Top B2B eCommerce Platform Features for Large Enterprises in 2024

In today’s digital age, B2B customers demand an online shopping experience that rivals the best of B2C. Forrester’s research found that 65% of B2B buyers are willing to pay more for a vendor that has strong digital capabilities.

To meet customer expectations, enterprises must equip their B2B eCommerce platform with advanced features that can handle complex and diverse needs. 

This guide highlights the key features to stay ahead in 2024, divided into two sections:

1. ‘Must-have’ features (Core platform features)

2. ‘Good-to-have’ features (Key differentiators)

Let’s start by looking at Amazon and how Jeff Bezos transformed eCommerce with a strong focus on customer experience and innovation.

How did Amazon become a Global eCommerce Giant?

Amazon is considered to be one of the world’s most valuable brands and is the fifth-largest tech company leading by market cap globally. 

It is undeniable that the eCommerce landscape before and after Amazon are worlds apart. Interestingly, many forget it wasn’t always seen as an obvious winner.

In 1999, Barron's - a Dow Jones publication - launched a scathing op-ed on Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos. Their hypothesis: eCommerce was unnecessary because it would prevent direct buyer-seller interactions. Bezos was solving a non-issue.

This article serves as a reminder that not all educated guesses manifest. Amazon is one of the few companies to thrive beyond the 'dot-com bubble pop’ and has revolutionized eCommerce by mastering the marketplace business model.

The key to Amazon’s success?

1. Customer experience

Amazon is nothing if not the ultimate provider of ‘great customer experience’. With personalized recommendations, one-click ordering, and an intuitive user-friendly interface, it turns shopping into a seamless experience from start to finish.

2. Technology and innovation

When you deal with millions of customers, you need a powerful workforce empowered with great technology. Innovation fuels Amazon’s growth, forever dropping game-changers like Prime, Alexa, and 1-click ordering.

Behind the scenes, Amazon’s efficient logistics and data-driven insights ensure that every order is fulfilled quickly and cost-effectively.  

Regular tests and optimizing of their platform and tech stack are what keep everything in line.

3. Multiple revenue streams

You can’t function without capital. Amazon’s diverse revenue streams like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), and Amazon Marketplace, further solidify its dominance as the eCommerce leader. 

Today, the eCommerce model has become so rooted in our commercial behaviors that 75% of B2B buyers prefer it over speaking with vendor sales reps.

McKinsey even calls out how the 'rule of thirds' proves effective once again in 2024, calling B2B eCommerce the ‘most effective sales channel.’

So, what have we learned?

Lesson 1: The eCommerce business model is necessary as both B2C and B2B buyers expect the same convenience they've grown accustomed to.

Lesson 2: Buyer behavior is changing. As a seller, your choice of platforms must change with it.

Choosing the right enterprise eCommerce platform is easier said than done

Here's why:

First, the conundrum of choice. The market is replete with several enterprise eCommerce platforms, each with its advantages. Identifying the right capabilities is a tough job.

Second, operational complexity. For an eCommerce platform to be enterprise-ready, it must integrate fluidly with the workflows and tools of all your stakeholders. This involves sales, marketing, product, and more.

Third, is the concern of durability. You need a solution that looks beyond today’s woes and can be customized to accommodate future use cases, at least over the next decade.

That's a tall order. We know.

So,

How do you choose the best eCommerce platform for your business?

This choice can easily ‘make or break’ your business.

A 2023 McKinsey report reveals that B2B companies providing superior omnichannel experiences see a 10% annual increase in market share. 

But of course, executing omnichannel operations requires a powerful B2B eCommerce platform that’s equipped to operations across 

• the entire lifecycle of a buyer, and 

• the several stages of maturity of the organization.

Hence we present you this downloadable guide — a slew of the top enterprise eCommerce platform features — ranked and ordered according to how critical they are to your scale.

From the ’undeniable’ to the ’worth considering’, we cover every feature so you don’t have to scour the internet, sit through product demos, and lengthen your procurement cycle. So, without further ado, let's begin.

Four ‘Must-have B2B’ eCommerce Platform Features

Your eCommerce platform governs everything from your virtual storefront to transaction enablement to the integrations that facilitate last-mile fulfillment.

A few features form the cornerstones of an eCommerce platform enabling a seamless, scalable, and powerful digital commerce experience. For that to happen, a few benchmark (yet critical) considerations must be met.

Here’s a list of 'must-have' a.k.a non-negotiable features that you must look for when choosing a B2B eCommerce platform:

1. Platform Security

Uncompromised security is non-negotiable.

