How Salesforce B2B Commerce works in practice, from customer-specific pricing to online orders and integration with existing business systems.
Selling to other businesses often involves more than displaying products and accepting payments online. Different customers may have negotiated prices, access to specific products, or purchasing agreements that need to be reflected in every order.
Consider a distributor that sells industrial equipment and spare parts. Some customers order through sales representatives, while others prefer to place repeat orders online. Each account has its own pricing conditions, and information about products, availability, and orders may be managed across different systems.
Salesforce B2B Commerce is designed to support these purchasing requirements. It allows companies to create online storefronts connected to Salesforce CRM, with customer-specific pricing, product access, and self-service ordering.
In this article, we'll look at how Salesforce B2B Commerce works, which features matter in everyday business operations, and what companies should consider before implementing it.
What is Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud?
Salesforce B2B Commerce is an ecommerce solution within Salesforce Commerce Cloud that helps businesses sell products and services to other companies through an online storefront.
The platform supports product catalogues, account-specific pricing, buyer access, shopping carts, and checkout processes. It is designed for business relationships where purchasing conditions may differ between customers.
For example, a manufacturer might sell the same products to several distributors, each with its own prices and product agreements. Instead of maintaining separate online stores, the business can use Salesforce to manage which products and prices are available to different groups of buyers.
One of the main advantages is its connection to the Salesforce ecosystem. B2B Commerce is built on the Salesforce Platform and can work alongside other products, including Sales Cloud, Experience Cloud, and Salesforce Order Management.
This gives companies the option to connect online purchasing with customer records and existing sales processes. However, integrations with external systems, such as ERP or warehouse management software, still need to be planned and configured.
How is B2B ecommerce different from B2C?
Most consumer ecommerce websites follow a relatively straightforward process. Customers browse a catalogue, select products, pay the displayed price, and complete their purchases.
Business purchasing can be more complicated.
A distributor may have negotiated pricing based on a commercial agreement. A large customer might have several employees authorised to place orders. Another customer may only be allowed to purchase products from a specific catalogue.
Repeat purchases are also common. Businesses may order the same materials or replacement parts regularly, sometimes in large quantities.
A B2B ecommerce platform needs to support these conditions without making the purchasing process unnecessarily difficult.
Salesforce B2B Commerce addresses several of these requirements through buyer accounts, buyer groups, price books, and entitlement policies.
These capabilities determine who can access the storefront, which products they can see, and what prices apply to their purchases.
For businesses with complex commercial relationships, this is an important difference from a standard consumer ecommerce experience.
How Salesforce B2B Commerce works in practice
Imagine a company that sells spare parts and maintenance equipment to business customers. It manages commercial relationships in Salesforce Sales Cloud, while its ERP system handles inventory, invoicing, and fulfilment.
The company wants to introduce an online ordering channel for existing customers without changing its entire sales process.
Here is how the purchasing journey could work.
*1. A customer signs in to the storefront *
A purchasing manager from one of the company's customers signs in to the B2B storefront.
Salesforce recognises the buyer and the business account they are authorised to purchase for.
Depending on the configuration, the customer can access a product catalogue, account-specific purchasing information, and relevant order history.
*2. Salesforce displays the correct products and prices *
The customer's account belongs to a buyer group configured in Salesforce.
This buyer group helps determine which products are available to the customer through entitlement policies. Price books control the relevant product pricing.
For example, one distributor might receive a negotiated price for replacement parts, while another customer sees the standard wholesale price.
The storefront can reflect these commercial arrangements without requiring the customer to contact a sales representative for each purchase.
Salesforce provides more information about this configuration in its documentation on buyer groups, entitlements, and pricing strategies.
*3. The customer places an order *
The purchasing manager selects the required spare parts, adds them to the cart, and proceeds to checkout.
Depending on the implementation, the checkout process may involve delivery details, shipping calculations, taxes, payment conditions, and inventory checks.
Once the order is successfully submitted, Salesforce can create an order record that becomes part of the company's commerce data.
*4. The order is passed to the ERP system *
The ERP system may still be responsible for warehouse operations, stock allocation, invoicing, and delivery.
