(This article was first published on August 15, 2023, and last updated on July 29, 2024.)
Ecommerce and B2B sales have historically been somewhat estranged. Until recently, traditional offline methods were the norm for B2B transactions, with complex B2B procedures and inadequate software solutions discouraging a move towards digital methods.
However, times are changing. We are witnessing an unprecedented surge in the B2B ecommerce sector. According to a recent forecast by research firm Forrester, B2B ecommerce revenue is projected to skyrocket to 3 trillion US dollars by 2027, in the United States alone. [1] As of 2023, the industry is already at a staggering 2 trillion.
It's evident that there is an immense demand for ecommerce platforms that cater specifically to the B2B sector. As a global leader and innovator in ecommerce systems, Shopware has keenly recognized this market shift. Although our B2B Suite already offers an all-in-one solution for B2B merchants, we are steadfast in our pursuit of excellence. We're developing a novel approach to better cater to the unique challenges of B2B commerce, placing a special focus on individualized and personalized user experiences.
We are thrilled to unveil the future of B2B ecommerce: Shopware B2B Components.
Shopware B2B Components provide a broad array of features, all designed with the B2B sector in mind. These features can be individually chosen and configured according to each user's role, embracing the principle of modularity. Each feature is an autonomous component, seamlessly integrating into the overall system to ensure smooth operation.
In this blog post, we're excited to walk you through the innovative world of Shopware's B2B Components. You'll discover how these components offer an advanced alternative to the existing Shopware B2B Suite, explore the specific features that have been released, and gain an understanding of our development roadmap.
Contents
Empowering Shopware with B2B Components: A leap into the future of ecommerce
Overview: these Shopware B2B Components are already available
In a nutshell: What Shopware B2B Components promises to deliver
Why we enhance Shopware with B2B Components
The realm of B2B commerce is undergoing a seismic shift, transitioning from traditional methods to the digital marketplace. Adopting the "better late than never" approach, a growing number of B2B businesses are venturing into the exciting waters of ecommerce. A recent Forrester forecast illustrates this trend, predicting an impressive annual growth rate of 10.7% for the US B2B ecommerce sector through to 2027. Simultaneously, offline B2B sales are projected to decline by around 8 percentage points. Gartner® further predicts that "by 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur in digital channels" [2] and that "by the end of 2023, the total numbers of B2B digital commerce transactions is expected to overtake the total number of B2B direct sales transactions."
With this escalating demand, the call for bespoke B2B software solutions has never been louder. A significant reason B2B enterprises hesitated in pivoting towards online commerce was the palpable absence of B2B features in web store systems. Unlike B2C commerce, B2B commerce demands critical functionalities, including robust user and role management, intricate B2B sales structures, and comprehensive offer and order management systems.
The challenge is to ensure the complexity doesn't become a burden and remains user-friendly for all stakeholders.
Therefore, the task for ecommerce platform vendors lies in furnishing merchants with a versatile solution that seamlessly adjusts to the needs of their users and B2B end customers. Factors influencing this adaptation can range from the size of the company, the spectrum of products and services offered, to the established sales structures and procedures. From a buyer's perspective, the ability to involve multiple personnel (such as purchasing, compliance, and management teams) in the procurement process is crucial.
At Shopware, as a customer-focused software company, we thrive on understanding our users' requirements and delivering precise solutions. That's why we are proud to introduce Shopware B2B Components – a novel, modular framework designed to revolutionize the B2B ecommerce software industry.
Unveiling the power of Shopware B2B Components
Shopware B2B Components represent our latest innovation in B2B ecommerce. This power-packed platform provides merchants with the flexibility to customize modules and features based on their distinct needs.
Harnessing the vital knowledge gleaned from our comprehensive B2B solution, Shopware B2B Suite, we're evolving individual B2B components, enhancing functionalities, and integrating novel features. Our primary aim is to pare down the complexity of each B2B feature to its core essence, culminating in a streamlined and simplified overall system.
With the introduction of the Evolve plan, B2B merchants gain the freedom to choose from an array of B2B components, enabling or disabling them per employee or assigned role. This offers the unique advantage of tailoring the level of complexity to suit each user's needs.
Integrated fully into Shopware 6 – our most cutting-edge and robust ecommerce platform to date – the B2B components leverage key features of Shopware 6. Merchants can utilize tools like the Flow Builder or Rule Builder to design and automate their processes in tandem with the B2B components.
In addition, we're extending our API-first and headless commerce philosophy to Shopware B2B Components. This allows for seamless integration of third-party solutions with the B2B functionalities and facilitates backend customization of B2B components without impacting the storefront. This approach maintains a clear delineation between the backend and frontend, providing merchants with unprecedented flexibility in both design and technical dimensions.
