Characteristics of a B2B eCommerce that will allow me to reduce costs

ICX Consulting, a commercial strategy and customer experience consultancy, helps manufacturers and distributors define the characteristics of a B2B eCommerce that will reduce costs. The ones that matter most are personalized search, custom catalogs and lists, contract pricing, self-service orders, rule-based promotions and automated approvals, because each removes manual work from selling and serving.

One of the biggest challenges for any company is how to reduce costs, and it is even more difficult to do so without harming customer service, especially in the B2B model. To stand out in the current market, companies need to generate savings in sales management. Those savings improve profit and also competitiveness, since the company can offer more competitive prices.

Negotiating with suppliers is not enough to reduce the cost of each transaction. To optimize future purchasing processes and lower transaction costs, the sales model itself has to change. The company stops depending only on a traditional model based on sales representatives and limited office hours and adds a channel that operates 24/7, which builds loyalty by giving customers a quick and easy buying experience. A digital commerce platform can significantly reduce order processing costs by enabling self-service orders, easier quote management and assisted selling.

For a CFO or a commercial director the logic is straightforward. Every order typed by an inside sales rep, every price confirmed by email and every approval chased by phone carries a cost to serve. Moving the repetitive part of that work to a well-designed platform frees the sales team to focus on accounts and opportunities that need human judgment.

Why does B2B eCommerce reduce costs while improving the customer experience?

The characteristics described below reduce costs and, at the same time, help increase sales because they improve the customer experience. A better experience raises retention, and retention has a direct effect on profitability. As Amy Gallo summarizes in Harvard Business Review, research by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company shows that increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%.

In B2B the connection between experience and cost is especially close. Customers reorder the same items, under the same contract, through the same approval rules. When the platform remembers all of that, the buyer saves time and the supplier stops paying people to re-enter information. The rest of this article analyzes the components that make that possible and how each one should be customized.

• Searches
• Catalogs and lists
• Prices
• Orders
• Promotions
• Marketing (promotions and commercialization)
• Approvals

For each element we look at the areas it affects and how it benefits the business.

Searches

For the B2B customer, everything revolves around finding the correct information without reviewing thousands of SKUs and other data that are irrelevant to their work. Searches need to be reduced to the products and services relevant to them. Buyers also need all the supporting content, such as specifications, manuals, electrical diagrams and environmental conditions, among many others.

Personalization is especially important because of the volume of searches customers perform within the purchase cycle. The ability to personalize the search experience for each customer adds tremendous value by reducing the time spent looking for relevant information. It is equally important to show only the products available to that customer, presented within the conditions of the contract they have in force with the supplier. That is why, instead of doing a broad search, B2B buyers often rely on custom catalogs or lists to create orders.

Cost effect. Every search that ends in the right product is a call or email the service team does not have to answer.

Catalogs and lists

While an internal product expert can browse all the company's catalogs, B2B customers need to find only the specific products that meet their needs. Often, a custom B2B catalog is the most valuable part of the B2B commerce experience.

Managing multiple identifiers such as part numbers, SKUs and codes makes self-service easier, because customers have many ways to find what they are looking for. The platform should also provide the most accurate data possible on product information, delivery logistics, inventory and the complementary products or services that are needed, along with similar products and recommendations.

Purchasing managers are not the only roles that benefit from custom catalogs. Sales agents can use mobile devices to find product information and generate orders on behalf of the customer. Purchase histories and the ability to find relevant information after the sale can also generate more income.

In many ways, list management in B2B means creating mini catalogs that support buyers, sales and even teams at the customer's workplace. Custom lists make new orders more efficient. They can be added to each stage of the buying cycle and distributed according to the business rules for purchase approvals, order totals, contracted vendors, locations or other factors. Current platforms support this natively. Adobe Commerce, for example, offers shared catalogs with custom prices per company, Quick Order by SKU and requisition lists that customers add to their cart directly.

Prices

While everyone wants to believe pricing is getting simpler, the reality is that pricing is becoming more complicated in manufacturing and distribution, because competition is more intense. Each product can end up with a different price or margin depending on what the market dictates. Custom pricing reflects the agreements in each contract, handles complex calculations that follow established business rules and gives customers quick prices so they can serve themselves on a B2B platform. For the sales team, custom pricing also guarantees correct price and contract information.

Custom prices need to be available to many roles in the B2B buying cycle beyond sales. Buyers may need to compare commodity prices between vendors. They may have strict approval rules that cap the total of a transaction or set a maximum price per item. Customer service representatives and sales agents may also need to issue quotes. As far as possible, an eCommerce system should automate pricing mechanisms and provide a transparent view of prices tailored to each function in the purchasing process.

This is also where the platform touches margin directly. If contract prices, discounts and quote rules are not defined before they are configured, the site will simply automate leakage. A sound pricing strategy should come first, and the platform should enforce it.

Orders

When customizing order management, the platform must store all historical customer order data, because B2B commerce today is a hybrid experience. Buying scenarios vary even for the same item. A customer may order online one week and through a seller or a customer service representative the next.

Customizing the ordering process is an area where large reductions in the cost of sales and service can be achieved if it is done well. Customer loyalty also grows when the platform presents only relevant information, such as order history, invoices, easy reorders and shipment tracking. Specific payment terms must be applied to future orders, and those terms can be further customized based on the role of the person placing the order. A field service technician, for example, may only be able to order the parts relevant to their job, or even to the maintenance visit taking place at that moment.

Regardless of the roles involved, and whether the order is placed through self-service or the traditional channel, showing the relevant order data within the eCommerce platform is essential to increase orders, lower the cost of sales and make logistics as efficient as possible.

