Selling online to businesses is a totally different ballgame than running a normal consumer eCommerce store.
A manufacturer may sell the same product at different prices to different customers. A wholesaler may require minimum order quantities, credit limits and bulk ordering. A distributor may need customers to see live inventory from several warehouses. An enterprise seller may need every online order, quotation and account update to flow into SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite or another ERP.
That is why a serious B2B eCommerce project should be treated as a commerce, software and systems-integration programme, not simply a website redesign.
For planning purposes, a straightforward B2B ordering portal may require around €20,000–€35,000. A stronger mid-market platform may cost €35,000–€70,000, while ERP-integrated and enterprise solutions commonly move towards €60,000–€120,000+. Multi-country programmes involving complex integrations, large catalogues and custom workflows can exceed €100,000–€200,000.
The important question is not how many features you can afford. It is which digital workflows will create the most value for customers and remove the most manual work from your business.
This guide covers the practical decisions: features, ERP integration, platform selection, technology stack, resources, cost, timeline, implementation process and the mistakes that can push an enterprise eCommerce project over budget.
This guide is most relevant if you are a:
If you simply need a small online shop with standard pricing and checkout, many of the enterprise requirements covered here will be unnecessary.
| Project | Typical Budget | Timeline | Typical Team |
| Discovery & architecture | €5,000–€10,000 | 3–5 weeks | 3–5 specialists |
| Basic B2B ordering portal | €20,000–€35,000 | 3–5 months | 4–6 people |
| Mid-market B2B platform | €35,000–€70,000 | 5–8 months | 6–8 people |
| ERP-integrated commerce | €60,000–€120,000 | 6–10 months | 8–10 people |
| Enterprise / multi-market | €100,000–€200,000+ | 9–18+ months | 10–15+ people |
These are planning ranges, not packages.
A distributor with 5,000 SKUs, one warehouse and standard customer groups is very different from a manufacturer managing 150,000 products, multiple ERP entities, contract pricing and several European markets.
Most of the complexity is behind the website.
A B2B buyer may expect:
The platform therefore needs to understand the commercial relationship between your company and the customer.
For many organisations, the real objective is not simply “increase online sales”. It is to make routine purchasing easier while reducing manual work for sales, customer service and operations.
One of the most expensive mistakes is choosing Shopify Plus, Adobe Commerce or a custom stack before documenting how customers actually buy from you.
Before selecting technology, answer questions such as:
The answers may reveal that your true objective is something much more specific.
For example:
Allow existing distributors to log in, see contract pricing and available stock, repeat previous orders and send confirmed orders directly into SAP without manual re-entry.
That is a far stronger development brief than “we need a new B2B website”.
Unlike consumer commerce, the customer is often an organisation.
One company account might include:
Each person may need different permissions.
A procurement employee might prepare a €25,000 order, while a manager must approve it before submission.
B2B pricing may vary according to:
If pricing already exists in your ERP, duplicating it manually in the commerce system increases the risk of discrepancies.
Define one source of truth.
Not every customer should necessarily see the same product range.
Visibility could depend on:
This should be under the logic of the catalogue and not manually managed.
B2B buyers often know exactly what they need.
Useful functionality includes:
For repeat buyers, saving time can be more valuable than adding decorative frontend features.
RFQ functionality is important where pricing cannot always be fixed.
Customers may request:
Ideally, quotations should connect to CRM and sales workflows rather than creating more email administration.
Many B2B customers do not pay by card.
The platform may have to support:
These impact both checkout and ERP architecture.
Availability may depend on:
In many businesses, the ERP or WMS should remain the master source.
A strong customer portal can allow buyers to:
The goal is not necessarily to eliminate sales representatives. It is to reduce repetitive administrative work.
Enterprise projects often become over-budget because every department wants its entire wish list included immediately.
A better approach is phased delivery.
| Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Later |
| Company accounts | Advanced approvals | AI recommendations |
| Customer pricing | Multi-warehouse rules | Predictive purchasing |
| Product catalogue | Advanced analytics | Personalisation |
| Search | More CRM workflows | Loyalty systems |
| Ordering | Additional integrations | New channels |
| ERP order sync | Expanded self-service | Additional countries |
| Basic portal | Enhanced automation | Experimental features |
If customers can log in, see the correct catalogue and pricing, submit an order and have that order appear accurately in your ERP, you already have a valuable first release.
For manufacturers and distributors, ERP integration is often more important than the storefront.
Typical systems include:
Before integration begins, define who owns each data type.
| Data | Typical Master System |
| Product data | ERP / PIM |
| Inventory | ERP / WMS |
| Customer account | ERP / CRM |
| Contract pricing | ERP |
| Website content | CMS / Commerce |
| Orders | Commerce → ERP |
| Invoices | ERP |
| Shipping information | ERP / WMS |
| Marketing data | CRM |
This simple exercise can prevent significant duplication and rework.
Not everything does.
