How does Shopify work for B2B businesses?

B2B on Shopify

While the eCommerce platform Shopify is best known for powering business-to-consumer (B2C) stores, it is equally well-equipped for business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce. Over recent years, Shopify has significantly expanded its platform, adding a whole host of useful features and functionalities specifically designed for B2B eCommerce.

At Create8, we have helped countless B2B businesses improve their customer experience by building them a dynamic eCommerce store equipped with features and functionalities specifically designed for B2B transactions.

Ready to learn more about what makes Shopify a great fit for B2B eCommerce? In this article, we’ll reveal how eCommerce offers unrivalled opportunities for growth for B2B businesses and explore the powerful B2B features and functionalities offered by Shopify.

Setting up a B2B eCommerce store on Shopify

There are some key differences between managing a B2B business and a B2C one. B2B transactions usually involve larger order volumes, customised pricing, recurring orders, and more complex purchasing processes involving multiple decision-makers. These differences mean that building a B2B eCommerce store requires a specialist toolset different from that used when building a B2C one. 

Shopify is one of the most popular platforms for building a B2B eCommerce website. Businesses can either set up a store that is exclusively for B2B customers or operate a blended Shopify store that serves both B2B and B2C markets from one place. 

The platform’s premium Shopify Plus plan provides powerful, out-of-the-box B2B and wholesale tools. However, with its high cost of entry, Shopify Plus is better suited to enterprise-level businesses. Many small and medium-sized B2B companies find that Shopify’s Advanced plan is a cost-effective alternative that still provides the essential features, apps, and integrations needed to build a dynamic B2B eCommerce store.

Why does your B2B business need an eCommerce store?

If your B2B business isn’t selling its products online yet – why not? The idea that B2B business should be conducted face-to-face or over the phone rather than online is an outdated one. Building a B2B eCommerce store has numerous benefits and often contributes to significant business growth. Let’s learn about the key advantages of building an eCommerce store for your B2B business.

Expand your reach

Launching a B2B eCommerce store provides your business with a platform for reaching a global audience. Online stores are not limited by geography, making your products accessible to new markets, helping your business break down geographical barriers, and opening up new opportunities for growth.

Improve operational efficiency

Running a B2B business requires seamless management of many different processes, from order processing to inventory management and handling customer enquiries. Shifting to eCommerce allows you to automate and streamline many of these processes, helping you to reduce the need for manual intervention, save time, minimise errors, and cut costs.

Enhance customer experience

Offering your B2B customers a seamless, user-friendly online experience makes it easy and convenient for them to browse products, place orders, and manage their accounts—all from one place. This enhanced customer experience will help strengthen your relationship with clients, leading to happy, loyal customers and potentially enhancing B2B sales on Shopify.

Make data-driven decisions

One of the biggest advantages of eCommerce is the wealth of data it gives you access to. From tracking customer behaviour to analysing sales trends, your eCommerce platform can give you valuable insights to help fine-tune your product offerings and make informed, data-driven business decisions to help drive your business forward.

What features does Shopify offer to support B2B operations?

You may be wondering, “Is Shopify better for B2C or B2B?” While Shopify offers a huge selection of features, functionalities, and apps suitable for B2C eCommerce, this still holds if you’re building a B2B store. In recent updates, Shopify has placed a strong emphasis on enhancing B2B capabilities, rolling out new Shopify B2B features specifically designed to meet the needs of business-to-business operations.

We’ve compiled a list of the top seven most important Shopify features for B2B businesses.

Wholesale channels

Shopify Plus allows you to create dedicated wholesale channels that operate separately from your retail storefront. This feature enables you to offer customised pricing, exclusive products, and personalised marketing for your B2B clients.

Custom pricing and discounts

Shopify also supports a wide range of different B2B pricing strategies. You can set up tiered pricing, bulk discounts, and customer-specific pricing based on purchase volume, customer loyalty, or other criteria. This flexibility enables you to offer tailored deals to your clients, encouraging larger orders and repeat business.

Automated workflows

Shopify Flow, available on Shopify Plus, allows B2B businesses to automate various time-consuming tasks, including approving orders, inventory management, and triggering customer notifications. By automating these jobs, businesses can reduce manual work, minimise errors, and free up their team to focus on more strategic tasks.