In this example, an integration transfers the order information from Salesforce to the ERP system for further processing.
As the order progresses, relevant updates can be returned to Salesforce, allowing the company to provide order status information to customers and internal teams.
This information exchange is not automatic simply because a company uses B2B Commerce. The integration needs to define which system owns each process, what data is exchanged, and how errors are handled.
*5. Sales representatives retain visibility *
The online store becomes another purchasing channel alongside the existing sales team.
With appropriate access and configuration, sales representatives can review their customers' purchasing activity in Salesforce and use that information during account management.
For example, if a customer regularly buys replacement components, the sales representative can review their order history before discussing future requirements.
The result is a purchasing process where customers can handle routine orders themselves, while sales teams remain involved in managing commercial relationships.
Customer-specific pricing and product catalogues
One of the most useful capabilities of Salesforce B2B Commerce is the ability to manage different purchasing conditions within the same storefront.
This is particularly relevant for manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors that work with multiple customer groups.
Salesforce uses several related components to manage the experience.
Buyer accounts represent business customers who can purchase through the store. Buyer groups allow companies to organise accounts with similar purchasing conditions.
Entitlement policies determine which products are available to those buyers, while price books help control the prices they see.
Consider a company working with regional distributors and direct business customers.
Regional distributors might have access to a wider selection of products and receive agreed wholesale prices. Direct customers may only see products relevant to their contracts.
Both groups can use the same storefront while receiving a purchasing experience appropriate to their commercial agreements.
These capabilities also require careful configuration. If a customer belongs to multiple buyer groups or has access to different price books, the pricing rules need to be tested to ensure the correct results.
For companies evaluating Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud, it is worth reviewing these scenarios before implementation rather than assuming that every pricing arrangement will work without additional configuration.
Connecting online commerce with Salesforce Sales Cloud
Introducing B2B ecommerce does not necessarily mean replacing sales representatives.
For many businesses, an online store works best as an additional sales channel that supports existing relationships.
A customer might negotiate annual purchasing conditions with an account manager but place routine orders through the storefront.
The sales representative remains responsible for commercial discussions, while the customer gains another way to purchase products.
This approach can be particularly useful when sales teams spend significant time processing repeat orders or responding to requests for information already available in business systems.
For companies already using Salesforce Sales Cloud, B2B Commerce can extend existing customer management processes.
Sales Cloud supports account and opportunity management, while B2B Commerce provides the online purchasing experience.
When configured correctly, the two can give teams better visibility into the relationship between commercial agreements and purchasing activity.
However, the data model and integration requirements still matter. Businesses should decide how online orders relate to their existing sales processes and which teams need access to that information.
Why ERP integration matters
Although Salesforce B2B Commerce provides the online storefront and commerce capabilities, most established B2B companies already use other systems to manage important business processes.
An ERP system may be responsible for inventory, financial records, purchasing conditions, or order fulfilment. A separate warehouse management system may coordinate product availability and shipping.
Connecting these systems is often one of the more important parts of a Salesforce B2B Commerce implementation.
For example, a storefront should not allow customers to place orders based on outdated stock information if the business needs to guarantee availability before accepting a purchase.
Similarly, the price displayed online should match the commercial rules used by the organisation.
A well-designed integration needs to answer several questions.
Where is the product catalogue maintained? Which system calculates the final price? When should inventory be checked? Where is the order processed after checkout? How should cancellations, returns, and errors be handled?
These decisions affect the customer experience as much as the storefront itself.
Salesforce provides APIs and extension points for commerce processes, including checkout, pricing, inventory, shipping, and tax calculations. The implementation team can use these capabilities to connect the storefront with other systems where required.
The important part is to define the responsibilities of each system before development begins.
What to consider before implementing Salesforce B2B Commerce
The first step should be understanding how customers currently purchase products and which parts of that process would benefit from being available online.
A company with straightforward pricing and a limited product catalogue may need a relatively simple storefront. A manufacturer working with several distributors, multiple currencies, and complex commercial agreements will have different requirements.
There are four areas worth reviewing during the planning stage.