A recent Crowdstrike outage has already poked a $5.4 billion hole in the U.S. Fortune 500 revenue kitty. And it brings one valuable lesson:

Security is even more crucial for an eCommerce platform that handles both first-party and third-party data.

This structure visually communicates the platform as the central hub, with the other systems feeding data into it and pulling necessary information to perform their functions securely.

A data breach exposed the credit and debit card information of over 40 million of its customers. The situation escalated so quickly that then-CEO Gregg Steinhafel announced his retirement shortly after.

This is a reminder that no one is immune to security threats in eCommerce. Not even the biggest shark. Choosing a platform that understands that goes a long way in maintaining business continuity.

Engage your IT security team in the decision-making process. Don't hesitate to ask potential vendors detailed questions about their security measures.

2. Choosing the most powerful B2B eCommerce Platform Features

Great customer experiences always operate on a spectrum. For example, Unbounce uses a workflow-based cancellation page. It uses customer data to highlight plan expiry dates and offers nominal message personalization.

Vital Proteins, on the other hand, takes personalization to a new level. It offers discounts at the point of cancellation based on factors like the customer's value or length of association with the brand.

With that in mind, here are a few critical CX features you must look at to outperform your peers:

First look: B2B website – themes and templates

First impressions count. Your digital storefront is the first point of contact for new customers. 75% of your business credibility depends on it. 

Thankfully, modern enterprise eCommerce solutions offer design-friendly B2B commerce website features. In most cases, you will find storefront templates that can be customized to fit your brand identity.

For example, American hardware supplier, McMaster-Carr has a no-nonsense website template. Their website prioritizes the massive catalog that the company has built a reputation around.

On the other hand, competitor Grainger highlights its bestsellers to optimize for conversion.

Fast and reliable B2B catalog management

Adding a new product to an expansive catalog takes a lot of work, especially in B2B eCommerce where you are working with multiple stakeholders, suppliers, and vendors. 

At any given point, you’d be receiving bulky catalogs with thousands of SKUs and related information in multiple formats. 

Everything from basic product details like product name, ID, tags, descriptions, images, videos, features, etc must be uploaded with 100% precision.

When you upload catalogs on your eCommerce website, you are bound to face many catalog management challenges.

Everything has to be consistent and factually correct, or your customer may never find the product they are looking for, or even worse, may find products with the wrong information. 

You must look for AI catalog automation tools that

• Pulls out data from multiple sheets and databases to instantly create accurate and visually appealing catalogs 

• Automated AI content generation, accurate categorization, product tags, visual tags, meta-tags, and categorization with AI

• Reflects and shares dynamic updates on your catalogs like real-time catalog views, stock updates, content updates, orders placed, etc

• Drag-and-drop product page builders with customizable page elements and sections

• Must easily communicate and integrate with other B2B eCommerce tools for seamless eCommerce operations

• Facilitates A/B tests for different product pages and catalogs

Is Your B2B eCommerce Platform Limiting Your Growth?

Learn how automated catalog management can make a difference.

Store personalization and recommendation engines

We've already discussed how personalization is a spectrum. Yet, 'offer personalization' is only one of its many aspects. 

A key component of this is the use of legacy customer data to build product recommendations.

Personalized recommendations help brands upsell their products. This, in turn, boosts the total order value of a purchase. For a recommendation engine to work, it also needs several B2B features.

Custom pricing and quote personalization

Your customer's willingness to pay is ever-changing. It is a reactive function of choice, competition, and demand. This means either/both of the following:

• The ability and desire of your customers to pay for your product changes over time

• The latent value of your product fluctuates in response to the market

Photographic reels lost value over time because of digital cameras. Your pricing, too, should be iterative. It should respond to how important a particular customer is to your business and the acceptable pricing structure in your industry.

B2B eCommerce is relationship-centric.

Because of its high-ticket nature, customers are more than likely to negotiate on pricing, fee structures, and more. For sellers, this serves as an opportunity to accommodate customer requests and deepen their relationships.

It is also important to have a solid quoting process to reduce commercial friction. Offering bill itemization, expense transparency, order history, and more goes a long way.

Advanced B2B order management

Backend operations aren't the most flattering parts of B2B eCommerce. Yet they're often the determinants of business velocity and continuity. Once you pull back the velvet drapes, it is this complex machinery that must run unabated.

It is the nature of B2B eCommerce to be volume intensive. If you are a distributor, you typically serve bulk orders to your customers. 