Seamless integrations

Shopify Plus integrates seamlessly with popular enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to ensure smooth data flow and operational consistency. Whether your business uses Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Oracle NetSuite, or another system, Shopify’s integrations enable real-time synchronisation of data, including orders, inventory, customer details, and financials.

Advanced Security

Security is a top priority in B2B transactions, and Shopify Plus offers advanced security features designed to protect your business and your customers. With PCI compliance, fraud analysis, and secure checkout processes, Shopify Plus ensures that your B2B transactions are secure from start to finish, building trust with your customers and minimising the risk of fraudulent transactions or security breaches.

Scalability

Whether you’re a small business looking to grow or an established enterprise managing complex operations, Shopify Plus is designed to scale with your business. The platform can easily handle high-volume sales, extensive product catalogues, and complex workflows. As your B2B business expands, the platform is powerful and flexible enough to continue supporting its evolving needs.

Multiple Store Management

• Centralised Control: Shopify Plus enables businesses to manage multiple stores from a single admin interface. This is ideal for B2B companies that operate across multiple brands or regions. This feature helps to ensure consistent branding and efficient operations across the entire business, allowing you to manage product listings, pricing, inventory, and marketing campaigns across all stores without having to switch between accounts.
• Efficient Resource Allocation: With a unified dashboard, Shopify Plus allows businesses to allocate resources, track performance, and implement strategies across different stores without switching between accounts. This streamlined approach helps to save time and reduce complexity, no matter how many storefronts you manage!

Shopify Plus vs. Shopify Advanced for B2B

When it comes to choosing the right Shopify plan for your B2B business, the decision often hinges on its size and specific needs. Small and medium-sized B2B businesses may find that Shopify Advanced has all the tools they need to build a dynamic eCommerce platform. However, larger enterprise businesses or those with more complex needs may find that Shopify Plus is better equipped to position them for growth.

Not sure which option is the right fit for your business? Let’s explore the five key differences between the two.

Dedicated wholesale channel

One of the standout features of Shopify Plus for B2B is its dedicated wholesale channel. This allows businesses to create a completely separate B2B storefront with its own pricing, products, and customer experience. 

On the other hand, Shopify Advanced does not offer a dedicated wholesale channel. If you’re on this plan, you will need to rely on workarounds and apps to manage B2B sales. 

Customisation and flexibility

Shopify Plus provides extensive customisation options, including access to advanced features like Shopify’s API and custom scripts. This versatility allows businesses to tailor their platform to their specific needs.

While Shopify Advanced offers a wide and varied range of features, its customisation options are more limited than those of Shopify Plus. This may limit the platform’s ability to adapt to complex B2B requirements fully.

Automation with Shopify Flow

Shopify Plus provides B2B businesses with a powerful tool called Shopify Flow that can be used to automate a wide range of tasks, including order processing, inventory updates, and customer communications.  

Unfortunately, the Shopify Advanced plan does not include access to Shopify Flow. This means you will need to rely on third-party apps for automation.

Support and resources

One of the most significant benefits of Shopify Plus is the dedicated support it provides. You’ll receive support from a Launch Engineer to help you get started, ongoing support tailored to your business needs, and access to the Shopify Plus Academy, which contains extensive training and resources to help you get the most from the platform.

While Shopify Advanced does offer standard support, it lacks the specialised resources and personalised assistance that come with Shopify Plus. For smaller or less complex B2B businesses, this may be sufficient, but larger enterprises may find the extra support on Plus invaluable. 

If you require additional, dedicated support, why not enquire about the Shopify support packages that we offer here at Create8? Our support services are designed to reduce the amount of time and resources you spend in-house each month trying to implement or update website features or functionalities and troubleshoot problems with your online store.

Advanced security features

Security is of paramount importance in B2B eCommerce, especially for businesses that handle high-volume transactions. Shopify Plus offers advanced security features, including PCI compliance, custom SSL certificates, and additional fraud-prevention tools, helping to protect both your business and its customers.

While Shopify Advanced is secure and meets the standard requirements for eCommerce, it doesn’t offer the same level of advanced security features available on Shopify Plus.

