What Is B2B Ecommerce? 7 Types of B2B Ecommerce Models

Business-to-business ecommerce refers to businesses selling products or services to other businesses through digital channels or an online sales portal. If you’re in the business-to-business (B2B) space, moving sales online gives your business customers an easy way to browse products and place orders while making it easier for you to grow your business. 

Rich and Vicki Fulop of Brooklinen experienced this firsthand. In a Shopify case study, they explain that bulk orders for their bed sheets originally came in over the phone. By adding Shopify B2B features to their online store, they were able to give customers a personalized, self-service buying experience. Instead of processing orders manually, it freed their team to focus on building relationships.

Read on to understand what B2B ecommerce is, explore common B2B ecommerce models, and discover tips for making your online B2B operations successful.

What is B2B ecommerce?

Business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce refers to products and services sold between companies via digital channels like websites, dedicated B2B portals, and specialized marketplaces. These online experiences are designed to support the more complex purchasing needs of business customers—such as bulk ordering, custom pricing, and approval workflows—and can improve parts of the sales cycle. 

As more customers embrace digital purchasing and rely less on sales reps, B2B ecommerce has become an increasingly important sales channel. A Truvio survey of B2B professionals found that nearly 90% of B2B businesses now offer online ordering options, up 20% over the previous two years. 

B2B vs. B2C ecommerce

With business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce, individual customers make purchases on a brand’s website or via social channels. Compared to B2B transactions, B2C purchases are typically lower in value and involve shorter sales cycles. 

B2B ecommerce is characterized by high-value bulk orders and longer sales cycles that may involve multiple stakeholders from both the customer and brand sides. Because business buyers have different purchasing needs, brands may create dedicated password-protected B2B storefronts or customer portals, which contain information on pricing, deals, payment terms, and more. 

Types of B2B ecommerce models

• Direct to business (D2B)
• B2B online marketplaces
• Business to business to consumer (B2B2C)
• Wholesale
• Distributor
• Manufacturer
• Software as a service (SaaS)

B2B ecommerce includes both established business models and newer, growing approaches. Some of the most common include: 

Direct to business (D2B)

In the direct-to-business model, businesses sell goods directly to other businesses with no intermediary, often via their website or vendor portal. This gives sellers increased control over pricing, customer relationships, and the general buying experience.

B2B online marketplaces

B2B online marketplaces are online platforms where various businesses sell products to other businesses, with the marketplace serving as the intermediary. With multiple vendors in one place, marketplaces like Faire, Amazon Business, or Tundra make it easier for buyers to discover suppliers, compare products, and place wholesale orders.

Business to business to consumer (B2B2C)

B2B2C refers to a business partnership where one business sells its product or service to another business to help the latter reach a wider audience. Both businesses are visible to the end customer. 

For example, a food delivery platform that teams up with restaurants so customers can order food via their app follows a B2B2C model. Another example is Shopify’s Shop app, where Shopify helps businesses reach consumers through a shared shopping platform.

Wholesale

The wholesale model involves businesses selling large quantities of goods to retailers or other businesses. For retailers, buying wholesale is usually more cost-effective than making smaller or single-unit purchases and allows them to resell products at a markup for profit.

Distributor

A distributor B2B business aggregates stock from multiple businesses or manufacturers to sell to retailers or business clients. Distributors simplify the supply chain by making manufacturers’ products more accessible to business buyers.

Manufacturer

A manufacturer creates products or components and sells these to other businesses. Purchasers may then sell these to other businesses or consumers or use the components to make new products.

Software as a service (SaaS)

Software as a service (SaaS) is a cloud-based software delivery model in which businesses subscribe to software over the internet rather than purchasing and installing it locally. B2B SaaS companies provide tools to help other businesses manage operations like human resources, payroll, customer relationship management (CRM), web hosting, and file sharing.

Best practices for successful B2B ecommerce

• Choose the B2B model that fits your business
• Select the right ecommerce platform
• Consider customer pain points
• Use digital marketing efforts to attract business clients

These tips can help you set up your B2B operations so they serve your business workflow and your customers’ needs:

Choose the B2B model that fits your business

Consider which B2B model aligns with your business’s strengths, available resources, and long-term goals. 

In a Shopify Masters interview, Alex Whitmore of Taza Chocolate explains how the brand expanded into the B2B space by manufacturing for other brands. 

“You really have to utilize your machines,” he says. “If you don’t, you have all this overhead you’re carrying that’s not adding value to the business.”

For Taza, third-party manufacturing made the most of the company’s existing production capacity, helping stabilize operations, diversify revenue, and keep staff engaged.

Select the right ecommerce platform

B2B online sales may require more advanced solutions that can support complex needs, such as:

• Custom pricing

• Bulk orders

• Approval workflows

• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrations

• Returns management

Look for an ecommerce platform with flexibility for customer-specific tailoring and account management, such as customer and company profiles, custom catalog offerings, adjustable payment terms, and volume pricing. These features help personalize the customer experience. 

Shopify B2B helps store owners create B2B experiences that mirror the ease and simplicity of direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce. It has real-time stock availability, easy add-to-cart functionality, and support for multiple product options in a single order. 

Alex Babich of Kulani Kinis incorporated Shopify B2B features to build a dedicated store vertical for wholesale customers. It gave the bikini brand the cohesive brand experience they wanted and customization options that met the needs of their wholesale partners. After launching the dedicated storefront, Kulani Kinis increased its B2B wholesale revenue by 300%.

Consider customer pain points

Consider customer behavior and what features you can offer to simplify the buyer experience. Where are your customers experiencing friction in the purchasing process? Identifying these pain points can help you prioritize the features that will have the biggest impact for your customers and your business.

Furniture brand En Gold identified shipping costs as a key friction point. The company used Shopify Plus to create a blended digital storefront, where B2B customers could log in to view customized product catalogs, pricing, and shipping costs based on order size. Providing customized shipping charges upfront improved the buying experience—especially for customers with large furniture orders—and helped En Gold align shipping costs.

Use digital marketing efforts to attract business clients 

B2B ecommerce allows businesses to expand market reach beyond physical networks or in-person sales. Use your B2B storefront to showcase your expertise, build credibility, and help prospective buyers understand what sets your business apart. Include a sign-up page or pop-up for email newsletters or create a blog to attract new customers, generate leads, and turn your website into a customer acquisition tool.