Best B2B eCommerce platform in 2023
With the growth of digital commerce also comes the increasing number of online businesses. The number of online companies within the last three years has skyrocketed. The business-to-business (B2B) market value is projected to increase rapidly, which will allow more merchants to establish their business online. This will further result in increasing the demand for B2B eCommerce platforms. Today, there are several B2B eCommerce platforms that online merchants use for their business. It can be a daunting task for new eCommerce owners to find a reputable platform that offers everything they need. As for others, they don’t know what to look at in these platforms. In this article, we will explore the best b2b eCommerce platform in 2023. Too busy to read? Listen to this article here: What is B2B eCommerce? B2B eCommerce is an online transaction with both parties involved are businesses. For instance, buying a product from a manufacturer to stock for your online store. In this situation, both parties are not the end-user of the product. The manufacturer sells the product to another company, and once that happens, it is known as B2B. Best B2B eCommerce Platform in 2023 Shopify Plus The Shopify Plus is a powerful online shopping cart system that most online eCommerce stores use. The platform offers the same features and dashboard as Shopify. Nevertheless, it has advanced tools and B2B functionalities that allow you to perform different operations. Nowadays, Shopify Plus is gaining wide recognition because of its compatibility with most systems and the unique features it offers. Today, top brands such as Pepsi Co, Kylie Jenner, Nestle, Hawkers, and so on use Shopify Plus on their website. Pricing: starts from $2,000/month. In order to maximize your productivity with a Shopify store, be sure to give our app Shopify Automation a try! Magento Commerce Magento is another reputable eCommerce platform in the eCommerce industry. It has made waves because of its high scalability and customizability. Today, it is a sensational choice for businesses looking to up their game in the ever-competitive eCommerce industry. Currently, Magento has two editions. The Magento Open Source (this is free but with limited features) and Magento Commerce, which is the premium version. The premium edition has a lot of features and offers a better customer experience. It provides richer functionalities, customizable solutions, security, B2B data, and much more. Pricing: Magento Open Source, as stated above, is free. However, you should expect at least $12,000 for development and maintenance. Magento Commerce: from $22,000/year. Usually plus a minimum of $10,000 for development. Magento Commerce Cloud: from $40,000/year. You won’t have to pay extra for hosting, but development costs will still be there. If you’re using an open-source Magento version but switching to Adobe Commerce is overwhelming in terms of cost, efforts and time, GritGlobal’s B2B Magento platform will be one of the considerable choices for you: You can now convert your Magento store into a B2B format website without effort. BigCommerce Enterprise Hardly can you mention the top three eCommerce platforms without mentioning BigCommerce. It is well-known for excellent support, easy to set up, high functionalities, and customizable features. The platform is suitable for manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers. Several big brands utilize BigCommerce Enterprise for their online business, such as Natori, Ben&Jerry’s, and Toyota. Pricing: comes with different plans. From $29.95/month and varies based on features and revenue. While considering BigCommerce, it is essentials to check out our apps: BigCommerce Automation and BigCommerce BackOrder. NuORDER Another unique eCommerce platform that connects over 2,000 brands with a platform to offer their products online. If you want a two-way marketplace with an ordering system that allows brands to connect retailers while retailers look for other brands, then you need NuORDER. It provides storeowners a seamless process that makes searching for a product straightforward. Furthermore, it comes with unique features that include customization, security, and visual assortments. Pricing: customized by quotes. Conclusion Whatever business you want to set up online, you need a good eCommerce platform that provides security, customization, and other features. Today, the growth of an online business is rapidly increasing, and you need to stay ahead of the game by providing a seamless platform for customers. We have looked at some of the best B2B eCommerce platforms in 2023 for your online business. (article updated December 2021)
5 must have B2B eCommerce softwares
Side by side with the significant growth of digital commerce, as an influence of pandemic, online businesses are emerging. As noted in a report of Statista.com, the global B2B eCommerce market is valued 6 times bigger than B2C. This number is on the tendency to increase even more quickly. This will cause more and more merchants to set up their online businesses, which results in raising the demand for B2B eCommerce softwares. Must-have features for B2B eCommerce softwares Security Needless to say, security is one of the biggest priority of each enterprise. That assumption is even more correct as in the Internet era, the world becomes flat and information leakage is totally easy. Top B2B eCommerce platforms need to keep not only their retailers but also buyer data as safe as possible. Customization When speaking of customization, we can refer to a modifying program that software cannot normally do. With customization, the software can attract more merchants to use it. The reason is it helps to save time and money, especially with scaling up. They can totally make changes to the store functionality without hiring third parties to do it for them. They are able to design it based on there and make adjustments to the fullest as desired. Wholesale Wholesale eCommerce just like its name, relates to large quantities of purchase. If it is built in the right way by merchants, they can earn more opportunities toward their business as sales increase, cost decrease. B2B buyers can be identical to B2C customers. Personalization and customer experience are essential to them. Therefore, you need to set up an eCommerce software that offers wholesale eCommerce features in order to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs. Must have B2B eCommerce Softwares CRM A business usually has so many tasks that require attention. They might feel overwhelmed with managing the consumer cycle from lead to sales. In this case, a CRM solution is what they need. This software offers them to follow all business activities. With only one platform, you can view and see a big picture of how your business is running. You are able to track all the sales back in the past, see who takes care of it and what customers are buying. From this detailed information that together forms