The business-to-business e-commerce is becoming a rapidly growing market, opening up new opportunities for companies of all sizes. The best e-commerce platforms are key tools for businesses looking to improve their online presence and increase sales. There are many B2B e-commerce platforms on the market, each with its own features and benefits.
In this article, we will look at the value of a B2B platform, what to consider before choosing your B2B e-commerce platform and review the top 10 best B2B e-commerce platforms on the market today.
What is B2B e-commerce?
B2B e-commerce is a type of e-commerce where companies sell products or services to other companies. This can include wholesale sales, direct sales or transactions through online marketplaces.
What is the purpose of a B2B e-commerce platform?
B2B e-commerce platforms are designed to facilitate transactions between businesses, offering features such as:
- management of quotes
- order management
- management of customer accounts
- inventory management
The best B2B e-commerce platforms can also offer advanced features such as :
- la workflow managementintegration of customer
- relationship management (CRM) systems
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system integration.
How to choose your B2B e-commerce platform?
It is crucial to select a B2B e-commerce platform that meets the unique needs of your business.To help you in your quest for the largest B2B e-commerce companies, here are some things to consider when choosing a B2B e-commerce platform:
Features of the best B2B e-commerce platforms
Check that the B2B e-commerce platform has the necessary features to effectively manage your B2B transactions. These features may include:
- management of quotes
- order management
- management of customer accounts
- inventory management
It’s also important to make sure the platform offers customizable design options, so that your online store reflects your company’s image.
Integration
Check that the B2B e-commerce platform can be integrated with your existing systems, such as your CRM and ERP systems. It’s also important to ensure that the platform can handle workflow, inventory management and catalog data, for better management of your sales activity.
The flexibility of the best B2B e-commerce platforms
Ensure that the B2B e-commerce platform is sufficiently flexible to adapt to your evolving needs. It’s important to check that the platform can scale with your growing business, so you can add features or tools as your business grows.
Customer support
It is important to check that the B2B e-commerce platform offers reliable and responsive support to help you resolve any issues that may arise.
The scalability of the best B2B e-commerce platforms
It is important to check that the B2B e-commerce platform can grow with your growing business to accommodate your increasing sales and customer base.
Make sure the business to business platform has a fluid and responsive interface, customizable design options, and an inventory and catalog management system for efficient management of your online sales business.
Take the time to research the different platforms available in the market and check out reviews and testimonials from other businesses that use them.It can also be helpful to request demos or free trials to test the platform’s features before making a possible purchase decision. The best e-commerce platform for B2B is one that manages to meet all your needs without killing your budget.
Top 10 best B2B e-commerce platforms
B2B e-commerce is growing rapidly, and it has become crucial for businesses to have an effective e-commerce platform to manage their online transactions. There are many business-to-business e-commerce platforms on the market, each with its own advantages and features.
In this section, we present our top 11 best B2B e-commerce platforms to help you choose the one that will best suit your business needs. Here we describe each platform’s features, pricing, and pros and cons.
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is a state-of-the-art e-commerce platform specifically designed for large enterprise brands. It offers more control, customization, and automation for your standard commerce setup, combined with faster speeds and better omni-channel services.
Shopify Plus is a best-of-breed, fully-hosted SaaS B2B e-commerce platform. It is infinitely more reliable than traditional self-hosted platforms such as Magento Enterprise or SAP Hybris, as the solution is constantly monitored and updated to ensure maximum efficiency and robustness.
Key features of Shopify Plus
- Unlimited bandwidth to focus on growing your business without limits
- Supports the processing of up to 8,000 orders per minute per store.
- Highly scalable SaaS Shopify Plus cloud software
- Easy management of 10 stores simultaneously
- Easy management of flash sales with the Shopify Plus Launchpad tool
- Automatic task management
- Easy creation of complex scripts for specific offers
- Real-time event dashboard to track campaigns
- Wholesale channel management
- Full customization for your e-commerce store
- Advanced security with SSL certificates and PCI DSS level 1 compliance
- Integrations with other applications
To learn more about Shopify’s features, feel free to see our review of the e-commerce platform.
Shopify Plus pricing
Shopify Plus charges a monthly fee of $2,000 per month to use its advanced features, though this price may vary depending on usage and specific business needs.
It is important to note that Shopify Plus offers custom pricing for businesses with specific needs. Therefore, you should talk to their team to get a custom quote based on your needs.
As a matter of knowledge, Shopify Plus rates are calculated based on the company’s revenue and not on the number of products or customers.
