Most people, when asked to explain ‘ecommerce’, often summon up a description of a classic retail experience such as buying a shirt or a skirt or some other everyday Business-to-Consumer (B2C) experience. This is because this is an encounter that is common to many people. What is less familiar, but a highly significant landscape shift, is the ever-increasing significance of Business-to-Business (B2B) ecommerce.
B2B ecommerce is a sector that has gained huge and sustained momentum driven by the opportunities it presents to drive revenue growth, streamline operations, and enhance customer relationships. Additionally, it provides B2B businesses the ability to gain real competitive advantage whether by building a B2B ecommerce site as first step or rebuilding an old existing site to capitalise on new technology and make further investments, and gain greater scalability, to get even more results.
The B2B eCommerce Boom
Globally, B2B ecommerce is experiencing year on year growth. And it’s serious growth, too. Looking at two sets of research conducted independently by Forrester and Statista, the worldwide B2B ecommerce market was valued at a staggering $7 trillion in 2023, significantly eclipsing the B2C sector. Buyers are increasingly expecting B2B transactions to mirror the speed, transparency, and ease of consumer user experience (UX), which imperils those who refuse to move with the times.
If we look at the UK specifically, a 2024 piece of research by Wunderman Thompson Commerce found that over 60% of B2B buyers would rather conduct more than half of their purchasing online. The pandemic turbocharged this shift, making remote buying the norm and exposing gaps in companies relying on old school brochures, face-to-face, or phone-based sales. In fact, it’s fair to say that for UK businesses, B2B trading platforms have moved from being an optional extra to enhance sales and satisfy fringe customers to a critical central role.
Opportunities in B2B eCommerce
That B2B ecommerce is a game changer is beyond argument. But why? What are the advantages it brings to the table? Let’s look at some answers to this question.
1. Reach & Access
This first one is simple. Just as the internet is borderless, so is B2B ecommerce. International markets can be reached easily by logging into a B2B ordering portal. A simple to use ordering portal with multilingual and multi-currency features allow typical B2B suppliers such as manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors to trade around the world with limited friction. This is of particular value to UK-based companies looking to boost exports post-Brexit. Customers across Europe, say, or North America can access your full product range, view customer specific pricing, and order online without any boots on the ground in terms of local sales team.
It also levels the playing field, allowing smaller B2B operations to go toe-to-toe with their bigger competitors, especially if they have a smart online presence (size of business is often no guarantee of ecommerce excellence, believe me).
What’s more, your site works 24/7 helping remove the challenges of international time zones.
2. Streamlining Operations
A big difference between B2B and B2C interactions is the complexity typically involved in any given interaction. Traditionally, B2B transactions frequently involve lengthy email threads, PDF quotes, multiple phone calls, and manual data entry into ERP systems. This need for detail never changes. But how simple it can be really does change with a well-executed ecommerce solution.
Integrating you B2B ordering portal will make all the difference. An integrated ecommerce site simplifies and automates those processes that take your team the most time and carry the highest risk of errors. Features such as real-time inventory updates, self-service ordering, bulk pricing tiers (price breaks in common parlance), and custom catalogues reduce internal workload and eliminate costly mistakes.
With a joined-up approach you will be able to link your B2B ecommerce operation with business systems such as ERPs, Order and/or Warehouse Management Systems and fulfilment solutions, giving a real 360-degree visibility. This streamlining will not only save you time but also provides richer data for forecasting, procurement, and senior decision-making.
3. Enhancing Customer Experience
Your B2B customers are the same as the B2C customers buying online in their free time. Except now they’re buying from you as part of their job. They expect the same intuitive UX they experience as consumers. They want to research products, view reviews, check technical specifications, and place orders without it being in any way difficult (or they’ll just go elsewhere). Having in place a sophisticated B2B ordering portal with a seamless UX, complete with advanced search, personalised pricing, instant reordering, and even AI-powered product recommendations will be a magnet to new and existing customers.
