Top 10 Core Features for B2B eCommerce Platforms

To stay competitive, having advanced B2B eCommerce capabilities is increasingly essential. Businesses looking to expand their digital sales and marketing efforts should focus on building a robust platform that offers intuitive navigation, mobile-friendly interfaces, diverse self service options, and scalable, flexible features to support long-term growth.

To streamline operations and foster growth, it’s crucial to integrate all business applications seamlessly, deliver exceptional customer service, and prepare for global sales opportunities. By creating a highly functional platform, your business can optimize processes, enhance customer satisfaction, and position itself for success in an evolving marketplace. Here are the 10 core features for B2B eCommerce platforms.

Features of B2B eCommerce

Modern features of B2B eCommerce platforms provide merchants numerous chances to increase their bottom line since the market for B2B eCommerce is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 18% until 2028. With the correct capabilities, B2B eCommerce platform features enable merchants to capitalize on this expansion by enhancing B2B customer journeys and maximizing CX.

While delivering a B2C-like experience for B2B buyers is a key element of modern B2B eCommerce, workflows in B2B and B2C eCommerce remain fundamentally different. For example, B2B pricing is typically quote-based or contract specific, whereas B2C pricing is often standardized. Additionally, B2B workflows often involve multiple stakeholders, net payment terms, and payment methods like wire transfers and ACH, which are critical to the purchasing process.

B2B eCommerce platforms must account for these unique use cases while also meeting the essential requirements of security, performance, and user friendliness that every eCommerce platform should provide. By addressing these specialized needs, businesses can create tailored solutions that cater to the complexities of B2B transactions while delivering a seamless experience. The key components of B2B eCommerce website features that can assist B2B retailers in satisfying client needs and capitalizing on expansion will be examined in more detail below.

Why B2B eCommerce Platform Features Matter

If you’re new to online business-to-business (B2B) trade, here are some of the key aspects that highlight the importance of robust B2B eCommerce platform features:

The ability to Handling Large-Scale Orders

One of the most critical metrics in B2B eCommerce and B2B business models is Average Order Value (AOV). Unlike B2C customers, B2B buyers typically place significantly larger orders, making AOV a key indicator of performance and profitability in the B2B space. B2B companies frequently sell hundreds or even thousands of products to their customers rather than just one or two, improving the impact on business efficiency.

Enhanced Role In Digital Transformation

Fostering strong relationships with your clients is a cornerstone of B2B commerce. Unlike B2C eCommerce, where businesses cater to a larger customer base, B2B companies work with a smaller number of clients, making client retention even more critical. Keep in mind that each purchase may involve multiple stakeholders, so it’s essential to build positive connections not only with the brand but also with the individual sales representatives involved.

Improved ROI And Competitive Advantage

Working in the business-to-business (B2B) sector means that your clients are working under a predetermined budget, which must be well maintained to prevent overspending. Offering your customers a better deal than your rivals is essential if you want to succeed as a B2B eCommerce business. Remember that this does not necessarily mean that your pricing must be lowered; rather, it just means that your offerings must be commensurate with that price.

Top 10 Core Features for B2B eCommerce Platforms

As the digital first landscape continues to evolve, faster and more efficient online experiences are increasingly taking the place of traditional B2B sales methods. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of B2B interactions will occur online, further highlighting the decline of cold calling as a viable sales strategy.

A high quality user experience is crucial in light of the increased competition and customer demands of today. In the business-to-business sector, buyers anticipate a quick and easy user experience. A proven strategy for drawing in and keeping both current and new clients is to live up to their expectations. Here is a B2B eCommerce features list to help you choose the best B2B eCommerce SaaS for your business:

Custom Pricing and Customer-Specific Catalogs

For B2B clients, customized pricing is an essential requirement of B2B eCommerce software solutions. Prices ought to be adjustable based on a variety of factors, including clientele, volume purchases, area pricing, and more. Additionally, you want to be able to offer various pricing based on the types of products. To enhance the consumer experience in relation to pricing, a B2B eCommerce platform should also offer real time price changes, discounts, promotions, coupons, and awards.

The majority of catalogs contain a number of order management features that improve the user experience. This includes hierarchical categories for easier navigation and search, flexible product types, multiple catalogs based on different relationships, product relationship management to show and suggest related products, and personal catalogs that show products that are pertinent to a particular customer.

Advanced Account Management

B2B eCommerce platforms should make content management simpler. Structured Content Management (SCM) systems empower teams to create content that is discoverable, reusable, adaptable, and easily reconfigurable. A headless or hybrid architecture enables the rapid and flexible development of seamless cross-platform user experiences. Multilingual support simplifies the process of expanding your global reach, while version control features provide the ability to track, save, and manage content changes effectively.

Bulk Ordering and Quick Order Features

Customers making bulk orders are mostly looking for special discounts on payment methods or additional services. Offering quantity based discounts can be an effective strategy, as B2B customers often place large orders rather than purchasing individual items. When shipping bulk orders in cartons or pallets, providing discounts or free services becomes especially valuable, as adding extra goods typically doesn’t increase transportation costs. To maximize the impact, ensure your B2B eCommerce platform and pricing strategy are designed to support these discounts. This approach not only demonstrates value to your customers but also helps foster loyalty, turning them into long term clients.

