Published:
September 23, 2024
Today, e-commerce is a routine procedure in the business-to-business sales sector. Even while B2C e-commerce frequently makes headlines, the global B2B e-commerce industry is more than five times larger than the B2C market and is still growing astounding. The business contacts will be able to purchase goods at a reduced cost by doing this. As our name implies, we handle businesses and their connections by allocating various price lists and locations. Core B2B e-commerce functions must handle special use cases including bulk orders, B2B payment options, and quote management. Features like shared shopping carts and customizable portals may greatly enhance the consumer experience because business-to-business (B2B) purchasing includes several stakeholders. In this blog post, we are gonna talk about the B2B functionality, its features, setting up processes, and more so that you can enable this feature and smoothen your business operations.
Determine the particular B2B procedures and needs you have. Choose what B2B transaction types—like order management, inventory synchronization, pricing and discounting, partner cooperation, or customer self-service portals—you want to automate or simplify. Think about the communication techniques, protocols, and data formats required for smooth sharing.
1. To display pricing using a B2B model for specific clients or companies.
2. Every consumer must see fixed pricing based on their price tiers defined in Oracle NetSuite Integrator.
NetSuite's intercompany functionality refers to the features and capabilities provided by the program to simplify inter-company contacts, transactions, and procedures. It has many modules and features that allow businesses to manage interactions with suppliers, wholesalers, partners, and other businesses. As you know this program has multiple features like Bulk orders, Digital payment options, Product information management, Contract pricing & catalog, and more. So below is all the information about how this program helps in bulk orders, and how you can set up this functionality if you have NetSuite and Shopify Store.
The features listed below are frequently a major factor in the many B2B e-commerce platforms that succeed. These are the main aspects of B2B e-commerce to take into account while assessing a platform.
B2B sales typically include bulk orders and wholesale purchasing. Customers should have as minimal friction as possible when making bulk purchases on B2B e-commerce websites. Important components of bulk order UX include pricing, bulk quantity, availability, and delivery estimates. Going a step further, solutions such as wholesale order management software offer a suite of B2B e-commerce capabilities that optimize wholesale operations from start to finish.
Contracts control price, conditions of payment, and who is responsible for shipment in B2B e-commerce. B2B product catalogs can be very large and contain SKUs that aren't offered to every client. As a result, two of the most crucial fundamental characteristics of B2B e-commerce platforms are the capacity to offer customized pricing and a specialized catalog.
Workflows for B2B purchases can include several parties and differ greatly between companies. Furthermore, B2B product selections are sometimes rather extensive, which makes catalog navigation difficult. Customized B2B e-commerce portals assist companies in resolving this issue. Roles and permissions can be assigned to users by administrators. Users only view content and features that are pertinent to their business requirements when they check-in. Customization is enhanced by a promotions engine, which enables retailers to provide discounts to certain customers.
In B2B transactions, several individuals may be in charge of choosing products and processing payments. One user can add things to a shared shopping cart for approval and evaluation by another user. Another crucial component of B2B e-commerce is the option to construct numerous shopping carts in addition to sharing a single cart.
B2B payment techniques nowadays combine both contemporary and conventional payment methods. Offering a wide selection of payment options is a fundamental component of B2B commerce that contributes to a satisfying checkout process.
You must provide more on your e-commerce site than just a "Contact Us" page if you want to increase conversion rates. For in-the-moment customer service, you may incorporate a live chat feature or a "Request a free demo". According to research, live chat may enhance leads four to eight times over. See the advantages of live chat customer service for eCommerce businesses here.
An e-commerce site's product information has the power to make or break a purchasing decision. Product Information Management software assists B2B retailers in maintaining current product details, prices, and photos over several omnichannel touchpoints.
Here, you must select the currency that will be used to sync the firms from Oracle NetSuite back to Shopify.
(Note: Make sure you have currency rights on the role curated from the integration if you are unable to view the currencies on the drop-down menu.)
We provide price lists for every pricing tier available on NetSuite. We'll use these general pricing lists for every Shopify business we establish. (Note: Prices on the company-specific price list are adjusted based on the Customer Pricing Table.)
It is necessary to create a NetSuite custom field in the Check Box Type that is not null. None of the businesses' data will be synchronized if it is null. The rationale is that this field will be utilized in the NetSuite customer search, which will return the customer or company if the field value is actual. (Here is a screenshot to help you virtually grasp.)