*Customer journeys and purchasing requirements *
Start by identifying who will use the storefront and what they need to accomplish.
Some customers may want to reorder products quickly. Others may need detailed technical specifications, different delivery addresses, or support for purchase orders.
These requirements should influence the storefront design and the first release scope.
*Product, account, and pricing data *
Review how product information, customer accounts, and commercial agreements are currently maintained.
If Salesforce and the ERP system contain overlapping information, decide which system should be responsible for each dataset.
This helps avoid situations where customers see one price online while the finance team processes another.
*Integration and order management *
Determine which systems will handle pricing, inventory, fulfilment, and post-purchase activities.
It is also important to review the Salesforce edition and licence arrangement. Salesforce currently distinguishes between B2B Growth and B2B Advanced, including differences in Order Management and advanced capabilities.
These differences can affect the architecture and overall implementation scope. The latest details are available on the official Salesforce B2B Commerce pricing page.
*Implementation scope and testing *
Rather than moving every customer and purchasing process online at once, consider starting with a specific customer group or product category.
For example, a distributor could launch a storefront for existing customers who regularly purchase standard spare parts.
This provides an opportunity to validate account access, pricing, checkout, integrations, and the overall purchasing experience before introducing more complex requirements.
Testing should also include unusual scenarios, such as incorrect account permissions, unavailable products, changed prices, and integration failures.
If you're planning an implementation, our article on how to start with Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud provides additional guidance on assessing requirements and choosing an implementation approach.
When is Salesforce B2B Commerce a good fit?
Salesforce B2B Commerce is particularly relevant for companies that already use Salesforce and want to introduce or improve an online B2B purchasing channel.
It can also be suitable for businesses with account-specific pricing, repeat orders, multiple buyer groups, or complex commercial relationships.
Manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and companies selling equipment or replacement parts are examples of businesses where these requirements frequently arise.
However, Salesforce is not necessarily the right ecommerce platform for every organisation.
If a company has simple purchasing requirements and an existing ecommerce solution that works well, replacing it may not provide sufficient value to justify the cost and effort.
Before choosing a platform, businesses should compare their requirements with standard functionality, licensing, integration complexity, and ongoing maintenance needs.
It is also worth deciding how success will be measured. Online revenue is one indicator, but customer adoption, repeat-order activity, order accuracy, and the amount of manual processing required can provide additional insight.
The objective should be a purchasing experience that works reliably for customers and fits the company's existing operations.
Final thoughts
Salesforce B2B Commerce provides businesses with a way to introduce online ordering while supporting the commercial relationships and purchasing conditions that are common in B2B sales.
Its main value comes from connecting the storefront with customer accounts, pricing rules, and existing business processes. For companies already using Salesforce, this can make B2B ecommerce a natural extension of their CRM environment.
Before implementation, it is worth reviewing how customers buy, where product and pricing information is maintained, and which systems need to exchange data. These decisions help determine whether Salesforce B2B Commerce is a good fit and how the solution should be designed.
For companies planning a new commerce solution or reviewing an existing Salesforce environment, explore Spyrosoft's Salesforce services to learn more about implementation, integration, and ongoing development support.
FAQ
*What is Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud? *
Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud, commonly called Salesforce B2B Commerce, is an ecommerce solution for businesses selling to other companies. It supports online storefronts, buyer accounts, customer-specific pricing, product catalogues, and checkout processes. It can also integrate with Salesforce CRM and external business systems.
*What is the difference between Salesforce B2B Commerce and B2C Commerce? *
Salesforce B2B Commerce focuses on business purchasing requirements, including buyer groups, negotiated pricing, and account-specific product access. Salesforce B2C Commerce is designed primarily for consumer ecommerce. Both belong to Salesforce Commerce Cloud, but they have distinct capabilities and technical architectures.
*Does Salesforce B2B Commerce require an ERP integration? *
Not every implementation requires an ERP integration. However, businesses that manage inventory, invoicing, or fulfilment in external systems often need to connect those systems with Salesforce. The integration requirements depend on the existing architecture and which business processes need to be available through the storefront.
Top comments (0)