The pros and cons of Shopify Plus
The advantages
- Ability to handle high volumes of traffic
- Ease of use for managing multiple stores
- Complete customization for your online store
- Advanced features to help manage and grow your business
- Advanced security and compliance with security standards
- Integrations with many other applications
The Disadvantages
- Potentially higher rates compared to other B2B platform options
- Not suitable for small to medium-sized companies that do not need the advanced features offered
Our rating on Shopify plus
Discover our evaluation on Shopify plus. It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
4,4/5
BigCommerce B2B Edition
BigCommerce is one of the best B2B platforms for e-commerce that offers businesses of all sizes a comprehensive set of tools to get up and running quickly. This B2B online platform is the one of the most powerful online store editors on the market, offering assistance to those who want to access a designer e-shop, with social media integrations and professional store management tools.
BigCommerce comes with access to a quote editor, ideal for service businesses.
The key features of BigCommerce
- Management dashboards with up to 20 sales channels
- Multi-channel selling
- Wholesale
- Integration with various tools
- PCI DSS support to protect customer information
- Easy organization of your product catalog and inventory
- Quote Editor
- One-step payment
Advantages and disadvantages of BigCommerce
The advantages
- It is easy to use for both experienced users and beginners
- It offers great flexibility for companies of all sizes
- It offers support for secure online payments
- It allows easy customization of websites
The Disadvantages
- It is expensive for small businesses.
- It can be difficult to find specific integrations.
BigCommerce prices
As one of the best B2B e-commerce platforms, BigCommerce offers different packages to suit the needs of every business. Rates range from $29.95 to $249.95 per month. There are also custom rates for businesses with specific needs.
It is important to note that rates increase with additional features subscribed. Therefore, it is important to carefully assess the business needs before committing.
Our rating on BigCommerce B2B Edition
Discover our evaluation on BigCommerce. It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
4,1/5
Yo!Kart
Yo!Kart is a leading-edge e-commerce platform designed for B2B companies seeking an online marketplace. It is built using agile development methodologies to provide a competitive business advantage over its competitors. It is a B2B e-commerce platform where you have to make a one-time license payment to own the system for life with ownership of the code source.
Key features
To be a part of our top best B2B e-commerce platforms, Yo!Kart comes with all the standard B2B features such as request for quote(RFQ), minimum order quantity, etc.
The platform is highly secure, robust, and fully customizable to meet your needs. Key features include:
- Management of the product catalog
- Separate vendor windows
- Several types of users, i.e, distributors, manufacturers, service providers
- Request for quotation (re-quotes, partial payments, counter-offers and invoice generation)
- Creation of subscription packages for vendors/distributors
- Selling services on a single B2B sales platform
- Store level configuration to enable “Buy Now” options
- The messaging module for buyers and sellers
- Integration of multiple payment gateways and third-party APIs
- A multilingual and multicurrency platform
- An internal content management system (CMS)
- A minimum order quantity
- An intuitive user interface
- SEO referencing
Advantages and disadvantages of Yo!Kart
The advantages
- Lifetime license for a single payment
- Standard B2B features
- Customizable to meet your B2B business needs
- Highly secure, robust and easy to use
- SEO optimization, simplicity, and transparency of administrative management
- Numerous payment options
- Interactive technical support, available 24 hours a day
The Disadvantages
- Little freedom for the administrator to control the design of the site
- Requires additional costs for customization
The rates
Yo!Kart starts at $1999, these plans include a lifetime license and no transaction fees.
Our rating on Yo!Kart
Discover our evaluation on Yo!Kart. It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
3,4/5
WooCommerce B2B
As a reminder, WooCommerce is a popular open-source e-commerce platform that is based on WordPress. It offers great flexibility and a deep relationship with WordPress, making it easy to create and manage an online store. There are numerous plugins and themes available as well as specific hosting and maintenance services to improve the performance of your store.
WooCommerce B2B is a WooCommerce extension designed specifically for B2B businesses, which is why it’s one of the best B2B e-commerce software. It offers a full range of tools to manage a parallel private store for your B2B customers. However, it can be expensive and require technical knowledge to configure properly.
Key features
- Hide prices from guest users. Only registered users can see the prices of products and buy them.
- Create multiple customer groups with customized discount rates.
- Option to define product prices according to customer groups. You can also define an overall percentage of wholesale discount on your products.
- Display product prices with or without tax rates.
- Show and hide product categories according to user group.
- Help to register wholesale customers. You can choose which users get wholesale discounts on your account.
The advantages and disadvantages
The advantages
- Ability to set and hide prices based on user type
- Fast and efficient customer support
- Full control over pricing and partner registration
- Easy integration with standard WooCommerce
- Fast and efficient customer support
- Ease of use
- Fast and efficient customer support
- Effective customer support
- Possibility to hide products in the public store
The Disadvantages
- Bugs have been reported
- Complex tool
- A VAT field is missing for a complete B2B experience
- Documentation could be improved.
