B2B Ecommerce Platform for Your Wholesale and Trade Customers, Connected to Your ERP

Q: What is the best B2B ecommerce platform?

It depends on your rules, your catalogue and your ERP. Magento fits when there are many custom rules or several stores. Shopify Plus when running without servers matters most. PrestaShop for mid-sized catalogues on a tighter budget. BigCommerce as SaaS with built-in B2B. We recommend one, with reasons, once we have seen your rules.

Each trade customer sees their catalogue, their price list and their terms, reorders in a minute, and their order flows straight into your ERP. And if you also sell to consumers, both stores share a single back office. On Magento, Shopify, PrestaShop or BigCommerce.

See What Is Included Talk About My Trade Channel

B2C + B2B Two stores on one installation, like EquiMercado
0 Web orders Silicium keys into SAP by hand
12 Custom modules for EquiMercado’s B2B rules

01 · Catalogue Products and prices in sync
02 · Experience Search, product page and cart
03 · Payment Gateways and anti-fraud
04 · Order ERP, stock and logistics
05 · Measurement Conversion and margin
06 · Operation Your team sells, the system scales
Every sale refines the catalogue

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Definition

What Is B2B Ecommerce?

B2B ecommerce is an online store where a business sells to other businesses (retailers, distributors, installers, professionals) under the rules of trade sales: customer-specific prices and price lists, minimum orders, agreed payment terms, a catalogue visible only to approved accounts and orders connected to the company’s ERP.

It differs from a consumer store (B2C) because the price is not the same for everyone, customers buy often and in volume, and the order usually follows an internal process: approval, credit, warehouse and invoice. Many companies sell through both channels; the sensible setup is then one platform with two stores, rather than two systems with a duplicated catalogue.

Summary

Executive Summary

What you gain when your trade channel moves online.

In many companies the trade channel still runs on phone calls, emails and order sheets: the sales rep takes the order, someone keys it into the ERP and the customer calls to ask about a price or a delivery. A B2B store does not replace your sales team: it takes the repetitive work off their hands and lets customers order whenever they want, on their own terms.

What makes a B2B store work is not the design: it is your business rules translated properly (who sees what, at what price, with what minimum and with which payment method) and data that is never keyed in twice. That is why we start with the rules and the ERP, and choose the platform afterwards.

We have done it on different platforms. For EquiMercado, two WooCommerce stores became a single Magento installation with a consumer store and a private trade store. For Silicium, a Shopify store connected to SAP Business One where price lists and trade orders travel between the website and the ERP without being retyped.

1 Installation for the consumer store and the trade store
Per customer Catalogue, price list, minimum and payment terms
ERP Orders, stock and prices without double entry

What's included

What a B2B Store Includes

The features trade buyers ask for, adapted to your rules.

Customer-specific pricing by customer or customer group, with volume discounts and promotions by product family
Minimum orders by amount, region or customer type, plus free shipping rules
Agreed payment terms: card, bank transfer, or deferred payment for approved customers
Restricted catalogue and prices: without an approved account, no catalogue, prices or checkout
Trade account area: orders, invoices, delivery addresses and users from the same company
Quick order and reorder: by SKU, from a previous order or from a saved list
ERP integration: orders, customers, stock, prices and price lists in both directions
B2B and B2C on one installation: two stores, one catalogue and one order back office
Trade customer sign-up with approval by your team before prices are shown

Why

Your Business Rules First, the Platform Second

How we turn the way you sell to trade customers into a store that applies it on its own.

Before choosing a platform we write down the rules of your trade channel with you: which customer groups exist, which price list each has, which minimum order applies in each region, who can pay on terms and which products each customer sees. What the platform handles out of the box is configured; what it does not is built as a custom module. At EquiMercado that meant twelve Magento modules: minimum order by region, free shipping, access by customer group and blocking checkout without an account in the trade store. Then we decide which system owns each piece of data: at Silicium, SAP owns stock, prices and price lists, and the store owns web orders.

trade-channel-rules.yaml

# Example rules for a B2B store

group: distributor

price_list: the one on their ERP record

minimum_order: by delivery region

payment: card or bank transfer

catalogue: logged-in only

source_of_truth:

stock_and_prices: ERP

web_orders: store, sent to ERP

Per customer Prices
Private Catalogue
In sync ERP

Key points

Which Platform for Your B2B

We have no favourite: we choose based on your rules, your catalogue and your ERP.

