Make B2B ecommerce work for customers—and for the business behind it
Successful B2B ecommerce requires more than a capable online store. Pricing, product data, customer accounts, approvals, inventory, credit, fulfilment and ERP systems must operate as one connected ecosystem.
Tin Soldier helps manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors identify where their current B2B ecommerce ecosystem is creating friction - and develop a practical roadmap for improvement.
Business-first advice across ecommerce, product data, integrations and operational processes.
Your customers want easier self service, but are your systems designed around the complete buying journey?
Many business-to-business enterprises introduce a modern ecommerce storefront in response to customer demand, but soon find themselves held back by legacy system(s) architecture, lack of functionality or poor UX.
When digital ordering operates as a disconnected channel, manual workarounds emerge, customer service remains overburdened, and the real promise of ecommerce operational efficiency is left unfulfilled.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- Customers cannot see their agreed prices or reliable stock availability.
- Complex products are difficult to find or configure.
- Repeat orders, bulk orders and quote requests take too much effort.
- Buyers cannot manage their users, approvals or delivery locations online.
- Product information is incomplete or inconsistent.
- Orders need manual re-entry into the ERP.
- Customer service handles enquiries customers could resolve themselves.
- Sales teams do not trust the information in the online channel.
What better B2B ecommerce could look like
A successful digital commerce capability requires aligning customer expectations with complex business and integration rules. Here are 12 core layers from our experience that your architecture must actively solve:
An easier buying experience
Help customers find the right products, reorder quickly, request quotes and track orders without calling your team.
Pricing and accounts that reflect how you sell
Show the right prices, credit terms and product ranges to each customer, with the account structures and approvals they need.
Product data customers can rely on
Bring specifications, availability and supporting documents together so buyers can choose with confidence.
Less work behind every order
Connect ecommerce with your ERP and fulfilment processes to reduce re-entry, errors and routine customer service requests.
An easier buying experience
Help customers find the right products, reorder quickly, request quotes and track orders without calling your team.
Pricing and accounts that reflect how you sell
Show the right prices, credit terms and product ranges to each customer, with the account structures and approvals they need.
Product data customers can rely on
Bring specifications, availability and supporting documents together so buyers can choose with confidence.
Less work behind every order
Connect ecommerce with your ERP and fulfilment processes to reduce re-entry, errors and routine customer service requests.
The answer? It may be either improving the existing, better integration or possibly replatforming
Unlike platform-first agencies, we start with a blank page. Some organisations already possess the right core tools, but require deep, focused architectural refactoring or middleware adjustments to release trapped value.
For others, moving to SaaS solutions like Shopify Plus or BigCommerce offers a vital structural simplification that dramatically reduces continuous operational maintenance overheads.
- Remediation of the existing site user-experience and performance bottlenecks
- Integrating specialised B2B components instead of custom development
- Replacing fragile integrations with robust modern API middleware patterns
- Introducing dedicated Product Information Management (PIM) capabilities
- Phased decoupling of legacy frontend features using API-led tools
- Full, secure data and content migration to robust SaaS frameworks
- Iterative, de-risked release strategies to safeguard continuous operations
Where should you start? With a B2B Ecommerce and Integration Assessment
Our comprehensive, diagnostic led assessment examines your complete end-to-end B2B buying and fulfillment journey. Over a 2 to 4 week engagement, we establish a structured, commercially sound business case and technical roadmap.
What the assessment covers
- The buying journey: How customers find products, order, request quotes and get help.
- Pricing and accounts: Contract prices, credit, permissions and approval rules.
- Product data: Catalogue quality, specifications, search and availability.
- Operations and integrations: How orders, stock and fulfilment move between ecommerce and your business systems.
- Platform and architecture: What works today, what creates risk and where change would make a difference.
What you typically receive
- A prioritised findings report showing where customers and teams encounter friction.
- An integration and data map showing the key systems and dependencies.
- A recommended direction covering what to retain, improve, connect or replace.