Finally, the platform must offer different payment options, such as credit, credit card, bank transfer and financing, as well as volume discounts. Adobe Commerce, for instance, supports payment on account against a merchant-allocated credit line.

Marketing (promotions and commercialization)

One way to increase sales per customer and generate more revenue is to take advantage of promotional and marketing opportunities during the buying cycle. Promotions involve suggesting discounts on items that are highly relevant to that particular buyer. Those promotions may still need to follow contractual rules and draw on information from other sources. Unlike B2C promotions, these tactics are highly specialized to meet the needs of the roles involved in the transaction. They are less about "add-ons" and more about providing product information that helps the customer do their job more efficiently.

Marketing in B2B commerce is equally complex and must also follow existing business rules and the needs of the roles involved. Cross-selling and up-selling in B2B generally means offering accessories, installation items or other products needed to complete the job. That is why marketing must be personalized, so that each transaction includes all required goods and services, even when the buyer is not yet aware of those needs.

Approvals

Although it may seem like a minor point, the approval process in B2B purchasing can be quite complex. Approvals can differ by customer and by the functions involved in a particular transaction. Custom approval means, for example, that a purchasing supervisor can log into a manufacturer or reseller portal and set rules for each buyer in the organization. Beyond showing only relevant data, this customization lets the customer manage the data and the people involved in the purchasing process. Approval rules apply both during the purchase and in post-purchase activities such as service calls.

Custom approvals make every function in the purchasing process more efficient, from procurement to sales, and ensure that orders are fulfilled. An eCommerce system should provide customer-specific administrative access that helps everyone buy within the terms of the contract and ensures that all orders are approved according to the underlying business rules. This reduces paper forms and other laborious manual processes, and consequently lowers the cost of sales. In Adobe Commerce, for example, company accounts with role-based permissions and purchase order approval rules cover this need.

Which cost levers does each B2B eCommerce characteristic move?

The table summarizes where each characteristic saves money and how leadership can measure it.

What should leaders decide before choosing a platform?

B2B eCommerce is not just about personalizing content. It is even more about the characteristics and functionalities of the platform, and few platforms can cover everything described above. Magento Commerce, now part of Adobe's portfolio as Adobe Commerce, is one of the platforms that can help implement this new sales model with native B2B capabilities. The platform choice, however, should come after three business decisions.

1. Which customers and orders move online first. Repeat orders from established accounts usually deliver savings fastest.
2. What role sales plays. The best results come when sellers are rewarded for online orders from their accounts, so the channel supports them instead of competing with them.
3. Which rules govern prices, credit and approvals. These must be agreed between commercial, finance and operations before configuration starts.

Integration also determines whether the savings are real. Prices, inventory, credit and order status must flow between the store, the ERP and the CRM. Our article on key integrations in your eCommerce covers that topic, and what a B2B eCommerce is and why it matters explains the model in more detail.

What this means for the C-level

• Efficiency. Target the highest-volume, lowest-complexity orders first and measure cost per order by channel every month.
• Serve. Give customers self-service access to order history, invoices and tracking so the service team handles exceptions, not routine questions.
• Retain. Use custom catalogs and reorder lists to make buying from your company the easiest option for repeat customers.
• Convert. Enable quotes and rule-based cross-selling so the platform grows revenue per account, not only lowers cost.

A B2B eCommerce readiness checklist

1. Calculate today's cost per order for phone, email and sales-rep orders.
2. Identify the customers and SKUs that represent most of your repeat orders.
3. Document contract prices, discounts and credit terms in one place.
4. Map the approval rules your main customers apply internally.
5. Define how sellers will be credited for online orders.
6. List the systems that must integrate with the store, such as ERP, CRM and logistics.
7. Set the indicators from the table above as the business case targets.

To compare platforms against your requirements in a structured way, use the free ICX technology selection toolkit. It includes an assessment to evaluate options before you commit to an implementation.

How ICX helps

ICX Consulting designs B2B eCommerce as a commercial model, not as a website. Our B2B digital commerce consulting defines which customers, orders and rules move online, aligns pricing and approvals with finance and sales, and builds the business case on operational cost efficiency. We then implement on platforms such as Adobe Commerce, integrated with the ERP and CRM. Want to know how much your current order process really costs? Request a diagnostic with an ICX consultant.

Frequently asked questions

How quickly does a B2B eCommerce reduce costs?

Savings appear as soon as repeat orders shift from phone and email to self-service, so starting with established accounts and frequently ordered products speeds up results. The timing depends on how ready prices, catalogs and integrations are. Companies that clean up contract and product data before launch usually see the benefit much sooner than those that migrate it as is.

Does B2B eCommerce replace the sales team?

No. It changes what the sales team spends time on. Routine reorders, price checks and order tracking move to the platform, while sellers focus on new accounts, complex deals and relationship development. Many companies also let sellers place orders through the platform on behalf of customers, which keeps data consistent across every channel.

What is the difference between B2B and B2C eCommerce platforms?

B2C platforms are built for individual buyers with public prices and simple checkout. B2B platforms must support company accounts with several users, contract prices per customer, quotes, credit terms, purchase approvals and large reorder lists. Choosing a B2C tool for a B2B model usually forces costly custom development to cover those needs.

Which data should be ready before launching a B2B store?

The essentials are a clean product catalog with complete attributes and identifiers, contract prices and discounts per customer, credit terms, inventory availability and the list of users and roles for each account. Without that foundation, the platform shows inconsistent information, customers call the service team to confirm details, and the expected savings disappear.

Lower cost to serve and a better buying experience can come from the same decision. If you want a B2B eCommerce that pays for itself in efficiency and loyalty, talk to an ICX consultant and start with the orders that cost you the most today.