B2B Ecommerce for Manufacturers: Building Beyond Business Central

What Is B2B Ecommerce for Manufacturers?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central gives manufacturers a strong operational foundation for managing financials, inventory, purchasing, production, and customer data. But it was not designed to serve as the digital buying experience for customers, distributors, or dealers.

Those buyers increasingly expect to check inventory, access account-specific pricing, place and repeat orders, track shipments, review invoices, and manage their accounts online. Gartner reported in 2026 that 70% of B2B buyers prefer a completely digital, self-service buying experience. When routine interactions still depend on phone calls, emails, spreadsheets, or manual order entry, manufacturers create unnecessary friction for customers and additional work for their internal teams.

B2B ecommerce extends the value of Business Central by turning operational data into a convenient, customer-facing buying experience. Rather than replacing the ERP, an ecommerce platform creates a digital layer through which authorized buyers can find products, access the correct pricing and catalog, place orders, and retrieve account information.

Sabre Limited recently explored this topic during a webinar with Znode, examining how manufacturers can connect Business Central with modern B2B ecommerce. The discussion covered several challenges that distinguish manufacturing ecommerce from ordinary online retail, including complex products, customer-specific pricing, distributor and dealer relationships, multi-brand commerce, and self-service purchasing.

Connecting Manufacturing Operations to the Customer Experience

Business Central and a B2B ecommerce platform serve different but complementary purposes. Business Central remains the operational system of record for information such as customers, negotiated pricing, inventory, orders, shipments, and invoices. The ecommerce platform presents that information through an experience designed for customers, distributors, and dealers.

For example, an authorized buyer might sign in to view an account-specific product catalog, confirm availability, receive the correct contract price, and submit an order online. That order can then flow into Business Central for processing, fulfilment, shipment, invoicing, and financial reporting. As its status changes, updated information can be made available to the buyer through the ecommerce platform.

This connection gives customers convenient access to the information and purchasing tools they need without exposing the complexity of the ERP. It can also reduce manual order entry, repetitive account inquiries, and the risk of discrepancies between the information customers receive and the data employees use to run the business.

What Makes B2B Ecommerce for Manufacturers Different?

B2C ecommerce typically involves an individual buyer selecting a product from a public catalog at a standard price. Manufacturing ecommerce may need to determine what a buyer is permitted to purchase, which price agreement applies, where inventory is available, who must approve the order, and how the transaction should move through the manufacturer’s existing systems.

The customer may also represent a distributor, dealer, branch, purchasing department, or multinational account with multiple users and locations. Each account can have its own products, pricing, payment terms, shipping rules, spending limits, and approval requirements. A successful B2B ecommerce platform manages this complexity behind the scenes while giving buyers a straightforward purchasing experience.

Common B2B Ecommerce Challenges for Manufacturers

• Distributor and dealer relationships: Channel partners may require dedicated portals, catalogs, pricing, territories, or ordering rules.
• Account hierarchies: A single customer may have multiple locations, departments, buyers, approvers, and purchasing permissions.
• Customer-specific pricing: Prices may depend on contracts, order quantities, customer groups, negotiated discounts, or other ERP data.
• Procurement requirements: Buyers may need purchase-order fields, approval workflows, saved lists, quotes, payment terms, and other tools that support established purchasing processes.
• Multiple brands and business units: Manufacturers may need to operate several storefronts or portals while managing them through a centralized platform.
• Quote-to-order workflows: Complex, configured, or high-value purchases may require collaboration with a sales representative before an order can be finalized.

These capabilities are not simply optional conveniences. They determine whether an ecommerce experience reflects how the manufacturer and its customers actually conduct business.

Supporting Complex Manufactured Products Online

Many manufacturers assume their products are too complex to sell through ecommerce. That concern is understandable. A manufactured product may include dozens of variations, optional components, compatible accessories, replacement parts, or technical attributes that affect whether it is suitable for a particular application.

