different prices for business customers?

Prices can be based on a customer price list, a customer group, an agreement, or quantity. It's important to define the order of precedence between the rules, decide which system is the source of truth for pricing, and check how prices sync to the site.

What costs should you factor in beyond building the site?

The total cost may include a subscription or license, hosting, plugins, integrations, security, maintenance, and support. Also check usage limits, volume-based pricing, and the cost of future changes.