30 June 2023 8min.
Why are Magento B2B platforms so popular?
The B2B market landscape is evolving, and an increasing number of companies in this sector are moving their operations, at least partially, to the Internet. According to the B2B e-Commerce Now 2022 report, already 41% of companies have sales platforms. While there are still quite a few businesses in the market that resist this change, the majority of them are keeping up with the times and responding to their customers’ needs by implementing e-commerce platforms or planning to create them.
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Companies that decide to digitize their sales face a significant challenge in choosing the right technology (such as Magento B2B) to build their B2B store. Unfortunately, this is not an easy task. There are many aspects that the owner of such a business must consider, starting from the budget, through the necessary functionalities, to the time it will take to implement them. There are many pieces to this puzzle, and to build a profitable B2B e-commerce, one must thoroughly consider all of them.
SaaS, Magento B2B development, dedicated store – there are many options
When starting the search for the right solution for your business, you probably turned to Google. One of the first phrases you entered was something like: “Which platform for B2B e-commerce.” At this point, you were presented with numerous pages that either offered such solutions or provided a list of the “X most popular B2B e-commerce engines.” And that’s perfectly fine. It’s a good starting point. However, for less technically inclined individuals, this can be the beginning of a small nightmare. The multitude of features, complex specifications, and, ultimately, you still don’t know whether to choose a SaaS solution, a dedicated service, or an open-source platform.
We won’t beat around the bush. In our opinion, the most optimal solution for the majority of B2B e-commerce businesses is the Magento open-source engine. After all, that’s what we specialize in. However, we want you to have a broader view of this issue and be able to make this decision independently. Therefore, below you will find a brief summary of the advantages and disadvantages of each solution.
SaaS solutions Custom stores Open source (f.e. Magento B2B) Advantages: Advantages: Advantages: – Easy and fast implementation
– Low cost of installation and maintenance
– Ready-made design templates
– Easy addition of products and categories– Complete customization of the platform according to the company’s needs
– Custom design
– Possibility to code any desired functionalities and integrate with external systems (e.g., payment gateways) – Wide range of available modules and functionalities
– Independence from the implementation company Easy integration with external systems (e.g., ERP)
– Excellent scalabilityDisadvantages: Disadvantages: Disadvantages: – Lack of flexibility
– Data is in the hands of the solution provider
– Complete dependency on the SAAS provider
– Additional costs related to integrations and functionalities outside the package– Complete dependency on the implementation company
– High costs associated with the implementation and maintenance of the platform
– Time-consuming implementation process– Costly and time-consuming implementation
– Need for basic technological knowledge within the organization
Open source, a fast-flowing river
Implementing a B2B platform based on an open-source engine has many advantages that can help your online business thrive. The freedom to modify and customize the code to suit your needs, a vast repository of modules, and above all, independence from an implementation company are just a few of the characteristics that define open-source engines. Magento is one such engine. Thanks to its open code and a large community of developers, we believe it is the most flexible solution on the market.
Magento B2B meets your needs
With open-source technology, there is a lot you can do, change, and add, and relying on code available to everyone means that the implementation of your B2B e-commerce can proceed much more smoothly than with dedicated applications. The same goes for Magento B2B development. As part of Adobe, this engine is capable of handling the largest and most complex implementations while fully meeting your needs.
I have tens of thousands of products
That’s fantastic! You can offer your customers everything they need. B2B Magento can easily handle large product catalogs, advanced configurators, and orders with hundreds of items. You don’t have to worry about your store slowing down or generating errors. Magento B2B is designed to implement large online stores.
My offers are personalized for each customer
And they should be. Magento open source allows you to create special discount rules, create dedicated offers, and segment customers based on any variable. This engine is a great tool to provide your B2B customers with the offers they expect. Magento B2B can also handle advanced pricing, price gradation, and negotiating individual terms.
I have many customer service employees
If you have multiple people working on the B2B system and you want their permissions to be differentiated, Magento allows you to do that. You can freely adjust views and access areas, as well as modify data elements (such as prices and promotions).
My clients are demanding
That’s a common characteristic of B2B customers, and we understand that. The Magento B2B engine also understands this and provides the ability to take care of the user and provide them with the best user experience. This engine is recognized as one of the fastest available on the market, ensuring that your customers don’t have to wait for your offers to load. E-commerce stores built on Magento are known for their nearly perfect scalability across most devices. But more importantly, this engine meets the needs of modern B2B customers by offering easy implementation of sub-accounts and the ability to create multiple shopping carts.
I also have B2C customers
You don’t need to have two separate stores. Magento can be configured so that one view is for B2C (individual) customers and another for business customers. B2B users can register and log in to the system to access dedicated features and prices.
I need features that aren’t available elsewhere
The strength of Magento B2B development is that it is open source. Do you need an advanced configurator? We can develop it for you. A custom logistics algorithm to calculate costs and match shipping types? It can be done. Credit buying, installment payments, specific payment gateways? Everything can be integrated. Detailed verification of companies registering in your system? Magento B2B can retrieve data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and automatically approve or reject business accounts. Moreover, the engine can be customized for your specific purchasing process, no matter how it differs from typical practices in the sector.
My platform needs to integrate with an ERP system
That’s a very important issue. The more distributed the technical infrastructure of your company, the harder it is to manage it all. Magento B2B enables seamless integration with almost any external system, so orders placed on your sales platform can be automatically processed by your ERP or a separate warehouse management system (WMS).
What about the hacker threat?
A flyswatter won’t be enough. That’s why Magento B2B offers a high level of security for the stores built on it. You no longer have to fear data breaches or other system breaches. This engine incorporates some of the best authentication practices, such as CAPTCHA-based login, encrypted connections, and SFTP. Since Magento evolved from version “1” to “2” and regularly releases patches, the security level of this engine is considered one of the highest.
My business is constantly changing
That’s great! Changes, especially positive ones, are a fantastic driving force for business development. Magento B2B offers the use of thousands of ready-made modules created by the community gathered around this tool. It also allows you to create your own dedicated solutions that can be easily implemented into the B2B system. This way, your e-commerce can constantly evolve and generate increasing profits.
I’m planning to expand into foreign markets
We’re rooting for you! Magento B2B development can help you with that. Wondering how? By offering the multisite feature, which allows you to create a “copy” of your current platform version and then translate it into the desired language. You won’t have to create an entirely new website anymore. And most importantly, you’ll be able to manage all the sites from a single admin panel. Sounds like a great plan for growth.
Is Magento B2B right for you?
Thanks to the open-source nature of this engine and the thousands of modules created by the community, Magento is the most flexible among the available e-commerce engines. While implementing Magento may involve significant costs, the independence and functionalities provided by Magento B2B make it an ideal solution for companies that want to create a robust, forward-looking, and customer-centric shopping platform.