Integration Capabilities

Managing a B2B website becomes more seamless with platform connectors that integrate smoothly with CRM systems, external vendors, inventory management, order management, warehousing, and other essential business operations. Additionally, B2B eCommerce solutions can automate business processes to deliver enhanced customer experiences. A hooks engine further simplifies the integration of both internal and external systems with the platform, while a workflow system enables effective management of interfaces and content.

Detailed Product Information Management

Your company’s success depends on its products, therefore the ideal B2B eCommerce software solution should allow you to customize products to meet your demands. Your B2B eCommerce platform should allow for customizable product layouts and descriptions to effectively showcase your offerings. It should also support displaying various product variations, such as color, size, or branding options, to cater to diverse customer preferences.

Additionally, the platform should enable the creation of product/category relationships to highlight related items within the same or similar categories. It must also handle complex product-to-product relationships, capturing connections based on needs, compatibility, upsells, or cross-sells. These relationships should be both direct and intelligently managed to enhance the customer experience and drive sales.

Sophisticated Payment Options

Extended credit terms are a positive indicator of trust between a business and its customers, but B2B transactions don’t always have to follow the same rules as B2C sales, which typically call for rapid payment. You may let your consumers check out with a solution that works for them by providing various payment alternatives for credit, debit, and even BACS payments in addition to offline transaction terms.

Advanced Shipping and Logistics

Your B2B eCommerce platform should ensure that customers’ complicated shipping requirements don’t detract from their overall experience. Your customers should have flexible and advanced shipping alternatives. Traditional shipment parts based on weight or size and sophisticated zoning and geographic possibilities are two examples of this. To avoid placing several orders, your customer should also be able to divide delivery between warehouses. Finally, depending on the state or nation where the order is being transported, your platform needs to automatically apply the appropriate tax. An efficient B2B eCommerce marketplace software should have robust tools to ensure advanced shipping and effortless logistics for customers.

Self-Service Customer Portal

A business-to-business eCommerce customer portal is a powerful tool for facilitating online communication with distributors, manufacturers, and suppliers. It provides access to up-to-date product and service information in a personalized manner. To deliver a tailored experience, a B2B eCommerce customer portal should include various customization options.

For example, many eCommerce websites offer password protected user areas exclusively for authorized clients, ensuring pricing structures remain confidential. Secure access control mechanisms should ensure that only designated individuals can access the portal, safeguarding sensitive business information.

Workflow Automation

Using pre-built workflow templates or enabling configurable workflows, automation is becoming increasingly prevalent in the eCommerce industry to support both seller and buyer workflows, including the purchasing process.

The ability to design unique workflows for buyer and seller related procedures is one of the most important B2B eCommerce SaaS features you should search for in a B2B eCommerce platform. Everything should be adaptable and simple to change, from welcoming inquiries for quotes to onboarding new buyers or sellers. Flexible, configurable workflows that minimize time consuming activities and make it simple to customize the experiences of both buyers and sellers are essential for a business-to-business eCommerce platform.

Analytics and Reporting

When using a B2B eCommerce website, customers have high expectations. Customer management should therefore be possible with your B2B eCommerce platform. You should be able to see the customer from all angles, comprehend their needs, and know how to effectively tailor their experience through access control. Seeing products that are pertinent to their requirements instead of having to sift through a ton of uninteresting ones is one example of these individualized experiences. A customized gateway and price based on their connection and purchasing patterns may also be part of this experience.

Implementation Considerations

Here are some of the key implementation considerations that one should always consider while selecting the best B2B eCommerce platform:

Platform Scalability

Unprecedented scalability is crucial for eCommerce’s continued strong growth. Platforms must be ready to adapt to changing business needs and impromptu expansion in a fast paced, cutthroat digital economy. Platforms with limited scalability run the risk of becoming obsolete as the company needs change.

Total Cost of Ownership

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis provides valuable insight into both the direct and indirect costs of a B2B eCommerce platform. These include initial startup costs, ongoing operational expenses, and the costs associated with scaling and enhancing the platform as your business evolves.

When calculating TCO, be sure to account for factors such as licensing fees, integration costs with other systems, customizations, and potential operational savings. This comprehensive approach helps ensure you have a clear understanding of the platform’s long-term financial impact.

Integration Requirements

Business software systems such as ERP, PIM, and CRM are essential components of an organization’s architecture. Seamless integration between these systems and your eCommerce platform is crucial to ensuring smooth operations and avoiding potential revenue losses caused by fragmented workflows.

Pimberly stands out in this space as a comprehensive solution that effortlessly adapts to diverse B2B models and integrations. With its advanced features, the platform aligns with the unique needs of each organization, enhancing operational efficiency and driving business success.

Bottom line

Even though we’ve listed some of the most important elements you should seek in a B2B eCommerce platform, we understand that sometimes there are just too many options, not enough time, or not enough resources to launch or platform a complex website. To put you on the correct track to success, Pimberly can assist you in selecting the best B2B eCommerce software and set you up with a stunning design, back office optimization, and marketing optimization. Pimberly offers the core features that any B2B eCommerce platform requires to overshadow the eCommerce industry. Just contact us today at Pimberly for more information.