What Is B2B eCommerce?
B2B (business-to-business) eCommerce is the online selling of products or services between companies. Unlike B2C stores built for individual shoppers, B2B platforms must handle bulk orders, complex pricing tiers, multi-user accounts, ERP integrations, and long-term buyer relationships.
The global B2B eCommerce market is projected to reach $36 trillion by 2026 — more than five times the size of B2C. Yet many B2B companies are still running on outdated systems: PDFs, phone orders, and spreadsheets.
If your business is ready to modernize, here's what you need to know about choosing the right B2B eCommerce platform.
B2B vs B2C: Key Differences
| Feature | B2B | B2C |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer | Procurement manager | Individual consumer |
| Order size | Large, recurring | Small, one-time |
| Pricing | Negotiated, tiered | Fixed, public |
| Payment | Invoice, net terms | Card, wallet |
| Catalog | Custom per customer | Same for all |
| Checkout | Approval workflows | One-click |
A platform built for B2C will struggle with B2B complexity. You need purpose-built features — or a flexible architecture that supports both.
What to Look for in a B2B eCommerce Platform
1. Customer-Specific Pricing
Enterprise clients need contract pricing, volume discounts, and negotiated rates — hidden from other customers. The platform must support price lists per customer group or account.
2. Company Accounts & Multi-User Management
B2B buyers often have multiple people placing orders: procurement, warehouse, finance. Your platform needs company accounts with role-based permissions and approval workflows.
3. PIM & ERP Integration
Managing thousands of SKUs across multiple countries requires a Product Information Management (PIM) system. ERP integration ensures orders flow directly into your inventory and accounting.
4. Bulk Ordering & Quick Reorder
B2B buyers reorder the same products regularly. Features like CSV order upload, quick reorder from history, and saved order templates reduce friction dramatically.
5. Multi-Language & Multi-Currency
If you sell across Europe, your platform must support localized catalogs, currencies, and tax rules per market — without creating separate stores.
6. Headless Architecture for Performance
Modern B2B buyers expect the same experience as B2C. A headless frontend delivers fast page loads, better SEO, and full design flexibility.
The Best B2B eCommerce Platforms in 2025
Magento 2 / Adobe Commerce
The open-source Magento 2 provides a solid foundation, but the full B2B feature set — company accounts with organizational hierarchies, negotiated price lists, shared catalogs, requisition lists, and purchase approval workflows — requires Adobe Commerce (the commercial edition). If you are evaluating Magento for B2B, make sure you are pricing the Adobe Commerce license, not just the open-source version.
With Adobe Commerce and a headless Nuxt storefront combined with a PIM like Akeneo, you get full customization at every layer — pricing engine, checkout, ERP integration, and storefront — at the cost of higher implementation complexity and ongoing maintenance.
Best for: Mid-market to enterprise B2B with complex pricing, approval workflows, multi-market requirements, and an in-house or agency development team.
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus includes native B2B features: company accounts, custom price lists, net payment terms (Net 15/30/60), quantity rules, and custom catalogs. Pricing starts at $2,300/month (3-year term) or $2,500/month (1-year term), switching to a 0.25% revenue share above $800k monthly revenue.
Worth noting: Shopify Plus supports only two user roles per company, which limits complex approval chains. There is no built-in order approval workflow — this requires manual handling or custom apps. Orders are also capped at 500 line items (draft orders: 200), which can be a constraint for large bulk orders.
Best for: B2B businesses that prioritize launch speed and ease of management, with simpler organizational structures and order patterns.
BigCommerce B2B Edition
BigCommerce B2B Edition includes company accounts, custom pricing, and ERP integrations. B2B functionality is a product layer built on top of BigCommerce's DTC foundation — which works well for straightforward use cases but can require workarounds when complex catalog segmentation, per-buyer-group pricing logic, or multi-region management is needed at scale.
Best for: Growing B2B businesses with straightforward requirements looking for a managed SaaS solution.
When Magento 2 / Adobe Commerce Is NOT the Right Choice
Adobe Commerce is powerful — but it comes with real costs and complexity. It is likely the wrong choice if:
- Your team has no eCommerce developer — Adobe Commerce requires dedicated development resources for implementation and maintenance
- Your timeline is under 3 months — a proper Adobe Commerce B2B setup takes time to do right
- Your B2B requirements are simple — if you have one price list, standard checkout, and no approval workflows, you are paying for complexity you don't need
- Budget is under €50–80k for the initial build — a headless Adobe Commerce B2B project is a significant investment
In these cases, Shopify Plus or BigCommerce B2B Edition will get you to market faster and at lower total cost.
Real-World Example: 46,000 Products, 5 Languages
One of our clients — a leading European industrial parts distributor — needed to move their entire B2B catalog online:
- 46,000+ product SKUs with complex attribute sets
- 5 language markets with localized content
- Akeneo PIM integration for product data management
- ERP sync for real-time inventory and pricing
- Custom pricing per customer group
We built their platform on Adobe Commerce + headless Nuxt storefront + Akeneo PIM. The result: a fast, scalable B2B store that handles enterprise order volumes while giving buyers a modern self-service experience.
How to Choose Your B2B Platform
The right platform depends on the complexity of your B2B requirements — not catalog size. Ask these questions:
- How complex is your pricing? Fixed or simple tiered → any platform. Negotiated per-account or contract pricing → Adobe Commerce.
- Do you need order approval workflows? Built-in multi-level approvals → Adobe Commerce. Simple purchasing structure → Shopify Plus or BigCommerce.
- How many markets do you serve? Single market → any platform. Multi-locale with localized catalogs and tax rules → Adobe Commerce.
- Do you have a development team? In-house or agency → Adobe Commerce. Small team, fast launch → Shopify Plus or BigCommerce.
- What's your budget? Under €50k → Shopify Plus or BigCommerce. €80k+ with long-term roadmap → Adobe Commerce.
Launch Your B2B Store with Zaproo
Zaproo builds B2B eCommerce solutions across Adobe Commerce, Shopify Plus, and headless architectures. We help you choose the right platform for your requirements — and then build and scale it.
