It’s 8:03 AM on a Wednesday in Q2 2025.
The head of eCommerce scrolls through an order notification: oh, a major buyer has placed a 12,500-unit order online without calls or back-and-forth emails.
While her team races to confirm inventory and draft a purchase order, their competitor’s system has already processed the payment terms, locked in shipping, and sent a tracking link.
That moment crystallised one reality: B2B eCommerce is no longer a future project; it’s the lifeblood of competitive advantage.
This stark scene set the stage for a deep-dive conversation hosted by eCommerce Tech. Three proven B2B leaders shared their playbooks for success in 2025:
- Alex Weston (SparkLayer), a specialist in Shopify-based wholesale
- Kathleen Sullivan Garman (SullyGarman & Associates), an expert in operational excellence
- Jason Greenwood (Greenwood Consulting), veteran B2B strategy consultant
By mid-Q2, they warned that brands must have a clear, scalable B2B roadmap or risk ceding $ millions in orders to faster, digitally enabled competitors.
The Strategic Crossroads: Why B2B Needs a Plan
In the webinar’s opening session, Jason delivered a blunt message: “Every eCommerce business should be making a proactive strategic decision about whether or not to do B2B eCommerce in 2025.” That decision point defines your next 12 months.
Delaying or dabbling leads to piecemeal systems and frustrated customers. Jason highlighted three paths:
- Full Commitment: Treat B2B as a profit centre with dedicated technology, teams, and KPIs.
- Strategic Opt-Out: Decide to focus exclusively on consumer channels and redirect resources.
- Stalled Middle: Half-measures risk alienating both B2C and B2B buyers.
“You need to decide whether you're going to treat B2B eCommerce as a revenue-generating channel or just a support function. That decision changes everything,” Jason underscored.
Once decided, your plan should include:
- Timeline: Q2 pilot, Q3 scale, Q4 optimisation.
- Tech Selection: Platform evaluation, integration strategy, data flows.
- Team Structure: Cross-functional squads with clear ownership.
Metrics: Revenue share, average order value, portal adoption rates.
What Winning in B2B eCommerce Looks Like in 2025
Kathleen outlined the stakes clearly: “The B2B customer wants speed, simplicity, and accuracy and they’ll leave if they don’t get it.”
That means investing in robust functionality. Things like account-level pricing, customer-specific catalogues, and seamless reordering are now table stakes. Behind the curtain, that calls for automation, especially in order processing and inventory visibility.
To that end, solutions like SparkLayer offer plug-and-play B2B features, while tools like digitBridge or NetSuite Commerce help integrate critical back-office functions. Shoutout, too, to i95Dev, whose middleware bridges the ERP and CRM divide, making seamless experiences a reality.
But it’s not just about tech. Kathleen warned that B2B isn’t plug-and-play: “You can’t just apply B2C (Business-to-Consumer) thinking to a B2B (Business-to-Business) environment. The buyer, the needs, the logic, it’s all different.”
Another overlooked area is payment terms. Most B2B buyers don’t swipe a credit card, they expect net terms or invoice flexibility. Jason pointed out that brands embracing this complexity are reaping the rewards: “If you offer flexible terms or business-friendly credit, you automatically stand out.”
Fintech innovators like Hokodo (B2B ‘buy now, pay later’) empower you to extend credit while getting paid upfront, and Upro streamline high-volume orders via CSV uploads—quiet enablers of smarter B2B growth
Channels, Catalogs, and the Marketplace Opportunity
Expanding beyond your website is another strategic lever. “B2B marketplaces are a fast track to new buyer audiences,” said Alex. “They reduce Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and expand your reach without heavy lifting.”
These marketplaces whether niche or global offer B2B brands visibility where business buyers already shop. And they’re not just for discovery. Many have built-in workflows for bulk buying, Request for Quotes, and trade pricing.
Just don’t treat them as a magic bullet. As Alex added: “They work best when part of a bigger plan, not the plan.”
Avoiding the Pitfalls: Internal Friction, External Failure
The panellists all emphasised that success isn’t just about shiny features. It’s about alignment. If your IT team builds a B2B portal, but your sales team ignores it, you’ve failed.
“Don’t silo your teams,” said Kathleen. “You need cross-functional alignment from the start IT, sales, ops, finance. All of them should be in the room.”
Data is another make-or-break factor. In B2B, it’s not enough to know what you sell. You need granular insight into who buys, how often, in what volumes, and under what terms. Kathleen added: “Get your Product Information Management (PIM) in place early. Bad data kills conversions.”
Final Thoughts: Making B2B eCommerce Work in 2025
It’s already Q2 of 2025, and the momentum for B2B eCommerce is stronger than ever. The brands seeing success aren’t waiting; they’re actively building and refining their strategies now to stay ahead.
Whether you’re launching a B2B platform or enhancing an existing one, every decision you make now will determine your performance in Q3.
Jason put it best: “Treat B2B like a strategic channel. Give it the investment, the focus, and the team it deserves. Because if you don’t? Someone else will.”
In 2025, the firms that lead in B2B eCommerce will outpace competitors in both revenue and customer loyalty. Will you be among them?
Thank you to our sponsors, SparkLayer and Upro CSV order Upload, for making this webinar possible!
You can watch the full webinar replay here for direct insight from Alex, Kathleen, and Jason.
Oh, and don’t miss out on staying ahead of the curve — sign up for future sessions with our eCommerce Explored series and explore our B2B eCommerce blogfor even more exclusive goodies. Trust us, you’ll want to explore it all!
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