B2B e-commerce is accelerating rapidly, and already 77% of procurement is conducted through online stores designed for businesses (Posti's B2B E-commerce Study 2022).  

Compared to online stores targeted at consumers, B2B e-commerce can mean a variety of things, ranging from a simple online form to a comprehensive, customised ordering system for clients. When transitioning to e-commerce, businesses must consider, in addition to technology, how their own and their existing customer base’s processes adapt to online trading.

To aid in this consideration, we have listed three modern B2B e-commerce operational models, their specific features, and the business models they typically suit. 

Open online store

An open online store most closely resembles these e-commerce models akin to a "regular" consumer online store. There are no customer-specific contract prices (at least initially) and no mandatory registration or acceptance as a customer before you can start shopping.

The advantage of this e-commerce model is its familiarity: the customer experience can be constructed just as well and according to accustomed practices as on the consumer side.

In such an online store, B2B features typically appear in the later stages of the purchase funnel and in features activated after registration. The business buyer can enter the company details, business ID, and billing information before completing the purchase.

In an open B2B online store, conducting the first purchase may require manual data review by the seller before the delivery proceeds.

Suitability:

• Businesses that sell online to other businesses and consumer customers

• Selling standardised and fixed-price products

• Companies that sell services

• Businesses whose customer relationships are not based on recurring purchases but rather occasional individual transactions

• Selling individual products or small quantities (where there is no need to calculate contract prices or large volume discounts)

Closed online store

A closed online store always requires customers to register and establish a customer relationship (often through a formal agreement) before commencing the purchase process.

In a closed online store, only part of the product information may be shown publicly, or it is kept entirely behind login. Typically, at least the prices are behind registration, and they are often customer-specific. A long-standing customer buying in large volumes sees entirely different prices compared to a newly registered small business.

An online store requiring registration balances between providing excellent service to existing customers and acquiring new customers. It is challenging to attract new customers online if only snippets of information and no pricing are shown publicly. On the other hand, satisfied existing customers will order independently from a well-functioning closed online store, and the results of price negotiations can be easily implemented, for example, as product group-specific discount percentages.

Extensive product information, design files, and even 3D models can also be offered behind the login for long-standing customers.

Despite its closed nature, it is a system clearly recognisable as an online store, which can be implemented using ready-made e-commerce products (such as Shopify).

Suitability:

• Companies conducting solely B2B business

• Companies selling large quantities of products

• When there is a lot of technical product information, design files, availability data, and other precise information related to products that should not be publicly available or easily accessible to competitors

• Those needing contract prices and customer- and product group-specific discounts

• Companies with established and typically long-term customer relationships.

Customer-specific order system or e-commerce

The last of the B2B e-commerce models is also the most customised. Here, the seller builds an online application that enables clients to place orders such that both parties' information systems receive all necessary data on purchases and sales. This kind of order system is usually customised according to the product being sold and may resemble a configurator application more than a traditional online store in terms of interface.

A customer-specific order system is generally heavily integrated into the seller’s other back-end systems and offers interfaces (possibly even integration services) to the buyer’s corresponding back-end systems. Such an intercompany shared system integrates B2B business into a seamless whole, benefiting both parties. Orders, product inventories, and financial transactions remain up to date in both organisations.

In practice, such a strong system-level connection requires a long and trustworthy customer relationship, such as in subcontracting or other ongoing cooperation.

Suitability:

• For complex product or service sales where the purchasable whole needs configuring in a way that ready-made e-commerce products cannot accommodate

• For long-term customer and partnership relationships (e.g., ongoing subcontracting or partial deliveries)

• Situations where the seamless integration of both companies' back-end systems benefits both parties

• E-commerce where control over all stages of the process is desired through a tailored solution

P.S. What about the technologies?
Of these B2B e-commerce models, the first two (open online store and closed online store) can generally be implemented using ready-made products designed for e-commerce, such as Shopify or Magento . A customised online store is also excellently suited for certain cases.

For a customer-specific order system, bespoke application development is usually the best option to achieve a good result. In certain industries, ready-made configurator products may also include features or subcomponents that can be utilised in building such an order system.

Updated 2.5.2022.