a big scene, you can then make a plan on the way you want to target your potential customer, how to optimize what you have and supercharged conversion channels. Order management system Order management systems (OMS) are eCommerce software whose main task is to track and monitor the customer order journey. It covers the process from the beginning till the end. This can be involved in stock management and fulfillment as smoothly as possible. Based on this introduction, it can be totally easy to draw out the importance of OMS. Firstly, it helps you to maintain accurate stock levels. Both over and under stocking can cause businesses to waste money and provoke the risk of losing customers. In that situation, OMS by tracking orders will help you to keep the right amount of stock and satisfy customers. Secondly, by using OMS, you are able to see your sales and data ordering, which helps you to have some deep insights about the process and from there, planning turns more simple. And in the end, all of this can save you a big amount of time. B2B Ecommerce Platform As a business, you will have a lot of orders. In addition, according to Statista.com, B2B market is increasing and it is valued 6 times bigger than B2C. Hence, it is essential that you can take care of these consumers well. Business-to-business eCommerce websites provide a way for your customers to purchase your products online, and a host of other benefits to your organization. Imagine your customers, dealers or distributors seeing both their online and offline orders in one place, managing their orders, budgets, seeing their pricing and available promotions through an online experience. Also, with the integration of a purpose-built B2B eCommerce digital experience platform, businesses can maximize efficiency, increase sales and improve customer experience. Customer service applications Customer service can be a strong point if businesses can manage them properly since it adds to the value of your product. Statistica report shows that about 66% of consumers are willing to pay more and to spend more time with businesses with good service. However, it will cost a fortune if businesses pay to have a team of representatives to answer each and every one of customer concerns. If you fail to respond to them quickly enough, you might lose a potential lead. So, it is such a wise investment to use customer service applications. They allow you to provide the information to shoppers quickly and without spending a lot of money. Conclusion Above are the 5 must-have B2B eCommerce software that each merchant big or small should really consider applying to their businesses. With the right action, these can be wise investments that save your money in the long run, save your time and effort. Not to mention, it can increase your revenue and customer retention.
Delight Practices To Strengthen B2B Order Management 2023
B2B eCommerce business is growing significantly in the modern world as its profit is about $1.1 trillion in 2023. While B2C eCommerce requires a small number of goods, a transparent and well-controlled procedure, B2B eCommerce needs an incredibly massive amount of products and a strict-controlled and effective system as its customers are companies, enterprises, or corporations. Because the size of this business platform is considerable, every process must be done efficiently. One of the critical elements leading to successful B2B transactions is sufficient B2B order management. Today, we will recommend strategies to manage orders for B2B eCommerce businesses to help your eCommerce run smoothly and maximize your profits. Practical Measures For B2B Order Management Multichannel Utilization B2B needs a vast network and a tight connection with its buyers. That is why using a single channel for B2B order management seems impossible. Taking advantage of multichannel or omnichannel applications will help you manage your products from various sources more effectively. This approach is also time-saving for both you and your business partners as every order process, including payment step or procedure tracking, can be automatically created and updated. Also, don’t worry if your business has a different or unique workflow because you can customize it to fit your business style. Enhance Customer Experience B2B business brings your more valuable purchaser also more competition. A traditional way to prevent your potential customers from your competition is customer experience enhancement. Time-waiting reduction and instant support may be effortless with automation applications on Bigcommerce and Spotify platforms. However, some additional points need you to pay more attention to. Every client may have different expectations, and thus, they might require other things. With an order management system, you can adjust some particular buying stages such as order fulfillment, delivery, pricing, retail channel, etc., as they want to satisfy them. Data Access Allowance Your B2B order management will need trust and transparency from customers in every transaction. Some cloud-based applications will help you. Your business clients can access the necessary data to manage and follow their order process so they can establish some right-time adjustments. As a result, we reduce unexpected costs for mistake orders afterward. The shared accessible data also helps us to reinforce the customers’ trust, which is fundamental for further orders. Cloud-based data is also safe and convenient. The data generated from product process records will be a reliable source to evaluate further and make decisions. In addition, the expenditure for paper and pen can be crossed out and replaced by valuable investments. Simplify The Global Supply Chains The effectiveness and efficiency of your B2B order management may be decided partly by the supply chain. Slow and costly delivery may be unacceptable. The tight connection between you and your partners, also between you and your logistics third party, can speed up the shipping procedures. With multichannel order management and inventory, you can quickly process the order. Your customers can instantly buy it whenever it is available with a back-order application on Bigcommerce flatforms. Besides, the logistics company can track when it is ready for shipping via accessible cloud-based data. In addition, while the products are on delivery, you can follow them and thus develop some speed-up strategies to improve the supply chains. If you wish to convert your open-source Magento store into B2B format, GritGlobal has now offered a B2B platform exclusively for eCommerce merchants who wants an open-source eCommerce platform with an affordable pricing plan. You can discover here: You can now convert your Magento store into a B2B format website without effort. Conclusion We have established some excellent practices for fantastic B2B order management. We also have some supportive applications for you. In the end, we hope that your B2B selling will gain some remarkable achievements!
