When looking for the right ecommerce platform for a B2B website, it can feel tricky to find the right solution.
There is a growing demand for B2B businesses to modernise, offering the same customer experience as any other B2C ecommerce business would.
Offering convenience, easy to use pricing solutions and relevant communications. This is where an ecommerce platform like Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) comes in. Its B2B offering is not just an afterthought or an extension to their B2C tools, it is a purpose-built platform built to handle complex requirements and real expectations of B2B customers.
Why digital transformation is non-negotiable in B2B
The B2B buying journey is transforming dramatically. B2B buyers now expect a B2C-like purchasing experience that is intuitive, personalised to their shopping needs and available 24/7.
Customers like to research products online, compare to competitors and often prefer to be able to place orders themselves rather than having to talk to a member of the sales team for inquiries and reorders. This shift isn't just a trend; it's a fundamental change in customer behaviour.
Analysts predict that B2B ecommerce will reach $36 trillion by 2026. and will continue to grow further.
So, if your B2B business relies solely on traditional sales methods, you risk falling behind to competitors who are embracing digital transformation.
The problem is clear: without a robust ecommerce strategy, B2B businesses will struggle to meet modern buyer expectations and capture a growing share of the market.
The strategic solution for modern B2B is Salesforce Commerce Cloud
This is where Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) emerges as the solution.
Its B2B offering is not just an afterthought or an extension to their B2C tools; it is a purpose-built platform designed to handle the complex requirements and real expectations of B2B customers.
SFCC empowers businesses to deliver the sophisticated online experience that today's B2B buyers demand, driving both operational efficiency and revenue growth.
What are the features of Salesforce B2B?
A number of elements to Salesforce Commerce Cloud make it perfect for B2B business, offering expert insights into how to tackle common challenges:
- Meeting Evolving Buyer Expectations: The majority of shoppers nowadays are digital natives and are accustomed to seamless online shopping experiences of consumer websites. They expect detailed product information, transparent pricing, easy reordering and personalised recommendations. Salesforce Commerce Cloud delivers this sophisticated user experience, making it easier for your customers to do business with you and improving customer lifetime value.
- Hyper-personalisation & AI-Driven Engagement: You can create stores in different languages and regions, managing various brands under one umbrella. You can also personalise promotions for each buyer. Plus, with AI capabilities like Salesforce Einstein, it can promote cross-sells based on shoppers' buying patterns, offer predictive recommendations, and even power intelligent search results. This data-driven approach ensures every interaction is relevant and maximises conversion.
- Enhanced Searchability & SEO: Supporting SEO best practices, SFCC can generate SEO-friendly URLs and allows for meta customisation across catalogue pages. This significantly increases visibility in search engines, improving organic traffic and lead acquisition.
- Scalability for Growth: As your business expands, your ecommerce platform must be able to grow with it. Being able to handle increased traffic, product offerings and complex order volumes without compromising performance is crucial. Salesforce Commerce Cloud is built on a highly scalable cloud infrastructure that supports growth from small businesses to large global corporations, ensuring your platform is ready for future demand.
- Operational Efficiency & Automation: Manual order processing, quoting and invoicing are time-consuming and prone to errors. An integrated ecommerce platform automates these tasks. This allows your sales team to focus on strategy, building relationships, and handling complex deals. This efficiency translates directly into cost savings and improved productivity, freeing up resources for strategic initiatives.
- Headless Commerce for Agility: Allowing developers to build front ends for any device, headless commerce separates the presentation layer from the backend logic. The platform handles logic, data, and security in the background. This provides unparalleled agility, enabling rapid deployment of new customer experiences across web, mobile, IoT, and more, future-proofing your digital storefront.
- AI and Data-Driven Insights: Salesforce Commerce Cloud collects vast amounts of customer data on customer behaviour, purchasing patterns and product performance. Then tools like Salesforce Einstein help to analyse this data and provides actionable insights. Enabling you to make informed decisions about product offerings, marketing strategies and customer service improvements, leading to truly intelligent commerce.
- Competitive Advantage: Businesses that offer a superior digital buying experience gain a significant edge. By providing convenience, personalisation and efficiency, you can attract new customers and retain existing ones more effectively than competitors stuck in outdated sales models. This is about establishing a clear competitive differentiator.
The advanced functionalities of Salesforce B2B commerce
Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud is a specialised ecommerce solution made to handle the unique challenges of business-to-business transactions.
Unlike B2C platforms that focus on individual consumers, B2B Commerce Cloud caters to the intricacies of corporate purchasing, combining ecommerce, CRM, AI and automation in one system.
Within Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud, there are a few advanced features and functionalities you need to know:
- Account-Based Purchasing: This supports complex B2B account structures. It allows multiple buyers in an organisation to place orders. They can also manage budgets and track purchases under one corporate account. This includes features like shared shopping carts, order templates and approval workflows – essential for streamlined corporate procurement.
- Contract and Negotiated Pricing: B2B transactions often involve custom pricing, volume discounts and contract-specific terms. Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud makes these tasks simple. It lets businesses provide personalised pricing based on customer groups, deals, or specific product bundles, ensuring pricing accuracy and flexibility.
- Complex Product Offerings: B2B product catalogues can be large and customisable. They often include different product options, custom parts, and detailed specifications. Salesforce Commerce Cloud supports extensive Product Information Management (PIM) capabilities, ensuring buyers can easily find and configure the exact products they need, simplifying complex product configuration.
- Quoting and Order Management: This makes the quoting process easier. Sales reps can create accurate quotes quickly and buyers can turn quotes into orders directly. The robust order management system tracks orders from placement through fulfilment, providing transparency for both buyers and sellers, enhancing order lifecycle management.
- Self-Service Portals: A crucial component of B2B Commerce is the self-service portal. This is where buyers can log in and view their specific catalogue, access negotiated pricing, place orders, track shipments, view invoices and manage their account details 24/7. This significantly reduces the burden on sales and customer service teams, promoting customer autonomy.
- Seamless Integration with CRM and ERP: Being part of the Salesforce ecosystem, B2B Commerce Cloud seamlessly integrates with Salesforce CRM tools like Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, plus Marketing Cloud, providing a unified view of the customer. It also integrates with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for inventory management, financial transactions and supply chain operations. The result is a smooth, omnichannel experience for both buyers and internal teams, fostering true business process automation.
Implementing and evolving your B2B commerce strategy
Overall, Salesforce Commerce Cloud can support the best customer experience.
This leads to more sales because customers get personalised messages and relevant offers. Teams also spend less time on manual tasks. They can streamline processes and use AI for data-driven decisions. Plus, executives can easily see where growth is coming from and where to focus next.
We are proud to be an official Salesforce partner. We are experts in supporting SFCC integration, migration, and ongoing management of commerce cloud platforms.
We help B2B businesses use the platform to create engaging customer experiences. This includes design, upgrades, audits and training. We also assist with planning and expanding features across all channels.
Are you ready for the future of B2B commerce?
The B2B commerce landscape is changing rapidly. Buyers demand control, expect personalisation, and increasingly prefer digital interactions over traditional phone and email. Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud is built to match these expectations and evolve with them.
The rise of headless commerce, AI-driven product discovery, and composable architectures is only accelerating. Businesses that adopt now are positioning themselves for what comes next, ensuring they remain competitive and agile in a dynamic market.
Are you ready to transform your B2B operations and unlock new growth opportunities? Consider your current digital readiness and how a phased rollout of a robust platform like SFCC can secure your future.