01
Magento and Adobe Commerce

When there are many custom rules, several stores or a large catalogue. Multiple sites on one installation, customer groups and custom modules for whatever is not built in. It is what we built for EquiMercado. More in Magento development.
02
Shopify and Shopify Plus

When running without servers and launching fast matter most. Shopify Plus has its own B2B features (company catalogues and price lists, payment terms), and on any plan the store can connect to the ERP through middleware, as at Silicium. More in Shopify development.
03
PrestaShop

For small and mid-sized catalogues on a tighter budget: customer groups with their own prices, multistore and custom modules. More in PrestaShop development.
04
BigCommerce

A SaaS option with built-in B2B features such as price lists and purchase orders. We cover it in BigCommerce development.
05
Composable

For large operations that need independent pieces (catalogue, search, pricing, payments) joined by APIs. We cover it in composable commerce.

How we work

How We Work

From order sheets to a trade channel that runs on its own.

01
Trade Channel Rules

Customer groups, price lists, minimums, payment methods, catalogue visibility and the order process, written down and validated with you.
02
Data Map with the ERP

Which system owns each piece of data and which way it travels: customers, price lists, stock, orders and invoices. If your ERP is SAP Business One, see our SAP Business One integration.
03
Platform and Design

We choose the platform based on those rules and design both experiences: the trade buyer’s, who orders fast and reorders, and the consumer’s, if there is one.
04
Build and Integration

Configuration, custom modules for whatever is not built in, ERP integration, payment gateways and migration of customers and orders if you are moving from another store.
05
Launch and Maintenance

Onboarding the first trade customers, support for your sales team and month-to-month website maintenance.

Who it is for

Is This for You?

This service fits when you sell to trade customers and want them to order without calling you.

Who it's for

Manufacturers, wholesalers and importers that sell to retailers, distributors or installers.
Companies that already sell to consumers and want to open a trade channel without duplicating catalogue or operations.
Businesses with different prices per customer that are managed today in spreadsheets or in the ERP.
Companies whose staff key into the ERP the orders that arrive by email or phone.
Anyone with an old B2B portal or ordering site that nobody maintains.

Who it's not for

Companies selling to a handful of trade customers with highly bespoke orders: a good CRM and quotes may be enough.
Anyone who only needs a consumer store: see our ecommerce agency service.
Anyone who wants the B2B store without clear price lists and terms: we will start there, before writing any code.

Deliverables

What Is Included and What Is Not

So you know exactly what you get.

Included

Trade channel rules document and ERP data map
B2B store (and B2C if you need it), designed and built
Custom modules for rules the platform does not cover out of the box
Integration with your ERP, payment gateway and logistics
Migration of customers and orders from your previous store or system
Team training and documentation

Not included

Implementing or configuring your ERP internally (done by your ERP partner)
Platform licences, paid modules and hosting

The proof

B2B Stores That Already Work

For EquiMercado, the Fair Trade project of Fundación Adsis, we merged its two WooCommerce stores into a single Magento 2 installation with two sites: equimercado.org for consumers and b2bequimercado.org for trade buyers, which shows no catalogue or prices until you log in. Twelve custom modules apply the minimum order by region, free shipping and access by customer group. Its director reports +60% in sales and visits in his Clutch review. For Silicium, which sells to consumers and to health professionals, we connected Shopify to SAP Business One: SAP price lists reach the store every hour, trade orders created in SAP appear on the website every 5 minutes, orders are segmented by customer type and price list, and professional customers sync to HubSpot every night.

2→1 EquiMercado WooCommerce stores merged into one
15 min From SAP stock to the Silicium store
4 Systems connected at Silicium
5.0 Clutch rating

For the CTO

CTO Summary

How we build it under the hood.

B2B rules are implemented where the platform supports them natively (customer groups, sites, catalogues and price lists) and, where it does not, as versioned custom modules, never as core changes. On Magento, multiple sites on one installation with a theme per store; on Shopify, Plus B2B features or logic in middleware.