With higher stakes in place, even the slightest error is penalized with massive losses. For your supply chain to outperform, you need the following features in your B2B order management system:

Multi-account management 

A single corporate customer might have multiple divisions with multiple buying processes, vendors, compliance rules, and approval workflows. This makes B2B procurement rarely ever straightforward. Sometimes you’d also require long-tail procurement solutions. 

Multi-account management features allow you to navigate the B2B complexity with ease. You may consider choosing an eCommerce platform that offers the following B2B account management capabilities:

B2B Self-service portals  

Even way back in 2017, 73% of B2B decision-makers were millennials. Today, that proportion has only further inflated.

This is where B2B self-service becomes important. It puts the power in your customers' hands, making procurements rapid. In turn, you save on longer deal negotiations and the quoting process.

Source

Here are a few essential eCommerce website features to incorporate into your B2B self-service portal. 

Office Depot's checkout flow is a solid example of self-serve portals. It integrates flexible payment methods, supports variable discounts and pricing, and also offers shipping insights.

Learn how a self-service system can transform business transactions. This video offers key insights for developing a B2B self-service portal.

AI Chatbots

Next-generation AI-powered chatbots help support intelligent conversations without exhaustive human effort. They can provide real-time customer support, and answer queries. 

Advanced AI chatbots can also help with guided shopping processes, resolving queries faster, and helping your B2B customers meet their KPIs/goals on the platform.

Vendor Management

Effective vendor management is crucial., especially for distributors and marketplaces. Your B2B platform should make it easy to onboard, manage, and collaborate with all your vendors.

Incorporating these niche features does more than facilitate transactions. It delivers complete experiential delight for you and your customers.

After all, your eCommerce platform must be built to handle all the complexities of B2B relationships, giving you the freedom to scale.

3. Cloud-native eCommerce

A cloud-native commerce platform can make your business more modular by supporting capabilities and customization. It offers you room to grow while keeping your innate lines of code unaffected. 

Think of a sculpture made of LEGO instead of stone carvings. You keep adding more blocks to build, and you can remove blocks or replace them with different ones as you please.

With a cloud platform, you can make changes or upgrades and do more without having to reinvent your tech flywheel every time. This lends itself to the following advantages:

A cloud-based eCommerce platform is future-proof, adaptable, and built to handle anything you throw at it—whether that’s scaling up, integrating the latest tech, or staying ahead of security threats.

As your eCommerce business grows, you'd need a system that grows with you. That’s where cloud-based eCommerce platforms come in, and here are four reasons why they’re a game-changer:

1. Flexibility

You don’t want to be stuck with rigid systems. With cloud platforms, you can swap in new features, like a better payment gateway or a smarter recommendation engine, without breaking a sweat.

It’s plug-and-play for your business, allowing you to upgrade or add tools without any downtime.

2. Scalability

Picture this: a massive surge of customers during a sale. Traditional platforms might buckle under the pressure, but a cloud-based system automatically scales up to handle the traffic.

No crashes, no slowdowns—just smooth sailing even at peak times. You can also integrate with any new tool with ease.

3. Speed & Security

Cloud platforms come with top-tier, built-in security features that keep your business and customer data safe.

On top of that, cloud platforms leverage global data centers ensuring fast load times, minimizing delays, and cutting hosting costs. 

4. Omnichannel

Any business is in the service of the customer, not the other way around. For yours to be favorable, you need to meet customers where they are—mobile, desktop, in-store—and you have to fulfill customer orders, no matter where they come from.

A cloud platform ensures their experience is consistent and seamless across every channel.

4. Fluid B2B eCommerce integrations

Your eCommerce platform needs to ‘play nice’ with a range of tools, each with its unique functionality. This involves:

• ERP for inventory updates

• CRM for customer insights

• Accounting software for financial accuracy

• Procurement systems for frictionless purchasing

• B2B marketplace integrations

Does it make selecting an enterprise eCommerce platform complex?

Yes.

But is it impossible?

No.

Your enterprise commerce requirements are best served with the following B2B eCommerce integration capabilities:

Robust API library

This is the foundation of your integration strategy. A comprehensive set of APIs allows for easy connection with various internal and external systems. 

Pre-built connectors

These can significantly reduce implementation time and costs. Look for platforms that offer out-of-the-box B2B integrations with popular business systems.

These might include – SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, NetSuite, and more. 

