B2B transactions are increasingly shifting online. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2025, 80% of all B2B sales transactions will happen digitally.
However, launching and managing a Magento B2B e-commerce store involves more than just listing products online. It requires a robust platform that can handle the complexities of B2B transactions, streamline workflows, and enhance customer experience.
This article explores the unique challenges faced by B2B e-commerce managers and demonstrates how Amasty's new Magento B2B module pack addresses these needs more effectively than its competitors.
Understanding the Unique Challenges of Magento B2B E-commerce
B2B e-commerce differs from B2C because of the complexity of transactions, larger purchase volumes, and number of stakeholders. Let’s look at some of the key challenges that Magento B2B commerce managers face:
- Complex Buying Processes and Longer Sales Cycles – B2B buying processes are typically longer and involve multiple decision-makers. They need access to detailed product information, pricing, and documentation to make informed decisions.
- Higher Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) – B2B customers are often long-term partners. Platforms must offer features that enhance customer engagement and foster loyalty.
- More Significant Support Requirements – The products in B2B transactions often require more detailed support. That’s why e-commerce platforms must facilitate self-service options, elaborate documentation, and quick access to customer support.
- Custom Pricing and Negotiation Flexibility – B2B e-commerce businesses need the ability to offer flexible pricing models, hide prices, and manage quote negotiation.
- Advanced Account Management Needs – B2B transactions often involve managing multiple users, who need access to the right tools and information.
- Efficient Performance and Scalability – B2B companies require platforms that can handle a large volume of transactions and data while ensuring high performance.
Understanding all these needs and challenges was the first step in planning out and developing a tailored Magento 2 B2B module pack like Amasty’s B2B Suite. Our team aimed to address all the core pain points and create a strong alternative to Adobe Commerce B2B.
As a result, we’ve developed a comprehensive, adaptable, and user-friendly Magento B2B extension package.
How Amasty's Magento 2 B2B Commerce Solution Meets B2B Needs
Amasty's B2B commerce suite addressed the unique requirements of business-to-business commerce. Hyvä-compatible and fully aligned with Adobe Commerce B2B standards, this B2B solution boosts selling and buying experiences.
Here’s a full breakdown of the benefits you’ll reap and the features responsible for them.
Comprehensive Account Management
With customizable roles and permissions, businesses can have granular control over user access to orders, quotes, and payment options. Amasty's B2B Company Account feature lets you structure customer accounts to match their organizational hierarchies. The Google Account Login and Social Login features further simplify the employee account managing process, reducing registration friction to a minimum.
Optimized Inventory and Order Management
B2B buyers who often place large repeat orders can significantly speed up their ordering processes with Amasty's Quick Order. This feature enables fast product search based on SKU or product names and lets clients upload data sheets with multiple SKUs for easy bulk ordering.
The Extended Product Grid with Editor boosts efficiency even more by letting you monitor, filter, and modify your product data. With the Editor directly in the grid, your team can save time while ensuring that all product listings are always up-to-date.
These two Magento commerce B2B features speed up the B2B purchasing process for buyers and sellers.
Advanced Quotation and Negotiation Tools
Amasty's complementary Hide Price and Request a Quote features help B2B businesses enable negotiation right in the online store. Use these Magento B2B pricing tools to withhold the final cost and suggest requesting a quote instead.
Manage quote interactions using a built-in quotation management system (Quote Cart) that logs all negotiation history. With this setup, you’ll streamline communication, reduce back-and-forth, and close deals much faster.
Customization and Promotions Management
Different customer groups in B2B sales may require tailored business offerings. Amasty's Customer Group Catalog feature allows companies to create exclusive catalogs and custom pricing for various customer segments.
Amasty’s Magento B2B plugin package also includes Special Promotions Pro and Automatic Related Products tools that deliver targeted promotions and product recommendations. To top it all off, there are Product Option Templates that help you ensure quick and consistent product configuration.
Enhanced User Experience with Self-Service Tools
Business-to-business buyers expect a user experience that minimizes the need for manual intervention. As a B2B Magento agency, Amasty knows this firsthand.
We’ve added a Multiple Wishlist feature to make it easier for customers to plan bulk orders or frequent repeat purchases. The Cancel Orders functionality lets customers cancel orders, enhancing their sense of control and convenience, while Product Attachments and Color Swatches Pro provide additional product information and visualization options.