Real-time integration may make sense for:
Scheduled updates may be enough for:
Making every integration real-time can make the architecture more expensive without creating meaningful customer value.
There is no universally best stack.
Technology should reflect your catalogue, integrations, business logic, order volume, internal IT capability and long-term roadmap.
| Layer | Common Options | Best Fit |
| Frontend | Next.js / React | Modern storefronts |
| Commerce | Shopify Plus | Faster enterprise deployment |
| Commerce | Adobe Commerce | Complex enterprise B2B |
| Backend | Node.js / NestJS | Custom workflows |
| Enterprise backend | .NET / Java | Large enterprise systems |
| Database | PostgreSQL | Custom transactional systems |
| Search | Elasticsearch / OpenSearch | Large catalogues |
| CMS | Contentful / Strapi / Sanity | Headless content |
| ERP | SAP / Dynamics / NetSuite / Odoo | Core business operations |
| CRM | Salesforce / HubSpot / Dynamics | Sales and customer data |
| Cloud | AWS / Azure | Hosting and scalability |
| Payments | Stripe / Adyen / regional gateway | Payments |
| Analytics | GA4 / GTM / BI platform | Performance measurement |
A modern custom platform might use:
Next.js + Node.js/NestJS + PostgreSQL + OpenSearch + AWS/Azure
connected to:
ERP + CRM + PIM + WMS + Payment Gateway
This structure is useful when the customer experience needs to be modern but the business logic is too specialised for a standard commerce platform.
| Option | Best For | Advantages | Watch Out For |
| Shopify Plus | Faster enterprise rollout | Lower infrastructure burden, strong ecosystem | Deep custom workflows may need workarounds |
| Adobe Commerce | Complex B2B operations | Powerful catalogue and B2B capabilities | Higher implementation and maintenance complexity |
| Custom Platform | Unique business logic | Maximum control | Higher initial cost and ownership responsibility |
Your workflows are the competitive advantage.
Examples include:
If you spend most of the implementation forcing a standard platform to behave differently from how it was designed, the original platform decision may be wrong.
Suitable for a business moving a relatively simple order process online.
Possible scope:
This may include:
Typical complexity includes:
A larger programme may involve:
This is one of the most important areas to understand before requesting quotations.
| Requirement | Cost Impact |
| One ERP integration | Moderate |
| Several enterprise integrations | High |
| Real-time contract pricing | Moderate–High |
| Multiple warehouses | Moderate |
| Large/poor-quality data migration | High |
| PIM implementation | Moderate–High |
| Headless frontend | Moderate–High |
| Multi-country rollout | High |
| Several languages/currencies | Moderate |
| Complex approval workflows | Moderate–High |
| Custom product configurator | High |
| Advanced search | Moderate–High |
| B2B + B2C in one ecosystem | High |
Cost often increases through accumulated complexity rather than one major feature.
Five apparently small requirements can collectively create months of additional work.
| Resource | Responsibility |
| Commerce/Product Lead | Business objectives |
| Business Analyst | Requirements |
| Solution Architect | Architecture |
| UX/UI Designer | Customer experience |
| Frontend Developer | Storefront |
| Backend Developer | Business logic |
| Integration Developer | ERP/API connectivity |
| QA Engineer | Testing |
| DevOps Engineer | Infrastructure |
| Project Manager | Delivery |
Enterprise programmes may also require:
| Project | Team |
| Basic B2B portal | 4–6 people |
| Mid-market platform | 6–8 |
| ERP-integrated commerce | 8–10 |
| Enterprise programme | 10–15+ |
Not every person works full-time throughout the entire programme.
That is one reason an experienced product-development partner can be more efficient than trying to employ every specialist internally from day one.
| Team | Approximate Monthly Budget |
| Lean B2B team | €12,000–€18,000 |
| Standard product team | €18,000–€28,000 |
| Advanced enterprise team | €28,000–€45,000 |
| Large specialist team | €45,000+ |
These are delivery-budget ranges rather than employee salary estimates.
| Workstream | Typical Share |
| Discovery & architecture | 10–15% |
| UX/UI | 10–15% |
| Frontend | 15–20% |
| Backend | 20–25% |
| ERP/integrations | 15–25% |
| QA/UAT | 10–15% |
| DevOps/security | 5–10% |
The figures overlap because every project is different.
The important lesson is that the visible storefront is only part of the budget.
For enterprise B2B commerce, integration, backend engineering and testing may consume as much effort as frontend development.
Cost optimisation should come from better planning, not from removing essential engineering work.
Focus on:
A €7,000 discovery phase that prevents €30,000 of rework is not wasted budget.
It is risk reduction.
Understand the customer, sales model, pricing, catalogue, ERP, inventory and current operational pain points.
Review:
Determine what should stay, what should integrate and what genuinely needs replacement.
Design around how customers actually order.
Repeat buyers should not have to behave like first-time consumer shoppers.
Choose the platform, frontend, integration approach, hosting and data ownership model.
Do this after discovery.