ERP integration is designed per data type: which system owns it and how often it travels. Web orders go in by event (webhook) with a periodic sweep that picks up any missed notifications; stock, prices and customers come down from the ERP in scheduled batches. It is the pattern of Silicium’s Node.js and TypeScript middleware with SAP Business One, running on the client’s own server.

Technologies

Magento 2
Shopify
PrestaShop
BigCommerce
SAP Business One
Node.js
TypeScript
PHP
MySQL
Redis
HubSpot
Webhooks

B2B rules native to the platform or in custom modules, never in the core
B2B and B2C as sites of one installation
Each data type with an owning system and a sync frequency
Event-driven orders with a recovery sweep
Customer and order migration with 301 redirects

Risks and how we cover them

The Risks We Prevent

What usually goes wrong in a B2B project.

01
Different prices on the website and in the ERP

Mitigation
One system owns price lists and prices, which flow down to the store at an agreed frequency. Nobody maintains them in two places.
02
Web orders lost on their way to the ERP

Mitigation
Event-driven intake plus a periodic sweep that recovers any order whose notification did not arrive, as at Silicium.
03
Trade customers who do not use the store

Mitigation
Quick order, reorder and visible terms from day one, plus support for your sales team to onboard the first customers.
04
Two stores with duplicated catalogue and operations

Mitigation
B2B and B2C on one installation, with one catalogue and one order back office, as we did with EquiMercado’s two WooCommerce stores.

Technologies

Platforms and Integrations

The ones we use in B2B stores.

Magento 2
Adobe Commerce
Shopify Plus
PrestaShop
BigCommerce
SAP Business One
HubSpot
SendCloud
Redsys
Stripe
Node.js
TypeScript
PHP
MySQL

FAQ

B2B Ecommerce FAQs

What people ask us most before opening a trade channel online.

What is the difference between B2B and B2C ecommerce?

In B2C everyone sees the same price and can buy without an account. In B2B each trade customer has their own price list, payment terms and minimum order, often their own catalogue, buys more often and in larger quantities, and the order follows an internal process through to the ERP.

Can I run the B2B and B2C stores on the same platform?

Yes, and it is usually the sensible choice: one catalogue, one order back office and two stores with their own rules. That is what we did for EquiMercado: equimercado.org for consumers and b2bequimercado.org for trade buyers, on a single Magento 2 installation.

What is the best B2B ecommerce platform?

It depends on your rules, your catalogue and your ERP. Magento fits when there are many custom rules or several stores. Shopify Plus when running without servers matters most. PrestaShop for mid-sized catalogues on a tighter budget. BigCommerce as SaaS with built-in B2B. We recommend one, with reasons, once we have seen your rules.

How do you show different prices to each customer?

By assigning each customer a group or a price list that the store applies once they log in. If the price lists live in your ERP, the store receives them from there; at Silicium, SAP Business One price lists reach Shopify every hour.

Can the catalogue and prices be hidden from non-customers?

Yes. EquiMercado’s trade store shows no catalogue or prices until you log in and blocks checkout without an account. New sign-ups are approved by your team before they get access.

Does it connect to my ERP?

Yes: orders, customers, stock, prices and price lists, in whichever direction is needed. We use platform connectors or our own middleware, like Silicium’s with SAP Business One. More in ERP and ecommerce integration.

Can customers pay on terms or by bank transfer?

Yes, if you accept it for that customer: the order goes in with the agreed payment method and collection follows your usual process. For customers who pay by card at checkout, we integrate the payment gateway.

How much does a B2B ecommerce store cost?

It depends on the platform and above all on the rules and integrations. For reference, as already published on our platform pages: a Shopify or PrestaShop store starts at €8,000 and a Magento project at €25,000 (typically €30,000-90,000). B2B workflows, multistore and ERP integration are exactly what push the figure up. We give you a fixed quote once the scope is defined. Prices exclude VAT.

Can you migrate my current store or B2B portal?

Yes, with customers, orders and URLs. EquiMercado came from two WooCommerce stores, and Silicium from PrestaShop, with its order history since 2018 and its old URLs redirected with 301s.

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