- A phased roadmap with quick wins, next steps and indicative investment.
Engagement Cost
subject to scope
From $
15000
A comprehensive, commercial-grade architectural sprint designed to provide executive decision-makers absolute clarity.
We understand both the customer experience and the systems behind it
Tin Soldier has spent years building, integrating and supporting solutions for complex B2B ecommerce businesses.
Our practice combines experienced customer experience design with rigorous transactional and integration engineering expertise.
We possess direct, practical experience integrating ERPs, CRM platforms, PIM structures, and warehouse systems to establish seamless transaction pipelines that lower operational friction.
15+ years B2B ecommerce experience
Designing portal tools capable of organizing contract pricing matrices, user tier hierarchies, and approvals.
ERP & ecommerce integration
Direct field experience linking system layers securely for real-time order routing, stock checks, and updates.
Custom product catalogues
Establishing structured search parameters, rich metadata schemas, and restrictive category rules.
Multi-location & branch solutions
Coordinating multi-layered inventory visibility protocols and variable regional branch pickup workflows.
Relevant sector case studies
A proven, established track record of delivering transaction stability and clarity to major B2B organizations.
Ongoing support of systems
Providing stable, robust system operations and preventative maintenance for business-critical sites.
B2B experience in practice
For distributor CS&Co, we built an online ordering experience for trade customers and connected it with their ERP. Customers can browse and place bulk orders online, while sales and stock information flows between systems—reducing administration and speeding up order processing.
Identify practical opportunities to improve the B2B buying experience, reduce manual work and lower your cost to serve.
Start with a complimentary 1 hour conversation about your customers, current platform, ERP environment and the issues creating the greatest friction.
Frequently asked questions
What is included in a B2B ecommerce assessment?
We assess the customer buying journey, business processes, ecommerce platform, ERP integrations, product data and operational pain points. You receive prioritised recommendations, quick wins and a practical roadmap for improvement.
Can you assess our current platform without recommending a rebuild?
Yes. Our assessment is platform agnostic and considers what should be retained, improved, integrated or replaced. If your current platform can meet the business requirements cost-effectively, we may recommend modernising it rather than rebuilding.
Which ecommerce platform is best for B2B?
There is no single best platform for every B2B business. The right choice depends on your pricing model, catalogue complexity, customer accounts, ordering workflows, integrations, growth plans and internal capability.
Can Shopify Plus support customer-specific B2B pricing?
Yes. Shopify Plus supports company-specific catalogues, pricing, quantity rules and payment terms. More complex contract pricing or ERP-controlled price structures may require additional integration or customisation.
How should ecommerce integrate with our ERP?
The integration should reliably exchange the information required to operate ecommerce, such as customers, products, prices, inventory, orders and fulfilment updates. Its design should reflect which system owns each type of data, how quickly it must be updated and how exceptions are monitored.
Do we need a PIM?
A PIM can be valuable when product information is spread across ERP systems, spreadsheets, supplier files and different sales channels. It becomes particularly useful when you have a large or complex catalogue, enrichment workflows or inconsistent product data.
Can ecommerce support quotes and purchase-order workflows?
Yes. Modern B2B platforms can support quote requests, negotiated pricing, purchase order numbers, approval processes and quote-to-order conversion. The precise approach depends on your commercial rules and how quoting and orders are managed in the ERP.
How do we involve sales representatives in ecommerce?
Ecommerce should support sales representatives rather than attempt to replace them. Useful capabilities include customer impersonation, assisted ordering, shared quotes and baskets, account visibility and access to customers’ online and offline activity.
What information do you need from our internal teams?
We typically speak with sales, customer service, operations, finance, marketing and technology stakeholders. We also review current systems, integrations, customer groups, pricing rules, ordering processes, product data and available analytics.
What happens after the assessment?
You receive a prioritised roadmap covering immediate improvements, longer-term capabilities, technology options, dependencies and indicative investment. Tin Soldier can then help deliver the recommended work in stages or provide the documentation needed to support an internal decision.