Why BigCommerce B2B Edition is a Game-Changer for Wholesale Businesses
As a wholesaler, merchant, or distributor, you understand the importance of staying ahead of the competition by offering high-quality products at competitive prices.
If you are reading this article you also understand that in today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is just as important as having an impressive product lineup.
Customers have an increasing demand for consumer-like experiences when it comes to ordering from their suppliers and has expectations that online ordering systems are easy to use, quick and efficient.
Wholesalers who meet this need gain a competitive advantage, operate more efficiently and can scale with fewer internal challenges.
When it comes to introducing or improving your online strategy there are many factors involved, as you learn more about in our B2B Digital Transformation Guide, one of the most important decisions is choosing an eCommerce platform that is right for your business.
In this comprehensive guide, we will review the features and functionality of BigCommerce B2B Edition and help you decide if this B2B solution is right for your business.
What is BigCommerce B2B Edition?
BigCommerce is an e-commerce platform that was initially founded in Sydney in 2009 and has since increasingly grown in popularity with its very progressive and innovative product development. BigCommerce labels itself as “Open Saas” which means it has the convenience and security of providing a subscription-based software-as-a-service (Saas), with an extensive list of out-of-the-box features and offers the flexibility to customise the storefront as you want.
With an increasingly growing B2B commerce market, they acquired a purpose-built app called BundleB2B in 2021, and soon after BigCommerce B2B Edition was born.
B2B Edition now comes fully integrated into BigCommerce (if you opt to include it in your subscription) and is loaded with features you can drool over in the next section.
Features of BigCommerce B2B Edition
B2B Edition offers a plethora of features designed specifically for the needs of wholesalers, manufacturers, and distributors. But before we dive into what they are, let’s look at a few useful B2B features which are included in BigCommerce as a standalone product.
Standard Wholesale Features you can find in BigCommerce
Customer Groups
Customer Groups are standard in almost every solution on the market, here you can divide your customers into key groups primarily for pricing/discounts/promotions.
BigCommerce also offers the option to vary the visibility of product categories by customer group. This is perfect if you sell exclusive products to certain groups, have a VIP program etc.
Custom Price Lists
Price Lists are available with the BigCommerce Enterprise plan, and allow you to create unique price lists for customer groups.
If you’re looking to implement Customer-specific pricing you will need BigCommerce B2B Edition as it allows you to associate a custom price list to a specific organisation or Corporate Account (explained further below).
Price lists allow you to offer percentage discounts or unique pricing per SKU, in addition to tier prices and volume discounts. There is a Price List API that allows the ability to sync pricing from ERP systems.
Sell B2B & B2C
If you are a hybrid business and sell both to retail and wholesale customers BigCommerce is a great solution for this.
Use as Online Catalogue
There is an option to disable purchasing from the store if you only require a solution to display your products as an online catalogue (without any cart or order functions).
Display Prices after customer login
This feature depends on your BigCommerce theme, some support the option to restrict purchasability until login. If you select a theme that doesn’t support this it can easily be implemented by a BigCommerce Developer.
Login as Customer
Your customer service team can easily log in to your customer’s account via the BigCommerce control panel to populate their shopping cart or handle customer service enquiries.
Pre-Order
If you launch your products on Pre-Order then BigCommerce makes this easy.
Advanced Features with BigCommerce B2B Edition
Now we will explore the additional features with B2B Edition.
Corporate Accounts
Traditional eCommerce websites have a singular customer account, this used in a B2B world presents problems when there are multiple people from the same organisation whose responsibility is to purchase from suppliers. Additionally, there may be approval processes within that organisation that require senior staff to review orders before they are placed with suppliers.
Corporate Accounts solve these challenges by allowing your customers to internally manage the buyer roles and permissions that suit their organisation, all you need to do is issue them the primary account. Permissions can be varied to include the ability to purchase/checkout, manage shopping lists, view orders by a user or across the entire organisation and more.
Shopping Lists
Some of the key features include multiple payment options, bulk ordering capabilities, customized pricing based on order volume, and a quote management system.
These features help you keep your B2B customers happy by offering them the convenience they need to place and manage their orders.
Quotes
Used in conjunction with the standard cart/checkout on your website the quoting feature allows you to optionally facilitate negotiated prices with your customers by allowing them to add items to a quote instead of a shopping cart.
Once the quote is submitted, you receive the request via email and can access all your quotes within the BigCommerce B2B Edition admin interface, here you can prepare and send the quote to your customer.
The approval process supports making multiple amendments to the quote before being accepted by the customer, after which they are provided with an easy link to checkout and place the order.
Buyer Portal
The BigCommerce B2B Edition Buyer Portal is a recent product launch from BigCommerce and presents an intuitive interface for your customers to manage and place orders. This draws away from the trend of creating ‘B2C-like shopping experiences’ for wholesalers but can be a far more practical solution to offer your customers and enable them to quickly place their regular orders.
B2B Storefront Themes
BigCommerce B2B Edition comes with a choice of 6 compatible storefront themes that can easily be configured for your brand, or more advanced customisation by a BigCommerce developer.
You can have a sneak-peak on these themes below.
Note that at the time of writing, these themes don’t support the Buyer Portal feature out of the box.
Payment Method Visibility Control
This feature allows you to offer certain payment methods (eg. On Account) to selected customers. You can set the default payment methods to be shown, and then where applicable vary this on each Corporate Account.
Quick Order - Buy Again
The Quick Order page is designed for customers who know your product range well and what they want to buy with features including an easy search by SKU or product name, bulk order placement and CSV file upload (which could be provided by your sales team) to populate their cart. This proves very useful for orders with a large number of line items.
Other Benefits of BigCommerce
Scalability and Flexibility
One of the biggest benefits of BigCommerce B2B is its scalability and flexibility. Whether you’re a small business just starting or a large enterprise looking to expand your online sales, BigCommerce B2B offers the tools and infrastructure you need to grow.
The platform offers a wide range of customization options, including the ability to integrate with marketing tools, shipping providers, and more.
SEO-friendly
As an eCommerce business, having a solid search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is crucial for driving traffic and sales.
BigCommerce B2B offers built-in SEO optimization tools, allowing you to optimize your content and product listings for search engines like Google and Bing.
With a focus on SEO, you can improve your organic reach and attract more B2B customers to your online store.
Customer Experience
In addition to the technical features and functionality, BigCommerce B2B also focuses on providing a seamless and enjoyable customer experience.
From the intuitive user interface to the responsive design, the platform is built with your customers in mind.
Integrations and Add-ons
Finally, BigCommerce B2B offers a wide range of integrations and add-ons to help you customize your online store and streamline your business operations.
From shipping providers to accounting software to marketing tools, the platform integrates with a variety of third-party applications to help you streamline your workflow and boost your productivity.
Local Support
Additionally, the platform offers 24/7 support and an AU-based account manager to help you with any questions or issues that may arise.
Conclusion
BigCommerce B2B offers a robust set of features, flexibility, and scalability that make it an excellent choice for wholesalers, merchants, and distributors looking to expand their online sales.
With a focus on customer experience and SEO optimization, the platform offers a well-rounded solution for businesses of all sizes.
If you’re looking for an eCommerce platform that can help you streamline your B2B sales and grow your business, BigCommerce B2B is worth considering.
Talk to Us for more information to decide if BigCommerce B2B Edition is right for your business.