B2B vs B2C: the main differences
To properly comprehend the distinctions between B2B and B2C eCommerce, you must first comprehend whom you are selling to. Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumers are two types of dealings. These two differ from each other in multiple ways. The B2B is a type of business dealing in which one business offers products and services to another business. However, it is the opposite in B2C. The Business-to-Consumer direction is a type of business in which business serves the local population. Customers in the B2C and B2B sectors buy for various reasons, have distinct motivators driving their purchases, and have distinct consumer expectations. Following we have differentiated between the B2B and B2C. The distinctions are outlined below: The main differences between B2B vs B2C Buying behavior First of all, B2B vs B2C differs in their behaviors. For instance, business owners devise their marketing strategies and sales strategies keeping in mind their end customers. Decision-Making In the b2C, there is only a single customer who purchases the products for any single reason. However, the B2B is a business deal in which there are multiple stakeholders, shareholders, or other important personalities. These people will agree upon the final decision after discussion and multiple steps in their internal processes. Unlike B2C customers, who are primarily individual buyers who make purchases on their own, B2B customers are frequently involved in a more complex buying process involving several stakeholders. A budget approver, researcher collecting product information, a point of contact, and an end-user, for example, can make up a B2B decision-making group. Pricing The price of the B2C vs B2B also varies. The B2C consumers also decide at a fixed price, which is similar for all types of buyers. However, B2B customers do not have to pay the fixed price. In the B2B market, there is not a single fixed universal pricing of the products. The prices vary depending on multiple factors such as negotiated contracts, relationship history, location, and others. When using a B2B eCommerce platform like BigCommerce, you will notice the feature to add different price lists to different customer segments. If you wish to convert your open-source Magento store into B2B format, GritGlobal has now offered a B2B platform exclusively for eCommerce merchants who wants an open-source eCommerce platform with an affordable pricing plan. You can discover here: You can now convert your Magento store into a B2B format website without effort. Delivery time The B2C consumers often make direct payments because they are the end customers of the business. However, the delivery time differs when it comes to the Business-to-Business transaction. So, B2C consumers pay the price of the packages via post. But the B2B customers receive the product directly. Time of payment The time of payment also varies between B2B and B2C transactions. The time of payment also differs because B2C consumers pay the price directly to the business owners. However, B2B consumers pay the price via invoices on a monthly or quarterly basis. The monthly, quarterly, or annual are the periods in which B2B pays to the business. Relationship length The relationship lengths with the B2C customers are not as hopeful as the B2B relationship strength. However, the relationship length between B2B and the business is great. The relationship strength of the businesses helps them in increasing their profits by maintaining good relations with a company. Conclusion These are some of the top differences between B2C and B2B. You can increase loyalty by knowing about their type and working style. This is how you will be able to increase your revenue and conversion rates.
