There are two huge segments in the world of sales and supply: B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business).

B2C eCommerce is always in the limelight, but the B2B market is larger.

More capital is concentrated here, more profit can be found.

At the same time, it is a more complex market with its own strict rules.One of the key points is that all B2B firms are different.

Companies often use different approaches to organizing their IT infrastructure.

As an example, some companies automate sales, while others provide customers with self-service portals.Electronic platforms for the B2B segment use more complex transactions.

Manufacturing eCommerce solutions are different from run-of-the-mill B2B eCommerce solutions.

That’s because there are peculiarities in manufacturing that you don’t find in retail.

So, ERP integration with the manufacturing eCommerce platform is crucial for continued supply chain management.

Manufacturers generally sell to distributors or wholesalers.These agreements often involve contracts with terms and prices negotiated for a set time period.

Every customer of a given manufacturer may have their own prices and terms.

Regular B2C eCommerce platforms can’t handle these scenarios.

B2B eCommerce is the shorthand term coined to refer to sale of goods and services from one business entity to another business using the internet.

It is derived from “business to business electronic commerce”.The sale can be of goods from a manufacturer to a wholesaler or it may be from a wholesaler to a retailer.

In another form of B2B eCommerce, manufacturers may sell to retailers directly on the internet without the use of a wholesaler.

Retailers go directly to the manufacturer’s website and place their orders.

Like traditional B2B trade, B2B eCommerce usually involves negotiated pricing and consists of regular orders for the same or similar items placed on a regular basis.Where traditional B2B relationships may take months to form, in B2B eCommerce, relationships may form more quickly as the buyer has generally done extensive research before contacting the seller.

In much the same way as the price, terms, and conditions such as freight are negotiated on a per customer basis for off-line sales, B2B eCommerce provides the same capabilities, just in an electronic fashion.