And, as we all know, improving customer experience (CX) also significantly helps in building loyalty and will encourage return visits and repeat purchases. Offering useful features such as account dashboards, and delivery tracking demonstrates your teams’ professionalism and reliability—two qualities highly valued by your customers in B2B relationships.
4. Personalisation & Self-Service
One of the greatest advantages of a modern B2B ecommerce platform is the ability to personalise the buying experience. B2B customers are very often long-term buyers, and they have specific needs and requirements; very often that’s why they’ve come to you to buy in the first place. By harnessing customer data, a B2B platform can offer tailored pricing, relevant product suggestions, and speedy access to order history.
Ordering portals also give buyers more control. They can generate quotes, track their deliveries, download their invoices, and even negotiate pricing (which agentic AI is going to impact majorly in the not-to-distant-future)), all without direct sales intervention. This reduces dependency on sales staff and enhances the buyer’s autonomy and efficiency.
5. Boosting Sales with Data & Insights
In B2B, as in B2C, ecommerce understanding your customers is crucial in achieving online success. A key component of that understanding is turning data into information. It can tell you what products people are buying and when. What items they are buying regularly, what they are buying alongside other products and what is selling the best. It can tell you when the buying journey of a given customer is interrupted and where. It can also tell you what products people would buy from you even if you don’t stock them (looking at site search data is invaluable for this). This data will inform merchandising, marketing campaigns, and product development.
It’s worth remembering too that your sales teams can gain insights from digital behaviour to guide their conversations. If a customer repeatedly views a certain product line but hasn’t purchased, it could well indicate interest that the sales team can then pursue proactively.
Challenges & Considerations for B2B eCommerce
One thing to note is that while it’s fair to say that the opportunities are vast, B2B ecommerce is usually very, very complex. It involves larger transaction sizes, negotiated pricing structures, complex approval hierarchies, and multiple payment methods. Most B2B-focused companies have to cater to varied customer groups, each with their own unique needs and permissions. So, building (or improving) a B2B platform requires careful planning, the right technology stack and an experienced development partner to provide implementation.
Key considerations include:
- Platform choice: Whether using Adobe Commerce/Magento Open Source, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce B2B, or a custom solution, the platform must support B2B functionality out-of-the-box or via robust integrations and/or extensions or plugins.
- Integration: Well planned and executed linkups with ERP, CRM, PIM, accounting, and logistics systems are crucial for operational efficiency and a seamless, joined up architecture
- UX: Investing in intuitive UX and responsive design is essential for both desktop and mobile users.
- Security & compliance: Pricing is highly sensitive data, as are contracts and customer data, so it’s important that the platform must meet rigorous security standards, including GDPR compliance. Selecting an ISO27001/9001 development partner is highly advised
Future-Proofing Your B2B Business
You see, investing in a new or existing B2B ecommerce site isn’t just about today. Rather, it’s about preparing for the future. Trends such as AI-powered personalisation, voice commerce, and predictive inventory ordering are already revolutionising how B2B buyers engage with their suppliers.
And let’s face it, younger procurement professionals are digital natives who prefer to research and buy online. As generational shifts continue, companies without a strong digital presence will simply find themselves increasingly irrelevant.
The ongoing rise of marketplaces (think Amazon Business, Alibaba, or even industry-specific portals) also means that savvy B2B companies will have to either compete effectively on these platforms or ensure their own service offers the same functionality and ease of use.
In Short
Building (or improving) your B2B ordering portal is significant job but one that delivers real benefits to your business. From increasing sales and enhancing CX to boosting operational efficiency and even powering global growth, the ROI can be significant.
For UK businesses, again in manufacturing, wholesale, and distribution, the opportunity is highly significant and potentially profound. Those who act now will reap rewards in growing buyer demand for digital services, differentiate themselves from less nimble competitors, and build more streamlined, data-driven operations.
Whilst your journey will involve technical and organisational challenges and costs, the strategic advantages far outweigh the initial investment. And picking an experienced development partner with a track record in B2B and integration will derisk implementation significantly. Meaning a well-executed B2B eCommerce strategy is not only an opportunity— it’s a necessity for long-term success.