Together, all these features contribute to a more self-sufficient and user-friendly shopping experience.
Improved Loyalty and Customer Retention
The Store Credit & Refund feature in our B2B module for Magento 2 assists with building long-term customer loyalty and retention – major factors in the success of any B2B business. The feature enables you to issue store credits for returns or refunds, encouraging repeat business and improving customer satisfaction.
Another loyalty-oriented Magento 2 enterprise B2B feature in our Suite is the Sales Reps and Dealers. It helps you assign dedicated sales representatives to manage respective accounts, strengthening customer relationships and fostering long-term loyalty.
Enhanced Control Over Shipping and Payment Options
Since many B2B businesses require compliance with various policies, the B2B Suite’s features include Shipping and Payment Restrictions. These two tools give you full control over the shipping and payment methods available to different customer groups. Using them guarantees compliance with internal and legal policies, minimizing the risk of errors or disputes.
Magento B2B Features in Amasty’s B2B E-commerce Solution
The Amasty B2B Suite offers three tiers – B2B Essentials, B2B Pro, and B2B Premium. Each is packed with Magento 2 B2B features tailored to meet different business needs:
B2B Essentials provides the foundation for transforming a B2C Magento store into a full-fledged B2B platform. It includes the following Magento B2B extensions:
- B2B Company Account – Manage multiple buyers from a single company account, complete with customizable roles and permissions.
- Google Account Login – Let your team log in with their Google accounts.
- Quick Order – Simplify the purchasing process, allowing buyers to create massive orders and search by SKU.
- Customer Group Auto Assign and Extended Product Grid with Editor – Easily manage customer groups and product data.
- Product Attachments and Color Swatches Pro – Provide additional product information and visual options for an enhanced shopping experience.
Check out Amasty B2B Essentials
B2B Pro builds upon Essentials with the features of these B2B Magento 2 extensions:
- Request a Quote and Hide Price – Enable quote requests directly from the shopping cart and introduce a separate Quote Cart for negotiations.
- Social Login – Let your clients log in via their social media accounts.
- Store Credit & Refund – Increase the loyalty of your long-term customers.
- Sales Reps and Dealers – Facilitate smoother transactions and account management through dedicated sales representatives.
- Customer Group Catalog – Offer exclusive catalogs for different customer groups.
- Product Option Templates – Assign option templates to a large number of goods.
- Cancel Orders – Give more control by allowing cancelation from the client’s order history.
Check out Amasty B2B Pro
B2B Premium includes all the B2B e-commerce features of Essentials and Pro + personalization tools:
- Special Promotions Pro and Automatic Related Products – Drive sales through targeted promotions and smart product recommendations.
- Shipping Restrictions and Payment Restrictions – Offer more control over shipping and payment methods, ensuring compliance with business policies.
- Multiple Wishlist – Allow buyers to manage their purchasing plans more effectively.
Check out Amasty B2B Premium
Amasty's B2B Suite is designed to grow with your business. As your operations expand, you can easily scale up by upgrading to B2B Pro or B2B Premium. With this flexibility, you can be sure that your e-commerce platform always remains aligned with your growing business needs.
Amasty's B2B Suite vs. Adobe Commerce B2B
Adobe’s Magento B2B solution is a popular choice for many. However, Amasty’s B2B Suite for Magento Open Source is a powerful alternative. Designed to simplify B2B and B2C operations, the suite is fully compatible with Hyvä and Adobe B2B Commerce standards while requiring lower financial investment.
Here’s how the two solutions stack up against each other across key dimensions.
Cost-Effectiveness
Adobe’s Magento B2B cost includes fees that can be a significant expense for smaller businesses. The total cost of ownership includes not just the initial license, but also maintenance, hosting, and high customization expenses.
Amasty’s B2B Suite is built by B2B Magento developers working with Magento Open Source. Since Magento Open Source is free to use, you only need to invest in the Suite, which is a more budget-friendly option. This difference in pricing makes Amasty’s solution highly attractive for companies with limited resources.
Flexibility and Customization
Both solutions offer a high degree of customization, but the approach varies. Adobe Commerce B2B provides a robust set of built-in B2B features that can be tailored to specific business needs. However, these customizations often require more specialized development resources and can increase implementation time and cost.