The goal is not necessarily to make every product available through a one-click purchase. It is to give buyers enough structured information and guidance to identify the correct product, narrow their options, request a quote, or complete an order when appropriate.

Types of Complex Products Manufacturers May Sell Online

• Configurable products with selectable sizes, materials, finishes, capacities, or other attributes
• Kits and assemblies containing several components sold under a single item or package
• Bundles that combine related products, services, or accessories into one purchase
• Product families and variants that help buyers compare similar items and select the correct version
• Replacement parts organized according to the equipment, model, or assembly with which they are compatible
• Accessories and complementary products presented alongside the primary item

A strong manufacturing ecommerce experience translates these product relationships into intuitive search, filtering, configuration, and purchasing tools. Buyers should be able to locate the correct product without already knowing an exact item number or contacting a sales representative for routine assistance.

For products that require consultation, the digital experience should support rather than oversimplify the buying process. It might help buyers identify compatible options, provide the information needed to prepare a quote, or route the request to a sales or engineering specialist. The right workflow depends on the complexity of the product and the amount of guidance customers need to make an informed decision.

Why Self-Service Is Essential in B2B Ecommerce

Self-service does not mean removing sales representatives or customer service teams from the buying process. It means allowing customers to complete routine tasks independently while preserving access to human support for complex purchases, technical questions, and higher-value conversations.

A customer portal can provide each buyer with a secure experience based on their account, role, and purchasing permissions. Instead of contacting the manufacturer whenever they need a document or order update, buyers can access current information when it is convenient for them.

Self-Service Capabilities Manufacturers Should Offer

• Account-specific product access: Show buyers the products, catalogs, and content relevant to their organization.
• Pricing and availability: Display negotiated prices and appropriate inventory information for the signed-in account.
• Order history and reordering: Help customers review previous purchases and quickly reorder frequently used products.
• Quotes and approvals: Allow buyers to request quotes and route purchases through required approval workflows.
• Order and shipment tracking: Give customers visibility into order progress, fulfilment, and delivery status.
• Invoice and document access: Make invoices, receipts, product documentation, and other account records easy to retrieve.
• Account and user management: Allow authorized administrators to manage users, roles, permissions, locations, and spending limits.

When these tools are connected with Business Central and other operational systems, customers receive more consistent information while employees spend less time responding to status requests, retrieving documents, and manually entering repeat orders. Sales and service teams can then concentrate on situations where their expertise adds greater value.

The most effective self-service strategy begins with the tasks customers perform most frequently. Manufacturers should review customer inquiries, order patterns, and service requests to determine which activities create the most friction and would provide the greatest value if made available online.

Managing Multiple Brands and Customer Experiences at Scale

A manufacturer’s ecommerce requirements rarely remain static. The business may acquire another company, launch a product line, enter a new region, establish a direct-to-customer channel, or create a dedicated portal for a distributor network. If every new initiative requires a separate platform and integration, the digital ecosystem can quickly become expensive and difficult to maintain.

A multi-store ecommerce platform allows manufacturers to create distinct buying experiences while sharing the technology, data, and administrative tools behind them. Each storefront or portal can have its own branding, domain, catalog, pricing, content, currency, language, shipping rules, and customer access without requiring an entirely separate ecommerce environment.

Multi-Brand Ecommerce Capabilities to Consider

• Multiple storefronts and portals: Support different brands, regions, business units, customer groups, or sales channels.
• Shared product information: Reuse approved product data across storefronts while controlling which products and content appear in each one.
• Customer-specific catalogs and pricing: Present the appropriate assortment and commercial terms to each account or market.
• Localized experiences: Adapt languages, currencies, tax rules, warehouses, shipping options, and content for different regions.
• Role-based administration: Give teams responsibility for specific stores or business units without providing unrestricted access to the entire platform.
• Centralized integration and reporting: Connect multiple ecommerce experiences to common ERP, CRM, PIM, and analytics systems.