Webhook support

For real-time data synchronization, webhook support is crucial. Webhook support enables the eCommerce platform to communicate with other systems (such as CRMs, ERPs, or marketing tools) by sending an HTTP request (the webhook) to a specified URL when an event happens.

This allows your platform to push updates to other systems instantly, keeping everything in sync.

Additionally, no business operates in isolation. Your D2C marketplace acts as a magnifier of your entire sales strategy. You are still selling your products with key distributors – other retail marketplaces.

Your tech stack should also accommodate two-way communication with other eCommerce platforms. This allows you to:

• List products and manage inventories across marketplaces from one platform

• Magnify network effects through additional channels

• Maintain a single system of truth for all eCommerce operations

Six ‘Good-to-have’ B2B eCommerce Platform Features

The difference between customer satisfaction and delight is small but critical. A 2024 McKinsey study found that moving from satisfied to delighted customers boosts referrals and engagement by 15%. 

But delight shouldn’t stop with customers. It must extend to internal teams like marketing, product, finance, customer success, and sales.

As you evaluate B2B eCommerce platforms, consider not just your current needs, but where the industry is heading.

The most successful B2B eCommerce operations will be those that can adapt to changing market demands. Leverage cutting-edge technologies and align with broader societal values to keep ahead.

A great B2B eCommerce platform delivers seamless experiences for customers and stakeholders, creating a system that drives revenue, efficiency, and long-term growth.

Here’s a list of good-to-have features that aren’t always essential for every enterprise, but can significantly enhance operations, create exceptional customer experiences, and accelerate revenue growth:

1. Multi-store Management

Multi-store Management is a crucial feature for enterprise-level B2B eCommerce platforms.

It allows businesses to manage multiple stores or websites from a single platform, which is especially beneficial for businesses with global operations or those that cater to different customer segments.

If you're a global manufacturer of industrial equipment, selling to diverse markets like construction in the U.S., mining in Australia, and agriculture in Europe, each region has distinct needs, regulations, and expectations.

Multi-store management becomes essential in this scenario.

It allows you to create and manage market-specific stores with localized product offerings, pricing, and compliance measures, all from a single platform.

For example, you can maintain different catalogs for agricultural equipment in Europe and mining equipment in Australia, while ensuring the same brand experience. 

Consider how Caterpillar, a construction equipment giant, leverages multi-store capabilities. A sleek front end is supported by a seamless backend, driving revenue success for them.

Their eCommerce platform unifies a variety of products across a range of industries all in one place. This helps maintain brand consistency while localizing offerings, pricing, and more. In 2023, their investments in eCommerce helped add 100,000 new customers.

2. Marketing automation

It allows businesses to nurture leads, engage customers, and personalize marketing efforts at scale, improving efficiency and driving revenue growth.

Today, thanks to personalization, no two Amazon homepages are alike.

Consider that you are a repeat buyer on Amazon and your friend prefers shopping on Alibaba. 

Now, the kind of marketing your friend needs to receive from Amazon to convert them into a repeat buyer like you, would be quite different than the kind of marketing you’d need. 

Segmenting audiences and then targeting marketing messages to each buyer persona requires a lot of manual effort. All of that changes with a little AI magic.

At the same time, deep integrations with your marketing toolkit, seamlessly feed back mission-critical data so your messages are on-point, every time.

3. Workflow Automation

B2B transactions are bulky and involve several business functions to work together. Involving your RevOps, finance, and dev teams in every quote-to-cash process is inefficient and cumbersome. 

Here's a wireframe of how that works:

Please note that the image above represents a simplified version of what an actual automation workflow looks like. 

The best approach is to divide a large process into multiple modules. Work on each module to perfection and then connect them to form the final workflow.

Consider a scenario where B2B order verification needs to take place.

When a B2B buyer places a bulk order, that order must first be verified by the appropriate person. If you're a large B2B enterprise with multiple stakeholders, the system will trigger the ‘multi-level approval workflow for order verification,’ and only after this approval will the order be confirmed.

Similarly, if your inventory is low, the system will trigger a ‘multi-level approval workflow for restocking,’ ensuring that restocking is done only after the necessary approvals.

Automated workflows are easy to build on an enterprise commerce platform with the following features:

• A visual workflow builder for easy process design

• Drag-and-drop functionality

• Trigger-based actions for automated responses

• Seamless integration with internal and external systems

• Automated notifications and alerts

• Performance tracking and optimization

Once you set up the workflow and feed all the conditions into the system, you can sit back and relax with peace of mind knowing that the process will run without errors.

