B2B eCommerce: Business to Business eCommerce Solutions vs. Online Shopping Carts - What's the Difference?

With B2B ecommerce on the rise you may be ready to jump on the b2b ecommerce storefront train; That’s Great! B2b e commerce is growing by leaps and bounds. Before you  get too far into the process, it is important to understand the difference between a business to business eCommerce solution and a shopping cart solution. Many people will fall into a trap thinking they just need to purchase and add shopping cart capablilities to their current site, in some cases this is correct. I am not saying using a shopping cart alone is a bad thing,  but many B2B’s will find they need much more than that to be successful online.  

shopping cart software:

•    Pre-define set of features:  limited or non existant customization makes Your site look exactly like every other storefront using that shopping cart software- this will drive your marketing team CRAZY.
•    Functionality: Missing key integrations to other impotrant business systems. For an entreprenerou just starting out, selling with this kind of software is exactly what they need- but if you are a B2B looking to sell online, you neet enterprise ecommerce software.
•    Marketing opportunitites: Most shopping cart solutions, because they are not customizable, will not have the capaibility for you to add in banners, calls to action, promotions, or any other features allowing you to cross sell or upsell your products and services.
•    Customer experience: shopping carts are designed to focus on the actual purchasing process- not the entire shopping experience. Makes sense. But the problem is many people will leave a site If they find it hard to use, poorly designed, clunky, etc. so you could be losing customers who will never get to that super easy purchase process.

e-commerce software:

•    Integrations: many b2b ecommerce solutions will have important integrations with ERP, CRM, and other business systems. The benefits of connecting all of your systems, especially integration with your ERP system, are endless.  learn more in thie article, “5 Reasons to integrate your ERP System & E-Commerce Storefront”
•     Customizations: ecommerce platforms such as Anytime Commerce  will have fully customizable content management system  allows you to customize your site for your specific preference.
•    Marketing capabilities: Business to Business eCommerce with customizable content management systems will allow you to use banners, calls to actions, and other marketing strategies to update your website visitors with  current promotions, picing changes, buying opportunites, suggestison etc.
•    Secure login: B2B ecommerce software gives you  the ability to lock out the public and allow access to your products and pricing only to those with login information. In the B2B world this can be extremely important for online sales.
•    All of the above translates into a positive customer experience, from their login to selection, through purchase and beyond.

There are more differences between shopping cart solutions and ecommerce solutions, but these are the most important, especially for B2B’s considering the commerce world. For more information or if you have additional questions about B2B ecommerce software contact a B2B ecommerce provider.

About e2b teknologies:

e2b teknologies operates three business units – e2b anytime apps (www.e2banytime.com) e2b enterprise (www.e2benterprise.com) , and e2b calibration (www.e2bcal.com). e2b enterprise develops custom cloud-based business applications and resells leading ERP accounting software, CRM, HRMS, and other enterprise business software applications from Sage Software, Epicor, Intacct, Sugar CRM, and other publishers. e2b anytime apps is the publisher of Anytime Collect, Anytime Assets, Anytime 500, Anytime Commerce, and related Anytime brand products.

e2b calibration is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited calibration laboratory.Our goal is to provide customers with great products backed by world-class support, development services, and business consulting to help them achieve their goals – on-time, and on-budget. Contact us today for more information or to speak with one of our software experts.

Follow us on twitter @e2bteknologies