Best B2B Shopify Apps
B2B commerce is the process of selling products between two businesses. The Shopify Plus plan is dedicated to the B2B merchants with various support functions. In this write-up, we’ll discuss the best B2B Shopify apps that can help improve their operation management. HubSpot CRM HubSpot has a powerful freemium CRM that has become popular among Shopify merchants. The app is fully integrated with Shopify, allowing for simple data synchronization between your online store and the CRM dashboard. Users can also customize workflows based on customer information on Shopify. Let’s say you wanted to contact customers who had spent less than $25 in your shop. You can build an automated workflow in HubSpot that uses buying data to segment customers that meet your requirements. Then you can set up another workflow to automatically send marketing emails to increase their average cart value. Salesforce Salesforce bills itself as the world’s best CRM network, claiming approximately 20% of the industry. This is a top-notch platform with such a large flex––and it does. It can be easily integrated with Shopify and other hosting platforms. In addition, the app can connect with other apps to build more complex workflows to store and segment information. This helps save time spent looking up customer data while interacting with them. Tradegecko Among the best B2B Shopify apps, Tradegecko is well-known for its enormous ability to support e-Commerce businesses. The app combines various features such as Order Management, Inventory Management, and Customer Relationship Management into a single app. You can tailor the prices for individual customers and keep track of their interactions. SEO Manager The ultimate way to get customer attention is to get to the top of search results. However, it’s increasingly challenging to remain on the first page due to raising competition worldwide. Although this cannot be automated, some resources can help you improve your search rankings. SEO Manager was created to improve your store’s rankings. It quickly assesses the primary ranking criteria that your site lacks and proposes the appropriate solutions. Frequently Bought Together Frequently Bought Together makes it easier to sell more products at a time. It suggests items that can be used with the customers’ choice under the search results. This helps boost cross-selling of related goods. At the same time, buyers can choose to order more significant quantities of requested goods in exchange for lower prices, which is referred to as upselling. The app also assists you with bundling. This feature allows the customer to purchase the correct item and cross-products at a reduced price. Tool for integrating the marketplace The B2B business model is entirely reliant on sales and commission sharing. As a supplier, you can’t just keep bringing goods to your dock; you also have to clean out your inventory. In other words, the more sales you make, the more money you make. Your goods will get more attention if you sell them on an open market. They not only exert a wide range of interests but also assist you in selling your products in bulk. In Shopify, here are a few Marketplace integration tools that can bind you with the big retailers, allowing you to meet your goals faster. Atom8 As an entrepreneur, there are always a bunch of tasks every day, many of which are repetitive such as filling customer information or publishing products. This makes everyday work extremely tedious and exhausting. Atom8 is one of the best B2B Shopify apps that allows for creating workflows that execute whenever need without human intervention. You can also set up the time and place you want such action to take place. Just make sure your workflows are built logically and can be understood by the whole team. Users can also integrate the app with other platforms such as BackOrder, Mailchimp, or Shipstation to streamline the whole operational procedure. Find out more about our free forever plan here!
Successful B2B eCommerce Business Model
A business model is one that everyone has their own opinion. For some, it is a combination of choices on how you operate a business, whereas others see it as how a business functions. However, another group says it comprises certain elements, including resources, processes, and customer value propositions. Notwithstanding your view, every business needs a business model to run effectively. More importantly, your B2B eCommerce business also needs such a model to run successfully. For eCommerce businesses, there are three essential business models that are proven successful. In this article, we will explore the masses, customer relationship, and hybrid model. Masses Business Model The Masses business models function excellently with B2b businesses with a vast product catalog that also wants to reach many customers. The model depends on digital marketing instead of a sales team. B2B companies that use this model mainly sell non-specific and general items that any customer can buy. Therefore, to ensure customers return to make purchases, the model utilities various strategies, including loyalty programs and email marketing. For the model to be successful when using for your eCommerce business, you need to have a well-competitive price, and your websites must be optimized for search engines. Customer-Relationship focused Model The model emphasizes personal customer relationships. Here, the sales team is an essential part of the business as it helps nurture customer relationships and answer any questions in their journey to make a purchase. Businesses that sell products and services in a personalized or specialized niche utilizes this model. The eCommerce platform makes it easier to create a personalized experience for every customer, display every item related to what they have already purchased. Furthermore, it also shows a specific pricing system and integrates with CRM and ERP systems to provide a personalized customer experience. Hybrid Business Model You can see this model as the middleman between the customer-relationship-focused model and the masses model. It includes a mixture of selling from an extensive online product catalog to server buyers and selling personalized products. This business allows buyers to buy directly from their website while giving them access to a specific niche. An essential aspect of this model is customer segmentation and integration with ERP and CRM. Conclusion Although business-to-customer businesses, investments, and brands have gotten massive attention since the introduction of the internet, business-to-business eCommerce businesses are here to stay. While their growth might be slow, it will certainly minimize the influence and dominance of the B2C market. Nevertheless, while everything seems promising for the B2B market, the solution is pretty complex. Frequently, it requires a mindset change of the people handling these small and medium-sized businesses. Additionally, these businesses make up a more significant part of the industry in every country. When choosing a particular model for your B2B eCommerce business, you need to find one that perfectly suits your business and website. However, whatever model you decide fits your eCommerce business, remember to optimize your website. After choosing your business model, it is essentials to find the right B2B eCommerce platform to start building your website. With each platform and model, there will be a variety of tools available to assist you. For example, inventory management, automation tools, marketing apps, etc. If you’re a BigCommerce merchant, 2 apps Atom8 and BackOrder are recommended to help your business. Atom8 automates repetitive tasks on the platform, while BackOrder prevents revenue loss due to zero inventory. The link of the two apps’ introduction here: Atom8 helps you automate repetitive tasks to save hours of working. With BackOrder, zero inventory will no longer be a problem.