Build the storefront, customer portal, backend and administration functions in planned releases.
ERP, CRM, PIM and WMS integrations should be tested early rather than saved for the final weeks.
Clean and migrate:
Real business users should test realistic scenarios.
For example:
For larger programmes, migrate selected customers first.
Monitor issues before expanding to the entire customer base.
After launch, use real behaviour to improve:
| Stage | Typical Timeline |
| Discovery | 3–5 weeks |
| UX/UI | 4–7 weeks |
| Architecture | 2–4 weeks |
| Development | 12–24 weeks |
| ERP integration | Parallel |
| Migration | 3–8 weeks |
| QA/UAT | 3–6 weeks |
| Mid-market total | 5–8 months |
| Enterprise programme | 9–18+ months |
The objective should not be to launch as quickly as possible at any cost.
A B2B platform that goes live with incorrect contract pricing or stock information can cause far more damage than a controlled delay.
Requirements should decide the platform.
Not the other way around.
Some manual processes exist because previous systems were limited.
Digitisation is an opportunity to simplify them.
An API alone does not make an integration simple.
Pricing rules, data ownership and error handling still need careful planning.
Sales and account-management teams often understand B2B customer behaviour better than anyone else.
Include them in discovery and testing.
Proving the platform in one or two markets can reduce technical and operational risk.
Protect existing organic visibility by planning:
SEO migration should happen alongside development, not after launch.
Before requesting a full development quote, make sure you can answer most of these questions.
If these answers are unclear, discovery should come before a fixed development quotation.
| KPI | What It Shows |
| Online revenue | Commercial contribution |
| Digital order percentage | Customer adoption |
| Repeat-order rate | Retention |
| Average order value | Account value |
| Self-service adoption | Operational efficiency |
| Quote-to-order rate | Sales effectiveness |
| Order error rate | Integration quality |
| Cost per order | Efficiency |
| Customer-support volume | Usability |
| Revenue per account | Customer growth |
For many B2B organisations, the biggest return is not purely additional revenue.
Moving repetitive order administration online can allow salespeople to spend more time growing accounts rather than entering orders.
Do not evaluate an enterprise commerce partner only on visual design.
Ask:
A strong partner should sometimes recommend doing less.
If every requirement is immediately accepted without challenge, you may simply be receiving a larger quotation rather than better product advice.
For manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and enterprise sellers, B2B commerce sits at the intersection of eCommerce, custom software, UX, ERP integration and business operations.
That means the first step should not always be asking, “How much will a new website cost?”
A better starting point is understanding:
iDigitalize supports businesses across the full B2B eCommerce lifecycle, including:
If you already have an eCommerce platform, iDigitalize can assess whether the right next step is to optimise, redesign, integrate, replatform or rebuild rather than automatically recommending a new system.
Share your current website, ERP, product catalogue, pricing model and key requirements.
iDigitalize can help review:
1. How much does B2B eCommerce development cost?
A simple B2B portal can cost €20,000-€35,000. A mid-market platform costs €35,000–€70,000, with more complex ERP-integrated projects costing €60,000–€120,000+.
2. How long does B2B eCommerce development take?
A mid-market project may take around five to eight months. Enterprise and multi-country programmes can take nine to eighteen months or longer.
3. What technology stack is best for B2B eCommerce?
There is no single best stack. Common options include Shopify Plus, Adobe Commerce or a custom architecture using technologies such as Next.js, Node.js, .NET, Java, PostgreSQL, AWS or Azure.
4. Do we need ERP integration?
For many manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, ERP integration is essential because pricing, customers, inventory, orders and invoices already exist in the ERP.
5. What team is required?
A typical project may require a Commerce/Product Lead, Business Analyst, UX/UI Designer, Solution Architect, frontend and backend developers, integration engineer, QA engineer, DevOps engineer and Project Manager.
6. Should we choose Shopify Plus or Adobe Commerce?
If you want faster deployment and less complexity in your infrastructure, Shopify Plus is better. Adobe Commerce may suit businesses with deeper catalogue and B2B customisation requirements.
7. When should we consider custom development?
Custom development makes sense when standard platforms cannot support important procurement, pricing, quotation, product-configuration or industry-specific workflows efficiently.
8. What makes B2B eCommerce development expensive?
ERP integrations, contract pricing, multiple warehouses, data migration, large catalogues, multi-country requirements, advanced search and extensive customisation are common cost drivers.
9. How can we reduce the project cost?
Complete discovery first, control phase-one scope, use existing platform capabilities where sensible, minimise unnecessary integrations, clean data before migration and expand markets in stages.
10. Should we rebuild our existing B2B platform?
Not automatically. An experienced development partner should first determine whether the existing system can be optimised or integrated before recommending a complete rebuild.
11. Can iDigitalize help with an existing enterprise eCommerce system?
Yes. iDigitalize can review the current platform, ERP environment, integrations, architecture and user experience and recommend whether the business should optimise, integrate, redesign, replatform or rebuild.