In the rapidly evolving world of ecommerce, Shopware is staying ahead of the curve by offering diverse deployment options. Beyond the traditional on-premise version, we now offer a cloud-only version (Shopware Cloud) as a Software-as-a-Service solution, and most recently, a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) variant. The PaaS option provides you with complete control over the technical infrastructure and scalability without the burden of maintenance. Shopware B2B Components are compatible across all these architectures, further underlining our commitment to flexibility and user-centric design.
Shopware B2B Components vs. Shopware B2B Suite
Before we delve further into our discussion, it's important to clarify: the introduction of Shopware B2B Components does not signal the end of the Shopware B2B Suite. The B2B Suite remains a holistic solution, offering a robust array of features since its inception. It continues to earn high acclaim from our clientele and demand for it remains strong. Rather, the introduction of the Shopware B2B Components is intended to provide a complementary option, a 'pick-what-you-need' alternative for B2B merchants. This is particularly suited to those prioritizing a flexible ecommerce infrastructure and desiring to cater to a diverse range of complexity within their sales processes.
Beyond the foundational principle distinguishing the two solutions, you'll observe notable differences in the user interfaces of the Shopware B2B Components. When we worked on each component, we incorporated state-of-the-art insights from UX design and invaluable feedback from our B2B user base. This approach not only helped us refine each element but also allowed us to optimize and streamline workflows.
We are designing our roadmap with a clear vision: to consider and evolve the Shopware B2B Components independently. Therefore, at some juncture in the future, the two offerings will diverge, even in their fundamental functionalities. There will be a point when new features will be introduced solely for the Shopware B2B Components. However, we are dedicatedly working towards providing a smooth migration pathway from the B2B Suite to Shopware B2B Components for our customers, enabling them to decide freely which solution and functionality spectrum best aligns with their requirements.
Overview: these Shopware B2B Components are already available
Since summer 2023, we’ve been gradually releasing new modules for B2B Components and thus gradually expanding the range of our services in the B2B area.
Let's delve into a brief preview of the Shopware B2B Components features:
B2B Components feature: B2B Quick Order Options
What's the premise?
We have already launched two order options for speeding up the order process:
placing orders by entering product numbers,
and the capability to initiate bulk orders via an uploaded product file.
What advantages does this offer to me as a merchant?
Incorporating products into the shopping cart through the input of product numbers significantly accelerates the customer's purchasing journey. This approach eradicates the need for lengthy product searches via the search bar or navigating the category tree. The feature to upload a file for bulk product orders saves time for your customers by eliminating the need to individually order each product via the online store. At the same time, it enables you to effortlessly process and manage extensive customer orders.
What's the current progress of this feature?
Quick Order Options, including the two mentioned functionalities, are fully developed and are already launched in early August 2023.
B2B Components feature: B2B Employee Management
What's the premise?
This feature enables the creation of unique accounts and workflows, complete with rights and role management systems. The goal is for every sales organization to establish appropriate internal structures within Shopware.
What advantages does this offer to me as a merchant?
The integration of sales and distribution partners is simplified significantly. As a store owner, you can seamlessly replicate your sales hierarchy in Shopware, whether it's a simple or intricate setup. For instance, suppose you are a pharmaceutical manufacturer distributing your products through multiple channels. In this scenario, pharmacies could register in your online store as business partners and order medications directly. In a situation where there's only one decision-maker, like in a pharmacy, order complexity is kept minimal. However, when dealing with a hospital, where several individuals are involved in the ordering process, the scenario becomes more complex. With B2B Employee Management, you can meet the unique needs of each business partner.
What specific functionalities does the feature cover?
B2B Employee Management enables the following functionalities:
Customer self-registration as business partners
Creation, activation, modification, deactivation, and deletion of employee accounts
Development and dispatch of invitation links for potential business partners
A comprehensive rights and roles management system for employees
Customizable approval processes for order workflows
Developers will have the capability to assign individual rights to customers
What's the current progress of this feature?
The B2B Employee Management feature was completed in October 2023.
B2B Components feature: B2B Quote Management
What's the premise?
Our B2B Quote Management feature is designed to streamline the quotation process for both sellers and buyers. It allows merchants to generate and dispatch quotations directly to their customers. Simultaneously, it empowers customers to solicit quotations directly from merchants, setting the stage for a fully integrated negotiation process right within the Shopware platform.
What advantages does this offer to me as a merchant?
This feature simplifies the quote generation process, providing your customers with a straightforward and standardized method to request quotations. Furthermore, it ensures full transparency in the negotiation process, which takes place within Shopware. This not only enhances the entire process for you but also offers a clear, reliable system for your customers.
What specific functionalities are covered?
In addition to making quote creation more accessible for merchants, we focused on enhancing the quotation request process. The following steps are part of this process:
Customers can add products to their cart
Customers have the ability to request a quote for cart items
Merchants can directly handle customer requests within Shopware
A negotiation process can be initiated between customers and merchants (optional)
Once an agreement is reached, customers can accept the negotiated offer
Merchants can transform the quotation into a formal order
The payment process is facilitated for customers
What's the current progress of this feature?