4. Leveraging AI to optimize B2B operations

The importance of AI goes far and beyond, reaching even your inherent operational process. This includes effective catalog management, customer funnel and segmentation for marketing, predictive engines for customer demand mapping, and more.

Here are a few ways AI can help take the operational strain out of your B2B operations:

1. Recommendation engines

AI makes products more discoverable for your customers but also helps you understand how your customers respond to the recommendations you've provided, giving you valuable insights into their shopping preferences.

2. Demand forecasting

AI analyzes historical data to accurately predict future demand. By examining order history, customer wishlists, and product views, it effectively identifies in-demand products, helping you maintain optimal stock levels.

3. Intelligent routing

AI uncovers emerging trends in customer engagement scores, enabling you to offer timely support and assistance through intelligent routing, which helps keep your customer retention rates high.

4. Dynamic pricing

AI adjusts prices in real time based on market conditions and competitor pricing, allowing you to remain competitive while maximizing profit margins.

5. Supply chain optimization

AI identifies inefficiencies and predicts demand fluctuations, streamlining operations and improving logistics management.

6. Fraud detection

AI monitors transactions for anomalies, enhancing security and building customer trust by preventing fraudulent activities. This version maintains the original content while improving clarity and flow.

7. AI content generation using generative AI

AI can develop engaging, multi-format content within seconds. This means auto-generated videos, vibrant product shots, or simply — noise-free product backgrounds. 

From predictive analytics to intelligent automation, AI can help you do more with less. And, Generative AI in eCommerce takes it up a notch and opens new horizons for you.

Generative AI can generate unique marketing materials, automate customer support interactions with contextually relevant responses, and even create visual merchandising elements like product images or virtual try-ons, product catalogs, and more!

6. Green Commerce 

While we've covered features that are both foundational and additive to building a successful eCommerce business, true needle-movers must also care deeply about tomorrow.

In this section, we'll explore two factors that will become key B2B differentiators in the future. These are — sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance).

1. Sustainability

According to Adience's research, most B2B customers (73%) claim they would pay more to firms with a strong purpose. Eventually, this will also become a cornerstone of your customers' business decisions.

A B2B eCommerce platform that showcases sustainability can, therefore, be a significant differentiator. This includes:

• Carbon footprint tracking for orders

• Sustainable product highlighting and filtering

• Eco-friendly packaging options

• Sustainability reporting tools

• Green shipping options and optimization

Case in point: Unilever's annual reports

Like many other brands, Unilever now voluntarily discloses the environmental impact of their orders – from production to delivery.

Moreover, their platform now offers "green" shipping options. This option optimizes delivery routes and consolidates shipments to reduce carbon emissions.

2. ESG Integration

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly important in B2B decision-making. Integrating ESG considerations into your eCommerce platform can help you attract and retain socially conscious business customers.

Key features to consider:

• Supplier ESG rating integration

• Diversity and inclusion dashboards

• Ethical sourcing certifications and filters

• CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) reporting tools

• Fair labor practice indicators

Salesforce's ESG Risk Rating feature is a great example of ESG practices. It allows customers to assess the ESG performance of potential suppliers on the platform.

The competitive edge of sustainability and ESG

While these features may seem like "nice-to-haves" today, they're becoming essential for tomorrow. Here's why:

• Regulatory Compliance: Governments worldwide are implementing stricter environmental and social regulations. Having these features built into your eCommerce platform can help you stay compliant.

• Risk Management: ESG considerations are increasingly tied to business risk. Platforms that provide ESG insights can help your customers make more informed decisions.

• Brand Differentiation:In a crowded B2B marketplace, it becomes a key brand identity. A strong stance on sustainability and ESG can set your brand apart and attract like-minded business customers.

Summary

With all the key features laid out, the next step is figuring out what is best for your business. Start by examining your current platform—is your website fast, secure, and engaging?

Do your customers leave happy, or do you need more power under the hood? 

Once you’ve evaluated the front end, take a hard look at the back end of your B2B eCommerce platform. Are there gaps slowing you down? Is your tech stack outdated?

List out everything that's holding you back. Or speak to an eCommerce consultant.

If you’re still relying on outdated systems, it’s time for a change. 

Your platform must prioritize security, scalability, and personalization, and be equipped with essential B2B features like custom pricing, order management, workflow automation, and self-service systems to elevate the customer experience.

Features like AI commerce, sustainability, and predictive analytics are rapidly moving from optional to essential, as B2B customers now expect the same seamless experience they get in the B2C world.