B2B E-commerce Platform: Development Guide for 2026

B2B e-commerce is a $20+ trillion global market — 6x larger than B2C. Yet most B2B companies still rely on phone calls, emails, and PDF catalogs for ordering. The companies that invest in digital B2B commerce are capturing outsized market share.

This guide covers everything you need to plan and build a B2B e-commerce platform.

How B2B E-commerce Is Different from B2C

| Feature | B2C | B2B | |---------|-----|-----| | Pricing | Fixed, same for everyone | Custom pricing per customer/contract | | Ordering | Single item, one-time | Bulk orders, recurring | | Payment | Credit card at checkout | Net 30/60/90 invoicing | | Catalog | Public, same for all | Custom catalogs per customer | | Approval | No approval needed | Multi-step approval workflows | | Accounts | Individual | Company accounts with multiple users | | Shipping | Standard options | Custom freight, split shipments | | Integration | Minimal | ERP, CRM, inventory, EDI |

These differences mean you can't just put a B2C platform on a B2B business. B2B requires specialized features.

Must-Have Features

Core commerce features

| Feature | Description | Priority | |---------|-----------|----------| | Customer-specific pricing | Different prices per customer, contract, or tier | Must | | Tiered/volume pricing | Discounts based on quantity ordered | Must | | Quick order forms | Order by SKU, CSV upload, reorder history | Must | | Quote management | Request, create, negotiate quotes | Must | | Company accounts | Multiple users per company with roles | Must | | Approval workflows | Purchase approval chains by amount/role | Must | | Net payment terms | Invoice with 30/60/90 day terms | Must | | Bulk ordering | Order hundreds of items efficiently | Must | | Custom catalogs | Show different products per customer | Should | | Contract pricing | Price agreements tied to specific contracts | Should |

User management

| Feature | Description | |---------|-----------| | Company hierarchy | Parent/child company relationships | | Role-based access | Admin, buyer, approver, viewer roles | | Spending limits | Per-user or per-role spending caps | | Multi-address | Multiple shipping and billing addresses | | Budget tracking | Department-level budget visibility |

Integration requirements

| System | Integration Type | Priority | |--------|-----------------|----------| | ERP (SAP, NetSuite, etc.) | Real-time inventory and pricing sync | Critical | | CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot) | Customer data, order history | High | | Accounting (QuickBooks, Xero) | Invoice and payment sync | High | | Warehouse (WMS) | Order fulfillment, shipping | High | | Payment processor | Credit, ACH, wire, purchase orders | Critical | | EDI | Electronic data interchange for large accounts | Medium | | PIM (Product Information) | Centralized product data | Medium |

Technology Options

Build vs buy decision

| Approach | Best For | Cost | Timeline | |----------|---------|------|----------| | SaaS platform (BigCommerce B2B, Shopify Plus) | Standard B2B needs, fast launch | $500-$5,000/mo + setup | 2-4 months | | Open-source (Medusa, Saleor) | Custom requirements, full control | $100K-$300K build | 4-8 months | | Custom-built | Unique workflows, complex integrations | $200K-$1M+ | 6-18 months | | Hybrid (SaaS + custom frontend) | Best of both worlds | $80K-$250K | 3-6 months |

Platform comparison

| Platform | Type | B2B Features | Price | |----------|------|-------------|-------| | Shopify Plus | SaaS | B2B catalog, wholesale channel | $2,000+/mo | | BigCommerce B2B | SaaS | Price lists, quotes, company accounts | $400+/mo | | Adobe Commerce (Magento) | Self-hosted | Full B2B suite, complex pricing | License + hosting | | commercetools | Headless SaaS | API-first, composable | Custom pricing | | Medusa.js | Open source | Extensible, B2B plugins available | Free + hosting | | OroCommerce | B2B-specific | Purpose-built for B2B | Custom pricing |

Our recommendation

For most B2B companies, we recommend a hybrid approach: use a headless commerce backend (Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, or Medusa) with a custom frontend built in Next.js. This gives you:

Pre-built commerce logic (cart, checkout, inventory)
Custom B2B UX (quick order, approval workflows, customer portals)
Modern performance (sub-second page loads)
Flexibility to integrate with existing ERP and CRM

Key Design Considerations

Self-service portal

B2B buyers increasingly expect B2C-like self-service:

| Feature | Business Impact | |---------|----------------| | Online reordering | 40-60% of orders become self-service | | Real-time inventory | Reduces "out of stock" disappointments | | Order tracking | Fewer "where's my order?" support calls | | Invoice access | Accounts payable can self-serve | | Account management | Buyers manage their own addresses and users |

Mobile experience

B2B buyers are increasingly mobile. Your platform must work on tablets and phones for:

Sales reps using tablets in the field
Warehouse managers checking inventory on phones
Buyers placing orders from their mobile devices

Search and navigation

B2B catalogs can have 10,000-100,000+ SKUs. Robust search is critical:

SKU-based search (exact match for part numbers)
Attribute filtering (material, size, color, certification)
Category navigation with faceted search
Saved searches and favorites

Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Foundation (Month 1-3)

Core product catalog and pricing engine
Customer account management
Basic ordering flow (cart → checkout → order)
Payment processing (credit card + net terms)
Admin panel for product and order management

Phase 2: B2B Features (Month 3-5)

Customer-specific pricing and catalogs
Quote request and management
Approval workflows
Quick order forms and CSV upload
Company account hierarchy

Phase 3: Integration (Month 5-7)

ERP integration (inventory, pricing, orders)
CRM integration (customer data)
Accounting integration (invoicing)
Shipping/logistics integration

Phase 4: Optimization (Month 7+)

Analytics and reporting dashboards
Personalized recommendations
A/B testing on conversion flows
Mobile app (if needed)
EDI for enterprise accounts

Cost Breakdown

| Component | Cost Range | |-----------|----------| | Platform license/setup | $5,000 - $50,000 | | Custom frontend development | $50,000 - $200,000 | | B2B feature development | $30,000 - $150,000 | | ERP/CRM integration | $30,000 - $100,000 | | Design (UX/UI) | $15,000 - $50,000 | | Data migration | $5,000 - $25,000 | | Total | $135,000 - $575,000 |

Ongoing costs

| Item | Monthly | |------|---------| | Platform hosting/license | $500 - $5,000 | | Maintenance and support | $3,000 - $15,000 | | Third-party services | $500 - $2,000 |

Measuring B2B E-commerce Success

| Metric | Target | |--------|--------| | Online order % | 30-50% of total orders within 12 months | | Average order value | Maintain or increase vs offline | | Customer adoption | 60%+ of customers using portal | | Reorder rate | 70%+ of orders are reorders | | Support ticket reduction | 30-40% fewer order-related tickets | | Order processing time | 50-70% reduction |

Ready to Build Your B2B Platform?

Our e-commerce development team builds B2B commerce platforms with Next.js, Shopify Plus, and custom solutions. We handle the complexity of customer-specific pricing, ERP integration, and approval workflows.

Get a free B2B e-commerce consultation.

B2B E-commerce Platform Development Guide for 2026