The B2B Quote Management feature was released in November 2023.
B2B Components feature: B2B Shopping Lists
What's the premise?
The B2B Shopping Lists feature introduces the ability to establish and disseminate manually curated order lists. In doing so, it fosters synergy among varied stakeholders of a company by uniting them under a singular, shared shopping list.
What advantages does this offer to me as a merchant?
For extensive orders, this feature provides a significant benefit, as it offers your customers a streamlined method to accumulate all pertinent data relating to their orders in one centralized location. The result is a considerable reduction in the effort required for both the creation of quotations and the processing of orders. In addition, recurring orders can also be mapped better with the feature.
What specific functionalities does the feature cover?
Create shopping lists
Add products
Save desired product quantities
Share and collaboratively edit lists
What's the current progress of this feature?
The B2B Shopping Lists feature was released in June 2024.
B2B Components feature: B2B Approval Rules & Rights Management
What's the premise?
B2B Approval Rules & Rights Management allows customers to establish budgetary limits for their orders. If the order value crosses the pre-set limit, an automatic approval process is activated. Additionally, merchants can assign access rights for using various features on a user-by-user basis.
What advantages does this offer to me as a merchant?
The feature automates your customers' approval processes that typically rely on budget limits, thereby decreasing the need for manual synchronization with customers during the ordering phase. Moreover, through rights management, you can ensure the suitable access permissions to B2B features are given to the users designated by your customers.
What's the current progress of this feature?
The B2B Approval Rules & Rights Management feature has been available since the beginning of 2024.
The B2B Components roadmap unveiled
We've shared with you the myriad of features the Shopware B2B Components have to offer. Now, let's pull back the curtain to provide a succinct and comprehensible overview of our strategic development blueprint.
Present status (July 2024):
Five B2B components have already been released, providing Shopware Evolve and Beyond customers with a comprehensive range of modular features. For example, your business partners and customers can leverage the Quick Order Options. This feature facilitates rapid and effortless order placements by entering product numbers or uploading prepared order lists, thereby bypassing your online store's typical order process.
Furthermore, the B2B Employee Management offers you the flexibility to craft intricate sales and distribution architectures suited to your business partners' requirements.
The B2B Quote Management feature empowers customers to solicit quotes actively, initiate negotiations directly with you, and secure a clear, binding agreement for both parties through Shopware.
The B2B Shopping Lists enable the creation and team-based management of manual order lists. Finally, the B2B Approval Rules & Rights Management feature accommodates your customers' budgetary constraints and approval protocols in the ordering process. We are also planning to introduce novel roles, such as the Sales Manager, who will boast expanded rights in the ordering process and can set up and manage accounts for business partners as an admin.
Future expansion stages
Our future plans include expanding the B2B Components to include a function that will make it easier to map complex company structures in business partner management. This should enable the configuration of differentiated and more specific access rights in order to meet the requirements of companies with complex structures.
If you want to stay up-to-date on our latest product developments, check out the Shopware Roadmap.
Leveraging the initial B2B Components in your Shopware plan
The Shopware B2B Components, that were already published, are all accessible from the Evolve plan onward. You have the capability to enable and tailor each component individually within your Shopware 6 administration.
To ensure you're well-informed, we'll provide regular updates via our release news and our Shopware newsletter.
In addition to that, you will find helpful step-by-step guides on the features in our B2B Components documentation.
In a nutshell: What Shopware B2B Components promises to deliver
As we roll out Shopware B2B Components, we're reimagining B2B ecommerce from the ground up. Through our uniquely modular commerce platform, we're empowering B2B merchants like never before, all the while cutting down the inherent complexity of B2B processes such as order management and approval workflows.
Furthermore, Shopware B2B Components offer a flexible "choose-what-you-need" alternative to our existing, feature-rich Shopware B2B Suite, which will continue to run concurrently.
The released and upcoming B2B Components are designed primarily to make your role as a B2B merchant more effortless. This objective is mirrored in the range of features we offer.
Quick Order Options enable customers to place orders with speed and ease,
B2B Employee Management ensures a seamless onboarding and handling of business partners,
B2B Quote Management allows customers to solicit inquiries and negotiate with you,
B2B Shopping Lists facilitate the collaborative maintenance of manual order lists,
and with B2B Approval Rules & Rights Management, your customers can define budget constraints and approval processes.
We're confident that Shopware B2B Components will redefine the standard for your B2B ecommerce operations. Embark on this journey with us and become a part of the most dynamic and progressive B2B ecommerce ecosystem out there!
If you're interested in sharing your thoughts on Shopware B2B Components or contributing to its further development, we welcome you to connect with us via our feedback form.
Sources
[1] Forrester: US B2B E-Commerce Will Reach An Estimated $3 Trillion By 2027, published 8 June 2022.
[2] Benefit From B2B Digital Commerce: Improve Cost, Revenue and CX, by Jason Daigler, Dayna Radbill, published 28 April 2023. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