Once accomplished, Enter the ID of this field in the application and Hit the 'SAVE' button the the bottom of the page. If each mapping of custom fields and currencies is completed correctly. We provide price lists for every pricing level available on NetSuite. We'll use these general pricing lists for every Shopify business we establish. Next, under the price level of the price list, we update the prices on these price lists using item quantity pricing. We then perform a NetSuite customer search to find every client who meets the requirements to become a Shopify company. We also verify whether the consumer or business has a pricing level. If not, we'll go on to the following client or business. If the requirement is met, we set up the Shopify business.
(Note: We also compile a pricing list exclusive to our business, and the prices shown there are changed based on the Customer Pricing Table.)
1. A custom checkbox is required for each NetSuite company or customer record; the checkbox's ID will be mapped in our application. When we retrieve company information from NetSuite, we look up this value. If it is checked, we sync that company with Shopify.
2. Our application has a drop-down menu called 'Pay Later/B2B Options,' with three options available. 'Complete B2B capability' is the option that must be chosen to begin using B2B services. The other two choices need payment afterward.
3. You can now choose pricing updates from the second drop-down menu. What kind of price—' Customer Pricing,' 'Quantity Pricing,' or Both—does the client require? It is necessary to choose one choice (the customer decides what sort of price he requires).
4. The checkout will produce a draft order instead of an actual order if the customer clicks 'Yes' and vice versa, according to the draft order functionality. (This option does not apply to firms that have already been established.)
5. The address may be changed thanks to the Ship To Any Address function. The user must choose 'Yes' from the drop-down option to begin utilizing this function. (This option does not apply to firms that have already been established.)
6. The term' Payment Terms' refers to the deadline for completing your payment. Among the alternatives are 'Due On Receipt,'' Due On Fulfillment,' and 'Net 7' (Net 7 indicates a seven-day payment deadline), etc. Since payment terms vary from business to business, we provide a custom option for payment terms to address this problem. This may be added to the NetSuite company record, and our software will map that custom field ID. Next, we'll read every company's custom field straight from the record.
7. Currency must be chosen since it will be used for all price changes and price list creation.
8. To find out if any business has failed to build on Shopify, a new option was added. In the NetSuite company record, a new custom checkbox must be made, and our app must map its ID. Any company that doesn't sync will have the checkbox set to true for the customer to understand that this business has not synchronized.
8. Additionally, there's also one option that sends emails to company contacts when they are approved for ordering.
9. Additionally, all company locations can be chosen as the default billing address; to enable this option, the client must choose 'Yes' from the drop-down menu. If not, shipping and billing will be assigned to the same address. Companies that have previously been established are unaffected by this option.
10. We have released a new function that lets customers sync the prices of only particular items with the companies. The client must choose 'Only Sync Specific Catalogues' from the menu.
Establishing a prosperous B2B online store requires time and effort. To make sure it functions the way you planned, you must select the best platform and provide your consumers with cutting-edge features and extra functionality. Some of the elements on this list of B2B eCommerce features might not be relevant to your industry, but they are necessary to set your company apart from the competition. Thus, be sure to select a reputable B2B e-commerce integration firm that comprehends your industry and offers you the finest answer. Speak with NetSuite Integrator who can assist you in creating an engaging and user-friendly B2B website to boost your online visibility and accelerate growth.
Q1. What factors of B2B e-commerce should a website prioritize?
Answer: Some of the most important B2B features for a website include user permissions, bulk orders, a strong catalog management system, flexible pricing and quotation tools, order management features, inventory management, and reporting and analytics. A B2B e-commerce website's development and design depend heavily on these aspects.
Q2. How can a B2B website's order administration be made better?
Answer: Any B2B e-commerce site must have robust order management functionality. Suppliers have total insight into the order process thanks to order tracking from creation to fulfillment, customized order statuses, order approvals, integrated payment processing, and order reports.
Q3. What aspects of inventory management are crucial?
Answer: The incorporation of real-time inventory management is an essential component of all business-to-business e-commerce websites. By using features that offer accurate stock visibility, such as inventory allocation, multiple warehouses, serial/lot tracking, reservations, and replenishment notifications, suppliers can prevent overselling.
Q4. What can I do to make B2B buying more enjoyable?
Answer: To enhance consumer loyalty towards B2B e-commerce platforms, it is recommended to highlight features like wish lists, shopping cart preview modes, product reviews, and ratings, suggestions for similar goods, search autocomplete, and one-click repurchase. These features support a smooth and easy purchasing procedure.
Wherever you are on your automation journey, explore the scaling possibilities. Book a meeting today!
