B2B Platform Feature Overview

Shopify Company accounts are created by a Platform Admin user and can include one or many locations, each with its own address information and user assignments. Shopify’s Company User accounts and roles are managed by the Platform Admin rather than by a Company Admin user. While there is not a native way for customers to request a new company account from the storefront, the Shopify Forms app can be used to add this functionality.

Shopify allows product visibility and pricing to be set on a per-Company basis via its B2B Catalogs feature. Both volume based pricing (e.g. Up to 5 for $2.00/ea, 6-10 for $1.75/ea, etc.) and quantity increments (e.g. SKU 1234 must be ordered in increments of 10 – 10, 20, 30, etc) are fully supported. Using Shopify’s native Locations feature, you can configure multiple locations to track inventory at your warehouses and/or retail locations.

Quotes & Orders

This is the primary area where Shopify’s out-of-the-box B2B functionality has a few limitations. Several features included in other B2B platforms are not available here, including:

         – Allowing Company Users to request a quote from the storefront

         – Allowing a Company Admin user to approve orders for some or all of their Company Users

         – Providing a Quick Order form to allow Company Users to enter multiple product SKUs either manually or via an upload

         – Shopping List functionality to allow a Company User to save lists of frequently ordered products

        – A Sales Rep Masquerade feature that allows your internal Sales Rep users to login on behalf of a Company User to assist them with an order

Some of these features, such as storefront quotes, quick order and shopping lists, can be added to a Shopify site via apps obtained from the Shopify App Store.

Although quotes (a.k.a. Draft Orders) can’t be created from the storefront, they can be created by a Platform Admin on behalf of a Company user. Also, while the Company Admin can’t approve orders from the storefront, Shopify can be configured so that orders from a company location require approval from a Platform Admin before being finalized.

Shopify provides the ability to use various payment and shipping methods with their B2B features. You can choose to require a B2B Company to pay for orders immediately, upon fulfillment or on net terms. An optional Purchase Order Number field is added to checkout by default for B2B users. Company users on net terms or where payment is due upon fulfillment can login to their account to view and pay open invoices.

There are also a couple of limitations worth noting here. First, Shopify provides out of the box for Buy Online, Pickup In Store (BOPIS) functionality through its Locations feature. This does not work with B2B users as these users are required to ship their orders, which could be a downside if you need a “Will Call” or “Local Pickup” option. Second, there is no native way to limit shipping methods by company.

Adobe Commerce provides a Company registration experience that is similar to that of the standard Customer registration, but Company accounts must be approved by a Platform Admin user before the Company user can login to the site. Company account registration can also be restricted to an admin-only activity, if desired.

Company Users and their roles and permissions are fully managed by the Company Admin user. Company User roles can be customized as needed to fit the Company Admin’s organizational structure. If a Platform Admin needs to manage Company Users or Roles on behalf of a Company, they must use the Login as Customer feature to login to the Company Admin user’s account. It is important to note that only one user per Company can be assigned to the Company Admin role.

Multiple Company locations within a single Company account are not supported, however a Company Admin user can create Teams within their Company User structure that act as folders for Company Users within the organization. These can be used to group customers by their location, if desired, but still don’t allow for additional attributes, such as physical address, to be stored for each location.

Adobe Commerce allows product visibility and pricing to be set on a Shared Catalog, which can then be assigned to one or more Companies. Both volume based pricing (e.g. Up to 5 for $2.00/ea, 6-10 for $1.75/ea, etc.) and quantity increments (e.g. SKU 1234 must be ordered in increments of 10 – 10, 20, 30, etc) are fully supported. Warehouse-level inventory is supported through the Adobe Commerce Inventory Management feature.

Adobe Commerce provides many B2B features for quotes and ordering. Quotes can be created by both Platform Admins and Company Users. Platform Admins can use the Login as Customer feature to assist Company Admins and their users with Company structure setup, ordering and other storefront tasks.

The Adobe Commerce Purchase Order Approval Rules feature allows Company Admins to require approval for certain orders. These rules can apply to all Company roles or specific roles only and can be based on order total, shipping cost or the number of items on the order. Each approval rule also specifies the user role(s) that must approve the order when it meets the defined conditions. Note that Approval Rules are fully supported by offline payment methods, such as Purchase Order and Payment on Account, but have limited support with online methods. Currently, PayPal Express and Braintree online methods are supported.

Requisition Lists can be used by both Company Admins and Users to create lists of frequently ordered items. Unlike BigCommerce, these lists are reusable, so the items remain in the list even after being added to cart. The Platform Admin can specify the maximum number of Requisition Lists that are available for each customer.

The Adobe Commerce Quick Orders feature enables a page on the storefront that allows customers to place orders quickly when they already know the names and/or SKUs of the products they want to order. Once on this page, a product name or SKU can be entered into an auto-complete field and results added to the list of items to be ordered. In a separate field, multiple SKUs can be entered, one per line. Customers can also upload a file containing a list of SKUs and quantities. Once the list has been created on the Quick Order page, all items can be added to the cart with a single button click.

Adobe Commerce provides a fully-featured Purchase Orders system out of the box. When Purchase Orders are enabled for a Company, all Company User’s orders will be created as a Purchase Order. This makes them subject to approval per the Approval Rules feature discussed above and allows for other Company Users with appropriate permissions to manage Purchase Orders for their Company.

Payment methods can be limited on a per-Company basis, however Shipping methods cannot. A Payment on Account and/or Purchase Order payment method can be enabled for checkout, however a Platform Admin can’t select specific terms that apply to the Company (i.e. Net 30, Net 90, etc.). Adobe Commerce does not provide a native way for customers to pay outstanding invoices from the site.

Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) is also supported by the In-store Delivery feature, provided you are using the Adobe Commerce Inventory Management feature to track inventory. When using this feature, one or more Inventory Sources must be identified as a pickup location. Once configured, customers can select the Pick In Store option at checkout to select a location for pickup.