Centralization can reduce duplicated product data, integrations, workflows, and administrative work, but it should not prevent individual brands or business units from controlling their customer experience. Manufacturers should evaluate how a platform balances shared infrastructure with local flexibility.

The objective is not simply to launch more websites. It is to create a repeatable way to introduce new digital channels without rebuilding the underlying technology and operating processes each time.

Integrating B2B Ecommerce with Business Central

Integration determines whether an ecommerce platform becomes a connected part of the business or another system employees must manage manually. Customers expect accurate products, prices, inventory, order statuses, and account information, but much of that data originates in Business Central or another core business system.

Before implementation begins, manufacturers should determine which system owns each type of information. Establishing a clear system of record helps prevent conflicting updates, duplicate data, and uncertainty about which version is correct.

Not every piece of information needs to move between systems in the same way. Inventory availability or account-specific pricing may require a real-time lookup, while product descriptions, images, or order-history updates may be synchronized on a schedule. The appropriate approach depends on how frequently the information changes, how quickly customers need it, and how much transaction volume the integration must support.

Questions to Answer Before Integrating Ecommerce and Business Central

• Which system creates and maintains each type of data?
• Which information must be retrieved in real time?
• Which information can be synchronized in scheduled batches?
• How will ecommerce orders enter Business Central?
• How will customer-specific pricing, discounts, and payment terms be applied?
• What happens when inventory, pricing, or customer data fails to synchronize?
• How will duplicate records, incomplete orders, and integration errors be identified?
• Who is responsible for monitoring and maintaining the integration?

Manufacturers should evaluate more than whether a platform technically provides APIs or connectors. They should also determine how integrations are configured, monitored, secured, updated, and supported over time. Error handling is especially important because an unnoticed problem with pricing, inventory, or order data can quickly affect both customers and internal operations.

The goal is not to transfer every field from Business Central into the ecommerce platform. It is to make the right operational information available at the right point in the customer journey while preserving clear ownership of the underlying data.

How to Choose an Ecommerce Platform for Manufacturing

A visually appealing storefront is important, but it is only one part of a manufacturing ecommerce solution. The platform must also support the company’s products, customers, sales channels, data, and operational processes without requiring excessive customization.

The evaluation should begin with real buying scenarios rather than a generic feature checklist. Manufacturers can document how a distributor places a repeat order, how a procurement team requests approval, how a customer identifies a replacement part, or how a buyer configures a product and requests a quote. Vendors can then demonstrate how their platforms would handle those scenarios using standard functionality, configuration, integrations, or custom development.

Questions to Ask Ecommerce Platform Vendors

• Can the platform represent our products? Determine how it manages configurations, variants, kits, bundles, replacement parts, product relationships, and technical attributes.
• Can it support our customer agreements? Confirm that the platform can apply account-specific catalogs, contract pricing, payment terms, shipping rules, and purchasing permissions.
• Does it accommodate our sales channels? Evaluate support for distributors, dealers, direct sales, multiple brands, regional storefronts, and other current or planned business models.
• How will it integrate with Business Central? Ask which data is synchronized, which information is retrieved in real time, how errors are monitored, and who is responsible for maintaining the integration.
• Can customers complete their normal purchasing workflows? Test quoting, approvals, purchase orders, saved lists, bulk ordering, reordering, invoice access, and account administration.
• Can business users manage the experience? Marketing, ecommerce, and product teams should be able to update content, catalogs, promotions, and merchandising without relying on developers for every change.
• How much customization will be required? Distinguish between native functionality, configuration, third-party extensions, and custom code. Each has different implications for cost, implementation time, upgrades, and maintenance.
• Will the platform scale with the business? Consider transaction volumes, product-data requirements, acquisitions, additional storefronts, international expansion, and future sales channels.
• What will the platform cost over time? Evaluate licensing, implementation, integrations, hosting, development, support, upgrades, and the internal resources required to operate it.
• Can the vendor demonstrate relevant experience? Ask for examples involving manufacturers with similar products, account structures, ERP environments, and channel relationships.

