For businesses using, choosing a B2B eCommerce platform is about more than storefront design. Pricing, inventory, customer accounts, orders, and purchasing rules may already be managed inside Business Central. The online experience needs to work with those processes rather than creating another system for employees to maintain.
An can connect the digital buying experience with the operational data already supporting the business. For manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers, that means creating an experience that's easier for customers to use while keeping the pricing, inventory, customer, and order information behind each transaction connected with Business Central.
Key Highlights
- Look for a B2B eCommerce platform that connects directly with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
- Customer-specific pricing and ERP-driven inventory can create a more reliable buying experience.
- Quick Order and repeat purchasing tools can make online ordering faster for B2B customers.
- Complex products and purchasing workflows should be considered before moving more transactions online.
- Customer portals can extend eCommerce beyond checkout with invoices, order history, and account self-service.
1. Business Central eCommerce Integration
The first thing to evaluate is how closely the eCommerce platform connects with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
A basic connection may transfer selected information between systems, but B2B organizations often need customer accounts, pricing, inventory, products, and orders to remain aligned throughout the buying process.
Businesses should ask what information is connected, how frequently it is updated, and what happens after a customer submits an online order. If employees still need to maintain duplicate information or manually correct differences between the webstore and Business Central, the integration may not provide the operational efficiency the company expects.
commercebuild takes an ERP-first approach to, connecting the online buying experience directly with the customer, product, pricing, inventory, and order information managed in Business Central. This allows businesses to extend existing ERP processes online rather than recreating them in a separate eCommerce environment.
2. Customer-Specific Pricing and Inventory
Pricing and inventory are two of the most important areas to consider when evaluating B2B eCommerce for Business Central.
Customers may have negotiated rates, volume discounts, account-specific pricing, or special product agreements. Inventory may also be distributed across multiple locations and change throughout the day as orders are processed.
If the webstore doesn't reflect this information accurately, customers may see a price or stock level that doesn't match what the business can actually provide. That creates confusion for buyers and additional work for sales, customer service, and operations teams.
An ERP-connected webstore can make Business Central pricing and inventory information available during the buying process. Customers can see pricing associated with their account, while inventory data can provide a more reliable view of availability before an order is submitted.
For manufacturers and distributors with repeat customers, accurate information is especially important. Buyers need confidence that they can place an order online without contacting a sales representative to confirm every price or product.
Pricing and inventory aren't simply back-office data. Once customers are purchasing online, they become an important part of the digital customer experience.
3. Faster Ordering for Repeat B2B Buyers
Professional buyers don't always shop like retail consumers.
Many already know which SKUs they need, regularly reorder the same products, or place large multi-line orders. Requiring these customers to browse categories and open individual product pages can make the online ordering process slower than necessary.
Quick Order functionality can make the webstore more practical by allowing buyers to enter known SKUs, add multiple products efficiently, or complete repeat purchases with fewer steps. The goal is to make digital ordering easier than the phone calls, emails, and spreadsheets customers may already use.
Repeat purchasing should also be considered when designing the customer experience. Existing buyers should be able to return to the webstore and quickly access familiar products, previous orders, and purchasing information rather than starting from the beginning every time.
For manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers with long-term customer relationships, these capabilities can turn the webstore into a practical everyday purchasing tool.
Businesses should therefore evaluate how well a platform supports the way their B2B customers actually order, not simply how well it supports product browsing.
4. Support for Complex B2B Products and Purchasing Workflows
Not every B2B transaction follows a simple product-page-to-checkout process.
Manufacturers and distributors may sell configured products, kits, assemblies, or bundles, while purchasing processes can include quotes, approvals, minimum order values, or other business-specific controls.
These requirements should be documented before selecting an eCommerce platform. Businesses should determine which workflows need to move online, which will continue to be managed through Business Central or other systems, and how information needs to move between them.
The goal isn't necessarily to recreate every internal process in the webstore. It's to ensure the digital channel supports the purchasing experience customers need while remaining connected with the processes the business relies on behind the scenes.
Companies should therefore map their current purchasing and order processes before implementation. Understanding where quotes, approvals, product configuration rules, purchasing requirements, and exceptions occur can make it easier to evaluate whether a potential eCommerce solution fits the way the organization actually operates.
5. B2B Customer Portals and Self-Service
A B2B eCommerce experience should continue to provide value after an order is placed.
Customers may need to review previous purchases, access invoices, check account information, review order details, or reorder products without contacting someone internally.
A can give buyers direct access to more of their account activity. When that information is connected with Business Central, customers can use the same digital environment for both ordering and ongoing account management.
This can also help internal teams. Sales, finance, and customer service employees can spend less time responding to routine requests when customers can access common account information themselves.
For businesses with sales representatives or authorized users purchasing on behalf of customer accounts, can extend these digital capabilities to additional sales channels.
The result is a B2B eCommerce experience that supports more of the customer relationship rather than focusing only on the transaction itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What should I look for in B2B eCommerce for Business Central?
A: Look for strong ERP integration, customer-specific pricing and inventory, faster ordering tools, support for your B2B purchasing requirements, and customer self-service capabilities. The platform should fit the way your business and customers already operate rather than forcing you to recreate established processes in a separate system.
Q: Why is Business Central integration important for B2B eCommerce?
A: Integration helps keep pricing, inventory, customer information, products, and orders connected with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central instead of requiring teams to maintain the same information in separate systems.
Q: Can B2B eCommerce display customer-specific pricing?
A: An ERP-integrated platform can use Business Central pricing data to support negotiated rates, account-specific pricing, volume discounts, and other customer agreements online.
Q: How can B2B eCommerce make repeat ordering easier?
A: Quick Order functionality, order history, repeat ordering, and easier access to familiar products can help established buyers complete purchases with fewer steps.
Q: What can customers access through a B2B customer portal?
A: Depending on the configuration, customers can access information such as order history, invoices, account details, previous purchases, and other account-specific information. Customer portals can also support capabilities such as paying open invoices online.
Build a Better B2B Buying Experience With Business Central
Choosing B2B eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central should start with the way your business and customers already operate.
The right platform should support existing pricing, inventory, ordering, and customer account processes while making it easier for buyers to do business online. Just as importantly, moving more transactions online shouldn't mean creating more manual work for the teams managing those orders behind the scenes.
commercebuild provides ERP-first eCommerce for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, helping manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers connect the digital buying experience directly with their ERP.
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