Unlike the more rigid Adobe Commerce framework, the Amasty suite offers greater flexibility in:
- Adapting features
- Adding extensions
- Modifying workflows to align with specific business needs
We regularly update and improve all the features to keep pace with the latest industry trends and security standards. You can also choose only the features you need and customize them further without being locked into a pre-defined structure.
Ease of Integration with Magento OS
Adobe Commerce B2B is known for its comprehensive out-of-the-box features, but this comes with a steep learning curve for new users. It may require more extensive training and onboarding, especially for teams unfamiliar with complex e-commerce systems.
Amasty’s B2B Suite, in contrast, is designed to integrate seamlessly with any existing Magento setups. If you’re already using Magento Open Source, you’ll find it much easier to add Amasty's B2B features without the extensive downtime or migration challenges that are often associated with adopting a heavyweight solution like Adobe Commerce B2B. This lets you enjoy faster time-to-market and reduced implementation costs.
Amasty B2B vs. Adobe Commerce B2B: Comparison Table
Let's sum up the key differences in a neat table:
Key Dimension | Amasty B2B Suite (Magento Open Source) | Adobe Commerce B2B |
|---|---|---|
Cost-Effectiveness | Lower total cost with no licensing fees; pay only for the suite. | Higher total cost, including licensing, hosting, maintenance, and customization. |
Flexibility and Customization | Highly flexible; select, adapt, and customize features to specific needs. | Robust built-in features; customization often requires specialized resources. |
Integration with Magento OS | Seamlessly integrates with Magento Open Source; faster time-to-market. | Comprehensive features but with a steeper learning curve and longer onboarding. |
Compatibility | Fully compatible with Hyvä and Adobe B2B Commerce standards. | Designed for Adobe B2B Commerce ecosystem. |
Target Audience | Ideal for small to mid-sized businesses with limited resources. | Suited for larger enterprises with higher budgets. |
Feature Updates | Regularly updated to meet industry trends and security standards. | Updates provided as part of Adobe’s enterprise solution. |
Takeaway: Amasty's B2B Suite is a more flexible and cost-effective alternative that is just as feature-rich as Adobe Commerce B2B. It requires a lower investment and easily integrates with any Magento store.
How to Get Started with Amasty's Magento Enterprise B2B Suite
Getting started with Amasty's B2B Suite on Magento Open Source is a straightforward and easy process. Follow these steps to start transforming your B2B e-commerce operations:
- Assess your business needs. Identify the specific challenges and requirements of your B2B e-commerce operation. Consider various factors to choose the most fitting tier.
- Purchase and install Amasty’s B2B Suite of the target tier. After completing the purchase, download the extension package and follow the provided instructions to install it on your platform.
- Configure the B2B Suite features. Amasty’s intuitive admin panel makes it easy to manage these settings without needing deep technical knowledge.
- Test and optimize your setup. Before going live, ensure everything functions as expected. Test the quote management process, order workflows, pricing displays, and account management features to identify any issues.
- Make use of the customer services provided by Amasty support to keep your B2B platform optimized and competitive.
The Smart Choice for Modern B2B E-commerce Magento Stores
Amasty’s B2B Suite offers a comprehensive, flexible, and cost-effective solution for the needs of B2B e-commerce. With a focus on specific B2B challenges and long-term growth, it is well-equipped to help businesses succeed.
Here’s the rundown of why you should give it a try:
- Hyva and Adobe Commerce-compatible.
- Three flexible tiers: Basic, Pro, and Premium.
- 20 robust features.
- Easy to integrate with Magento OS.
- Regular updates, enhancements, and support.
Amasty’s B2B Suite provides all the necessary features to optimize your complex B2B transactions. Leverage it to simplify and speed up your sales to drive the growth of your business!
Frequently asked questions
Magento B2B is a platform designed for businesses selling to other businesses. It offers features like custom pricing, bulk ordering, and corporate account management, tailored for wholesale, manufacturers, and distributors.
Magento B2B is not free. It’s available as part of Adobe Commerce, which comes with a subscription cost, or as an extension package by Amasty, at a lower price.
As part of Adobe Commerce, Magento B2B pricing starts from around $22,000 per year, depending on your needs and traffic. As part of Amasty's B2B extension package, the pricing is $2,529 for Community Edition and $3,129 for the Cloud version.
Magento B2B focuses on bulk purchasing, corporate account management, and custom pricing. Meanwhile, Magento B2C is tailored for individual consumers, offering features for personalized shopping experiences and a faster checkout process.