How can B2B businesses set up a wholesale channel on Shopify?

B2B wholesale is a business model in which one business sells products in bulk to another business at a discounted price. The idea that this business model is too complicated to carry out online is a dated one. In fact, moving your B2B wholesale operations online can be a game-changer, significantly improving and speeding up the buyer experience and making it easier to tap into new markets. 

Setting up wholesale on Shopify is only available to Shopify Plus customers. The wholesale channel feature allows you to create a separate, password-protected wholesale store linked to your main store. This allows you to manage wholesale customers separately, set custom wholesale pricing, and establish minimum order quantities.

Can Shopify integrate with ERP systems commonly used by B2B businesses?

Many B2B companies use an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to manage key operations, including accounting, resource management, project management, and supply chain management.

Shopify seamlessly integrates with many of the ERP systems commonly used by B2B businesses, including Microsoft Dynamics 265, SAP Business One, Oracle NetSuite, and Sage ERP.

Integration can usually be achieved using either a native integration or app or, for less common systems, a third-party integration platform. For businesses with more complex requirements or those using a custom-built ERP system, Shopify provides the tools required to create a bespoke integration solution.

What payment options are available for B2B transactions on Shopify?

One of the biggest differences between Shopify B2B and B2C is the way customers pay for goods. While many B2B businesses are now embracing eCommerce, a huge proportion of buyers are still using more old-school methods of payment. For instance, in the US, 40% of all B2B payments are still made using cheques.

Shopify enables B2B businesses to offer customers a variety of payment options that cater to their specific needs. Some of the most popular Shopify B2B payment options include:

• Wire transfer
• Cheques
• Credit or debit card
• Paypal
• Cash on Deliver (COD)

When you choose to set up your B2B store on Shopify, you get access to Shopify Payments, which accepts more than 130 global currencies from a range of different payment gateways. Shopify Plus also enables B2B businesses to set up and configure manual payment methods like bank transfers and cheque payments and offer customers net payment terms that allow them to pay for goods within a specified time after they have been delivered. 

Alternatively, for businesses using Shopify Advanced, third-party apps like Wholesale Gorilla can help you implement net payment terms and other manual payment options.

Are there any apps or extensions specifically useful for B2B operations?

The Shopify App Store is home to over 8,000 apps, including many that are specifically designed for B2B and wholesale businesses. Some of the best Shopify apps for B2B include Wholesale Gorilla, Bold Custom Pricing, and Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B.

However, here at Create8, we believe the BSS: B2B Wholesale Solution app, is one of the most invaluable tools for B2B eCommerce. The app offers a selection of features that can be used to gain more flexibility and control over your pricing strategies. Key features of the B2B Wholesale Solution app include:

• Dynamic pricing: Easily create and manage custom pricing for different customer segments, allowing you to offer personalised deals that cater to specific client needs.
• Volume discounts: Implement automatic volume-based pricing to encourage larger purchases by offering better prices for bulk orders on Shopify.
• Contract pricing: Set up special pricing contracts for long-term clients, ensuring they always receive the best rates to foster loyalty.
• Easy management: The app provides an intuitive interface to manage your pricing strategies, making it simple to update prices and conditions without technical expertise.
• Seamless integration: The B2B Solution Custom Pricing app is fully compatible with Shopify Plus, enabling consistent pricing across your online store.

The B2B Solution Custom Pricing app offers a free trial, with plans starting at $25 /month.

Partner with Create8 to build your B2B eCommerce store

Need some help getting your B2B business set up to sell online? Whether you aim to expand your reach, streamline your operations, or drive business growth – Create8 are here to help. We have helped countless B2B businesses- ranging from small startups to huge global enterprises – to start selling online. As a trusted Shopify partner, our team of Shopify web designers and developers have the expertise to build a tailored B2B eCommerce solution that will help your business reach its goals. 

From setting up complex pricing structures and automating invoices to enabling manual payment options – our team will help you develop an eCommerce store that not only meets your customer’s needs but also delivers an exceptional buying experience. With our help, you can gain a competitive edge in the market. 

Ready to learn more about our work or discuss your project with our team? Contact us to get started.