Guide · E-commerce
B2B e-commerce portals: selling to business customers online
Business customers buy differently from consumers. They reorder the same products regularly, have negotiated prices and payment terms, need invoices and delivery documents, and often involve several people in one purchase. A B2B portal built like a consumer store frustrates them. This guide explains what makes B2B e-commerce different and how to plan a portal that clients and sales teams actually use.
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In short
In short
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Prices, discounts, assortments and payment terms are specific to each client or client group.
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Speed of reordering matters more than browsing: order history, favourites, quick entry by code, list upload.
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Credit limits, balances and documents are part of the portal, not separate calls to accounting.
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Several users per client company, with roles and sometimes approval steps.
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Tight integration with the ERP or 1C keeps prices, stock, orders and balances consistent.
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Guide
Client-specific commercial terms
- Prices: price lists by client group, individual contract prices, volume discounts.
- Assortment: some clients see only products they are allowed to buy.
- Minimum orders and packaging units: cases, pallets, multiples.
- Payment terms: prepayment, deferred payment, credit limits.
These rules usually live in the ERP; the portal reads and applies them. See 1C integration.
Fast ordering
- Reorder from previous orders.
- Personal favourites and shopping lists.
- Quick order form by product code or barcode.
- Upload of an order list from a spreadsheet.
- Clear stock information and expected arrival dates.
Accounts and roles
A client company may have a buyer who places orders, a manager who approves large orders, and an accountant who needs invoices and balances. The portal supports several users per company, roles with different permissions and, where needed, approval workflows. See designing roles and permissions.
Finances and documents
- Current balance, credit limit and overdue invoices.
- Invoices, delivery notes and reconciliation documents available for download.
- Online payment where appropriate.
- For VAT payers, invoice data consistent with e-invoicing requirements. See e-invoicing (e-qaimə).
Sales representatives
B2B portals work best when sales teams support them. Representatives can place orders on behalf of clients in the same system, see their clients' activity, and are credited for orders regardless of channel. A mobile app for field sales complements the portal. See wholesale distributors.
Integration
- Products, prices, stock, clients, contracts and balances from the ERP.
- Orders to the ERP for confirmation and fulfilment.
- Order status and documents back to the portal.
- Delivery information from logistics systems.
Reliability matters: a portal showing wrong prices or stock loses clients' trust quickly. Every exchange is logged and monitored.
Public catalog or closed portal
Some businesses keep the entire portal behind a login. Others show a public catalog without prices — useful for search visibility and new client acquisition — with prices and ordering after login. The public part should be indexable; the private part should not.
Adoption
- Start with a group of clients who order often and are open to change.
- Make the first login easy: invitations, pre-filled favourites from order history.
- Train client staff briefly and support them during the first orders.
- Measure the share of orders through the portal and ask non-users why.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can the portal work with our existing e-commerce platform?
Some platforms support B2B features — client pricing, company accounts — natively or through extensions. Complex terms and integrations often need custom development.
Do B2B clients need a mobile app?
Most B2B ordering happens on desktop, but a mobile-friendly portal helps for quick reorders. Field sales teams benefit more from a dedicated app.
How do we handle clients who still order by phone?
Staff enter their orders into the portal on their behalf, so all orders, prices and documents stay in one system.