How Do You Choose the Best B2B Ecommerce Platform for Your B2B Firm?

Ecommerce is here to stay and will only continue to grow at a great pace. B2B traders are contributing largely to its growth, even B2B companies do not gain that much widespread attention compared to B2C companies.

Naturally, technology has a role to play in the growth of eCommerce and by continually adapting and improving functionality, B2B eCommerce platforms make business process management more efficient, with various options to improve productivity, coordination and monitoring.

With the number of choices, it can be challenging to choose which one is the best for your company. Above all, you should choose an eCommerce software solution that was designed specifically to handle wholesale operations for the B2B sector, such as b2b.store.

Unique features of B2B eCommerce platforms

Developers of eCommerce platforms include different features to make them slightly different from other eCommerce apps. Thus, you should know what features are essential and what other features are just cosmetic additions.

• Adaptability. The platform should be adaptable and flexible. With many people using mobile devices for shopping, the B2B eCommerce platform should handle the transition from a stationary source to a mobile source when handling payment options without encountering problems.

• Segregation of customers. Look for a B2B eCommerce solution that recognises the diversity of your clients. It should have separate interfaces for manufacturers and wholesalers. A feature such as this will help you to easily input the different pricing schemes by customer category, segregating the prices of goods you offer, the terms of payment you extend to other customers, and the delivery options.

• Flexible payment options. B2B transactions are different. They handle volumes of products and goods, with companies ordering items in much larger quantities. Further, the supplier offers various payment methods, like wire or bank transfers, letters of credit, and BACS transfers. Therefore, the eCommerce platform should be able to handle different payment schemes and payment options.

• Self-service for clients. Many B2B customers now expect supplier websites to allow them to independently do transactions. If they are doing repeat orders, they want the freedom to place the order and the shipment details and track their order.

They also want to see stock availability in real-time. This feature will allow customers to manage their accounts and place purchase orders after office hours. In this context, an email subscription popup can be a great lead magnet idea that helps rope in new prospects and customers through a B2B website.

Here, the user is engaged through a pop up game, where he/she wins a discount coupon code in return for their email addresses which can be later on utilized for business marketing. A specialist like “Tada” can be of great help in integrating such store conversion ideas.

• Interface for sales representatives. B2b companies still rely on professional sales reps to conduct business. There should be an interface in the eCommerce system that will allow them to set up an account for a new client, place an order for them, and schedule shipment. Getting a B2B account takes time. Thus, the sales rep must take immediate action once the client approves the contract.

Besides the vital functionalities, choose a B2B eCommerce platform with excellent customer support, scalability, up-to-date security protocols, and PCI-compliant. Likewise, it should be easy to integrate with the other systems the company uses.