- You need an additional plugin to manage user roles
The rates
If you plan to use WooCommerce B2B on a single website, then a 6-month license (Regular License) will cost you $99. If you want to use WooCommerce B2B on multiple websites, you will need their Extended License, which costs $199 for 6 months.
Our rating on WooCommerce B2B
Discover our evaluation on WooCommerce B2B. It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
3,9/5
OpenCart
OpenCart is one of the B2B platform companies that offers free and open source software products to manage an online store. With features such as SEO tools, integrated store management, unlimited extensions and themes, OpenCart is a choice to consider for small and medium-sized businesses.
The company has also expanded its opportunities in the B2B environment by offering an extension called “OpenCart B2B marketplace”. This allows companies to access marketplaces such as Alibaba for wholesale.
There, it is possible to create client groups and assign unique permissions to each client selection, making it easier to provide services such as online coaching and training.
Key features of OpenCart
- Free customer support
- Unlimited extensions and themes
- Store management tools
- Integrated SEO
- Open source coding
- Creation of user groups
- Reusable email templates
- Access to wholesale markets
- Downloading and exporting of groups
- Subdomain development
- Tracking the status of transactions
- Individual shipping methods for different customers
- Customized dashboard to manage B2B buyers’ orders
The advantages and disadvantages of OpenCart
The advantages
- Free
- Open source
- Powerful SEO tools
- Integrated store management
- Unlimited extensions and themes
- Access to wholesale markets
- Customizable client groups
The Disadvantages
- No personalized support for free users
- Costly B2B extension
OpenCart pricing
OpenCart software is free, while Webkul’s B2B marketplace extension costs $299.
As a reminder, the Opencart Multi vendor extension from Webkul will convert your Opencart store into a complete multivendor marketplace site like Amazon or eBay.
Our rating on OpenCart
Discover our evaluation on OpenCart It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
3,5/5
Adobe Commerce for B2B
Adobe Commerce (Magento) is surely the best open source B2B e-commerce platform that offers companies a complete solution to manage their e-commerce site. It also allows rationalizing the entire order management lifecycle. The platform offers automatic analysis of visitor behavior, allowing managers to provide tailored product recommendations based on trends or similar items.
Key features
- Business Intelligence (BI) tools to consolidate data from multiple sources and get a 360 degree view of all business processes
- Dashboard to analyze various indicators such as customer relationship value, repeat order probability and high performing products
- Brand management, reporting, regulatory compliance, design themes, shipping, data visualization and inventory tracking
- API (Application Programming Interface) to integrate the software with various third-party ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) applications
The advantages and disadvantages
The advantages
- Easy to install and maintain
- Multiple features for an affordable total cost of ownership
- Support and assistance provided via telephone, FAQs, instant messaging and other online tools
The Disadvantages
- The high price
- Complex platform
The rates
Adobe Commerce works by quote system in order to meet all the specifics of each business.
Our rating on Adobe Commerce B2B
Discover our evaluation on Adobe Commerce for B2B. It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
4,5/5
Pulse Commerce
Pulse Commerce is B2B e commerce software that provides visibility and control of inventory, orders, and customers. It is used by companies such as Badgley Mischka, Hanesbrands Inc. and GoodeCompany.com to improve order processing, increase customer satisfaction and optimize inventory management and administration costs.
Key features of Pulse Commerce
- Inventory management
- Payment processing
- Sales follow-up
- Management of discounts and rebates
- Electronic signatures
- Seizure and registration of sales
- Management of all means of payment
- Consultation and administration of the catalog (product files, categories, brands, variations, customer reviews, available stocks, etc.)
- Customer loyalty management (CRM, email marketing, etc.)
- Integrations
- ETI software, Large account software, SME software, VSE software
The advantages and disadvantages
The advantages
- Excellent value for money
- Multi-channel selling
- Plurality of features
- Suitable for all types of companies
The Disadvantages
- Limited reporting capabilities
- Complex interface
The rates
Pulse Commerce pricing is available upon request. It is different for every business to meet everyone’s needs.
Our rating on Pulse Commerce
Discover our evaluation on Pulse Commerce. It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
3,5/5
OroCommerce
OroCommerce is a B2B website platform designed specifically for businesses operating in this form of commerce. The platform highlights features that serve to strengthen your online presence with the aim of taking your business potential to another level.
OroCommerce offers a variety of tools to help companies develop their online business including an online ordering platform, integrated CRM, support for B2B and B2C markets, and more.
