B2B eCommerce is rapidly gaining popularity as more businesses recognize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of online transactions with their suppliers and partners. However, standard eCommerce features may not be enough to support this kind of transaction and often become an obstacle in facilitating them.
Considering this, today’s blog will thoroughly describe the B2B Suite – one of the modules in Sylius Plus created to support online B2B businesses in their operations. We will go through its features, benefits to businesses, and case studies of our B2B projects.
But before we jump into the B2B Suite, let’s briefly explain the differences between B2C and B2B eCommerce.
Quick jump
- Differences between B2C and B2B business models
- B2B Suite module in Sylius Plus
- Benefits of utilizing Sylius B2B Suite
- Case studies for B2B businesses
- Summary
Differences between B2C and B2B business models
eCommerce businesses often operate based on two main models: B2C (Business-to-Consumer) and B2B (Business-to-Business). B2C targets individual consumers, offering products or services directly to end-users. An example of B2C eCommerce is ordering groceries from an online supermarket for home delivery or purchasing new shoes from the brand’s official website. The B2B model, in turn, involves transactions between businesses, such as a manufacturer purchasing raw materials from a supplier or a cybersecurity business providing network protection services to other companies.
The key differences between B2B and B2C models lie in their target audiences, purchase volumes, and sales processes. B2C typically involves smaller, more frequent purchases with shorter sales cycles, whereas B2B often deals with larger orders and longer, more complex decision-making processes. Pricing strategies also differ, with B2C focusing on fixed retail prices and B2B often employing negotiated or tiered pricing.
Furthermore, B2B operations typically have more complex requirements than their B2C counterparts. These often include advanced management tools, large-scale transaction capabilities, and integration with various business systems.
With this in mind, let’s see what features the B2B Suite brings to the table.
B2B Suite module in Sylius Plus
As mentioned above, Sylius B2B Suite is a module designed for eCommerce businesses focusing on B2B transactions. It consists of all the necessary features to conduct B2B operations with peace of mind, from easy management of business accounts to customized pricing lists for our customers. Let’s take a look at its features:
Features in the Sylius B2B Suite
Organization Management
This feature enables organizations to optimize their workflows and increase efficiency. A single master account allows for the sharing of crucial data – including billing details, address directories, and purchase records – across the entire organization. Access to this shared information is granted company-wide. Moreover, to secure the sensitive data, specific roles can be allocated to team members. For instance, administrators might be limited to tasks such as adding new clients and modifying billing information.
Quick Shopping
Imagine placing a comprehensive wholesale order, complete with multiple items and variants, all on a single page – without the need to navigate through numerous categories. This functionality was developed specifically for B2B clients. You can initiate your search by entering either a SKU code or the beginning of a product name. Instantly, relevant suggestions from your inventory will appear. After specifying the quantity needed, a single click is all it takes to add your entire selection to the shopping cart. This streamlined process significantly reduces the time and effort required for bulk purchases.
Elasticsearch/Efficient search engine
Implementing Elasticsearch significantly improves the search experience, replacing the Sylius store’s default search functionality. This powerful tool enables easy filtering and exploration of products based on names, attributes, categories, and more. As customers type, they see suggestions from your inventory right away. This swift and comprehensive search capability not only saves time but also gives confidence in customers, assuring them of product availability. This solution will become an excellent tool for discovering your offer.
Order Management
Next, this module offers flexibility in order placement, allowing customers to either independently browse and add items to their cart or seek assistance from your store’s customer service team. This feature streamlines the management of customer orders for your staff. Through the user-friendly admin interface, your team can swiftly generate and customize orders for customers, as well as implement modifications or process reorders with minimal effort.
Multi-wishlists
The multi-wishlists feature enhances the shopping experience by allowing the creation, organization, and sharing of numerous wishlists, each customized for specific customers or departments. This versatile tool streamlines the process of curating products across various lists. Users can effortlessly transfer items between wishlists, add products directly to their shopping cart, and specify quantities or variants such as size and color.
Import/Export Integration Layer
In today’s complex business environment, multiple systems drive your daily operations. Here, the real-time data synchronization capability enhances efficiency and reduces time waste. Precise inventory tracking, up-to-date pricing, and seamless order coordination are crucial for smooth production and distribution processes. This developer-oriented feature is designed to accommodate various system integrations, whether you’re implementing CRM, ERP, PIM, or any other solution. It enables the rapid development of bespoke import and export tools, significantly simplifying your data migration procedures.
Customer Groups Pricing Lists
For businesses managing varied pricing strategies across different customer segments, such as wholesalers or distributors, this feature proves invaluable. It also facilitates the implementation of targeted discounts or promotions for specific customer categories. The system allows administrators to establish customized pricing structures for distinct customer groups and setting customized prices for each product. When customers who belong to these special groups sign in to their accounts, they automatically see the custom prices set for their group instead of the regular prices everyone else sees.
Organization Pricing Lists
Organizations can take advantage of custom pricing lists created by administrators to provide tailored pricing for their users. Administrators can quickly and easily create pricing lists with specific products and set individual prices for each; organization users will then be able to view these custom prices instead of the default prices. Custom pricing lists are a great way to reward loyalty, offer discounts to customers, or incentivize sales.
Benefits of utilizing Sylius B2B Suite
The Sylius B2B Suite offers a comprehensive set of features designed to address the unique challenges of B2B transactions, providing numerous advantages for both sellers and buyers. Let’s explore the key benefits of incorporating this powerful tool into your business strategy:
Lower implementation cost
By choosing a package designed especially for B2B, you reduce the cost of implementation. Sylius adjusts the previously created solution to your needs without having to write everything from scratch.
Faster implementation time
Relying on existing functionalities is faster than creating them from scratch. Each project is different. However, Sylius decided to collect some functionalities typical for B2B eCommerce. A shorter implementation time means that you can start selling faster.
Proven and stable solutions
When creating functionalities, Sylius relied on proven open-source plugins that the community used hundreds of thousands of times. These are the proprietary solutions used in our implemented projects.
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Case studies for B2B businesses
Last but not least, let’s explore the two case studies of projects BitBag conducted for the eCommerce B2B sector.
Agro-Efekt
The project for Agro-Efekt involved developing a B2B store based on Sylius tailored to the needs of the agricultural industry. Key features included integration with SAP, multi-inventory management, and support for a large catalog of over a million products, allowing customers to easily search, order, and access parts. Custom functionalities like personalized payment options, a wishlist, and product availability notifications further enhanced the customer experience. The platform also supported multiple warehouses and shipping methods, allowing customers to choose optimal delivery options.
Albeco
The Albeco case focused on building a robust Sylius-based B2B platform for an industrial parts supplier. First of all, the platform was integrated with the company’s ERP system, ensuring real-time synchronization of product information and pricing. Then, we implemented features like an multi-source inventory, custom payment rules, shipping integration with advanced shipping rules, as well as a multi-basket system and intuitive search engine to improve the customer shopping experience.
Summary
As presented above, B2B eCommerce isn’t just B2C with a fancy suit on. It’s often a more demanding market where all complex processes must be streamlined, customized, and easily integrated to meet the unique needs of business clients.
B2B Suite in Sylius offers a comprehensive solution to the unique challenges faced by businesses engaging in B2B eCommerce. By providing features tailored specifically for B2B transactions, such as custom pricing, multi-level user management, and streamlined ordering processes, the B2B Suite empowers businesses to overcome the limitations of standard eCommerce platforms and offer the best experience for their customers.
Do you want to try B2B Suite in practice? Check the demo >>