What is Shopify Wholesale B2B?
Shopify was designed for B2C and is mostly used to sell Direct to Consumer. (DTC)
Now Shopify Plus includes functionalities tailored for B2B requirements, eliminating the need for third-party apps or alternative solutions.
Shopify Plus allows you to create customer-specific catalogs, set unique payment terms (such as net 30), manage companies, catalog special wholesale pricing and many more.
This guide / tutorial aims to thoroughly educate you on the B2B capabilities of Shopify Plus, helping you to determine if it fits your business needs.
NOTE that Shopify Plus starts at $2,000 USD / month so it does not fit all businesses.
Important Concepts Before we Start
B2B businesses are very different from B2C (Direct to Consumer) businesses in terms of their specific requirements and needs.
Below are some critical aspects to understand before delving into our walkthrough:
Companies
In a B2B context, companies are your customers. A 'company' within Shopify represents an entity to which you sell to. These companies can encompass multiple locations, each with distinct catalogs, payment terms, checkout options, and shipping addresses. When a B2B customer logs into your store, they select the location they are purchasing for and are presented with the specific prices, payment terms, and checkout options assigned to that company location.
Customers
Each company needs to have at least one customer associated with it for purchasing purposes.
Each company must be assigned a main contact taken from the registered customers.
Each company location customers must assign a role of one of the following:
- Ordering only: The customer can make purchases for the company location and review the list of orders they have placed.
- Location admin: The customer can make purchases for the company location and review the list of orders placed by all customers for that location.
Locations
When a B2B customer logs into your store, they choose the location for which they are making a purchase. They are then offered the specific prices, payment terms, and checkout options specific to that company location.
Note that a company may have multiple locations and that each location may have different terms completely.
Catalogs
You can set up special catalogs, which can be some of your products or all of them setup with special pricing. These catalogs are linked to a company location.
Minimum, maximum quantities can be specified as well as required increments (for example you must add to cart 10 at a time instead of 1)
Catalog pricing may be:
- A set price
- Percentage off for whole catalog
- Quantity breakdown per product (for example 1-100 gets $5/piece and 100-500 quantity gets $4.5/piece)
You can also upload custom volume and tier pricing via CSV.
Payment Terms
You can assign specific payment terms on the company profile and efficiently track, sort, and collect payments for orders as they become due.
Payment Terms Options:
- No payment terms - Similar to B2C where payment is required at checkout page in order to make the order
- Due on fulfillment - Due when order if fullfilled
- Net 7 - Payment due within 7 days of issue of invoice
- Net 15 - Payment due within 15 days of issue of invoice
- Net 30 - Payment due within 30 days of issue of invoice
- Net 45 - Payment due within 45 days of issue of invoice
- Net 60 - Payment due within 60 days of issue of invoice
- Net 90 - Payment due within 90 days of issue of invoice
B2B Customer Accounts
To access wholesale information and catalogs, B2B customers must log in with new customer accounts, which are created using a one-time code sent to their email.
New Customer Accounts do not have a password to login to. Every time the customers wants to login, they enter their email and get a one time unique code sent to their email which needs to be input into the website.
Purchase Order Number
Purchase order numbers can be added, edited, or viewed on the order details page for B2B orders.
Important Notes Before Using B2B
Before adopting the B2B functionality, it's crucial to be aware of certain aspects:
Shopify Limitations
Some features of Shopify are disabled by default as they are more tailored for B2C as well as some technical limitations.For a detailed understanding of the limitations within Shopify B2B, please refer to Shopify's official guide.
Blended Stores Vs Dedicated Stores
Blended Stores
A blended store accommodates both B2B (business to business) and DTC (direct to consumer) in the same url and website. Orders and customers are shared within the same site and inherit some of the same settings.
Dedicated Stores
A dedicated store, or an “expansion store,” exclusively serves B2B customers. No order or customer information is shared with other stores.
TIP: In most cases (other than very small B2C stores with a small B2B requirement, having a dedicated store is almost always the best. Note that your business requirement will determine the final choice.
Walkthrough
See our YouTube video below to view our detailed walkthrough with screenshare and audio, showcasing the B2B business experience, backend management and customer buying experience.
Other Customizations & Considerations
Email Templates
You can customize the following email content to fit your business needs.
B2B Access Email: Customize the email template of the email that notifies a customer that they can now purchase for their company. Login to Shopify Backend and Visit Settings -> Notifications -> B2B Access Email
B2B Location Update Payment Method: Customize the email template of the email that notifies a customer requests to change the company payment method on file for a location. Login to Shopify Backend and Visit Settings -> Notifications -> B2B Location Update Payment Method.
Theme Selection
You will want to select a theme or buy a theme that fits your B2B requirements. As of current, their are few themes that look great for B2B and most brands hire developers to customize for their needs.
Xtra Theme is a good start for some wholesale B2B businesses without a budget - https://themes.shopify.com/themes/xtra/styles/wholesale
Wholesale B2B Company Signups
All company accounts must be setup by the website manager. Typically there is a flow to registering and accepting new businesses to buy from you and this is not included in Shopify's B2B functionality. You will need to manage this in your own methods (CRM, Excel or Google Sheets, etc)
Bulk Add to Cart (by CSV or copy/paste a list of SKUs)
Many wholesale companies want their buyers to easily copy/paste a list of skus and quantities to add to cart and quickly purchase.
This is not supported by Shopify B2B. It is recommended to hire a developer to add this to your site as well as a great re-order functionality.
URLs
For more information and resources as well as updates, visit Shopify B2B manual.