Key features
- Publishing of sales site
- Back-end management
- Integrated CRM
- SEO Features
- Sales and marketing reports
- Native RFQ, CPQ and QTC workflows
- Creation of workflows
- Multi-site, multi-agency and multi-language
- Open and customizable API
- Extensions
The advantages and disadvantages
The advantages
- Business scalability
- Integrated CRM to organize sales and marketing pipelines
- Adaptable to all types of companies
- Open-source and flexible environment
- 24/7 support for Enterprise customers
The Disadvantages
- Prices for the Enterprise Edition are only available on request
- Technical knowledge needed to use all features effectively
- Interface complexity
The rates
To meet the B2B needs of your e-commerce business, OroCommerce is available in two editions: Community and Enterprise. Nevertheless, to get the pricing for your business, you need to contact their customer support.
Our rating on OroCommerce
Discover our evaluation on OroCommerce. It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
4,1/5
TrueCommerce
TrueCommerce is a B2B e-commerce platform that provides small and medium-sized businesses with a comprehensive EDI (electronic data interchange)and e-commerce system to manage all their EDI compliance needs.
With the integration of e-commerce, e-invoicing and supplier activation in addition to translation software, TrueCommerce aims to provide a complete solution that can convert business documents such as purchase orders and invoices to an EDI-compatible format.
Key features
- EDI integration to automate supply chain processes
- Connection to a powerful partner sales platform with access to over 10,000 retail stores worldwide
- Integrations with leading business and accounting systems such as Sage, QuickBooks, and NetSuite
- Automate order fulfillment and tracking activities through e-commerce integration
- Supports manual data entry
- Supplier Activation
The advantages and disadvantages
The advantages
- Facilitates supply chain processes by automating various processes
- Connects users to a powerful partner sales platform with access to over 10,000 retail locations worldwide
- Integration with leading business and accounting systems such as Sage, QuickBooks and NetSuite
- Automate order fulfillment and tracking activities through e-commerce integration
The Disadvantages
- Can be expensive for small businesses
- Difficult to use for non-computerized users
- Poor customer support
The rates
TrueCommerce pricing is by quote, and it varies depending on the needs and features of each business. Therefore, it is recommended that you contact TrueCommerce directly for information on pricing and packages that best suit your business.
Our rating on TrueCommerce
Discover our evaluation on TrueCommerce. It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
3,5/5
nopCommerce
nopCommerce is an open-source B2B e-commerce platform, trusted by Microsoft, that supports more than 250,000 online stores. It is designed for small, medium and large businesses and incorporates payment and shipping services, as well as a variety of warehouse management and marketing tools. It is also suitable for B2C businesses with its multi-vendor and multi-store functionality.
Key features
- Inventory management tools
- Sale of downloadable, localized and recurring products
- SEO Optimization
- Marketing tools
- Acceptance of different payment methods
- Shipping Features
- Tax tools
- RGPD Compliance
- External authentication
- Wish list
The advantages and disadvantages
The advantages
- Completely free
- Unlimited customization for developers
- B2B and B2C functionality
- Integrations
- International aid community
The Disadvantages
- “ Powered by nopCommerce” tag in the footer (you have to pay to remove it)
- Expensive premium customer support
The rates
nopCommerce is a free B2B platform, but additional purchase options for your store are available. It is possible to remove the “powered by nopCommerce” footer by paying $250. It is also possible to purchase premium support for three months or one year for $299 and $799, respectively.
Our rating on nopCommerce
Discover our evaluation on nopCommerce. It is based on all the parameters we have analyzed throughout the article.
3,2/5
B2B e-commerce platform comparison chart
| Software | Ease of use | Interface | Customer support | Functionality | Quality-price ratio | Overall rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Plus | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
| BigCommerce | 4 | 4 | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 4.1 |
| Yo!Kart | 3 | 3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 3.4 |
| WooCommerce B2B | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| OpenCart | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Adobe Commerce | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 4 | 4.5 |
| Pulse Commerce | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| OroCommerce | 4 | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.1 |
| TrueCommerce | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| nopCommerce | 3 | 3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3 | 3.2 |
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, business-to-business e-commerce platforms are incredibly useful tools for companies looking to expand their online presence and increase sales. There are a variety of platforms available, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. It’s important to consider your business needs, such as ease of use, interface, scalability, features, and value for money before making a choice. Here we have presented our top B2B platforms to guide you in your search through the best B2B e-commerce sites.
It’s also important to consult user reviews and research different options to ensure that the platform you choose will meet your long-term needs. Choosing the right B2B e-commerce platform for your business can help you improve your online presence and increase your sales.
FAQ
How to choose a B2B e-commerce platform?
To choose the best platform for your business, it is important to consider several criteria, such as ease of use, user interface, scalability, features offered and value for money.
How much does Shopify B2B cost?
Shopify Plus starts at $2000.
What is the best B2B platform?
There are many B2B e-commerce platforms suitable for many types of businesses. However, Shopify Plus is considered one of the most comprehensive and easy to learn platforms in the B2B market.
Is Shopify a B2B company?
Shopify offering services to other businesses can be considered a B2B company.