Manufacturers should also involve the people who will use and support the platform. Sales, customer service, marketing, IT, operations, finance, and selected customers may identify requirements that would otherwise be missed.

The right ecommerce platform is not necessarily the one with the longest feature list. It is the one that can support the manufacturer’s most important buying experiences while remaining manageable, connected, and adaptable as the business changes.

Where Znode May Fit

Znode is one of the platforms manufacturers can consider when evaluating B2B ecommerce. It is designed for manufacturers and distributors with requirements such as account-specific catalogs and pricing, complex product structures, customer portals, multiple storefronts, and connections with ERP and other business systems.

Relevant Znode Capabilities

• Account, customer-group, and user-specific catalogs, pricing, promotions, and content
• Configurable, bundled, grouped, and related product structures
• Customer and distributor portals with ordering, quoting, and account-management tools
• Centralized management of multiple brands, storefronts, catalogs, and customer experiences
• Built-in product information management capabilities
• An API-first architecture and Commerce Connector for exchanging data with other business systems

These capabilities may make Znode relevant for manufacturers managing several customer types, negotiated agreements, complicated product catalogs, distributor relationships, or multiple digital sales channels. However, the presence of a feature does not automatically establish that the platform is the right operational or financial fit.

Manufacturers should evaluate Znode against the same requirements, buying scenarios, implementation costs, integration responsibilities, and long-term maintenance considerations applied to any other platform. A tailored demonstration should show how it would handle the manufacturer’s actual products, accounts, pricing structures, approval processes, storefronts, and Business Central workflows.

B2B Ecommerce as a Growth Strategy for Manufacturers

For manufacturers, ecommerce is no longer simply another place to accept orders. It can improve how the business serves existing customers, supports channel partners, enters new markets, introduces new brands, and captures information about buyer behaviour.

The benefits are both commercial and operational. A customer who can quickly find the right product, see the correct price, and repeat a previous order encounters less friction. At the same time, automating routine transactions can reduce manual order entry, repetitive status inquiries, and administrative work for sales and customer service teams.

That does not mean every manufacturer needs to put its entire catalog online at once. A phased approach may begin with a customer portal, replacement-parts catalog, distributor ordering site, or self-service experience for repeat purchases. The manufacturer can then expand based on customer adoption, operational readiness, and measurable results.

How Manufacturers Can Measure Ecommerce Success

• Percentage of eligible customers actively ordering online
• Revenue and order volume generated through digital channels
• Repeat-order and customer-retention rates
• Average order value and products purchased per order
• Quote-to-order conversion rate
• Reduction in manual order entry and order-processing time
• Reduction in routine customer service inquiries
• Adoption across distributors, dealers, brands, or regions

Launching the storefront is therefore not the finish line. Long-term value comes from improving the experience, expanding the transactions customers can complete, and using ecommerce data to make better commercial decisions.

Manufacturers that connect digital commerce with Business Central can make it easier for customers to buy while preserving the operational control required to price, fulfil, invoice, and report on those orders. The result is not merely a better website, but a more scalable way to serve customers and grow the business.

Watch the Full Webinar

From Business Central to B2B Ecommerce, Featuring Znode

Watch the complete conversation between Sabre Limited and Znode to learn how manufacturers can extend Business Central with a modern B2B ecommerce experience. The webinar explores complex product catalogs, customer and distributor portals, account-specific pricing, multi-brand commerce, self-service purchasing, and the integration of ecommerce with core business systems.

Is Znode the Right Ecommerce Platform for Your Business?

Znode is built for manufacturers and distributors that need to manage complex products, account-specific catalogs and pricing, customer portals, multiple storefronts, and connections with ERP and other business systems.

If your organization is exploring B2B ecommerce or looking to replace a platform that no longer supports its requirements, a tailored demonstration can help you evaluate how Znode would handle your products, customers, purchasing workflows, and Business Central environment.

Request a Znode Demo or contact our experts at Sabre Limited to learn more.