Being one of the most popular direct-to-consumer (D2C) ecommerce tools on the market, it’s no surprise many brands turn to Shopify to help scale their wholesale business. However, Shopify Plus for B2B does not come without its shortcomings for true enterprise brands… especially around its limited scalability. The approach of a blended ecommerce experience means the tool mirrors the D2C experience through a B2B lens, creating “blended commerce.” Large or multi-brand enterprises require more customizable and robust features and integrations to handle their complexities and points of chaos. Additionally, because of the one-to-one nature of wholesale sales, curation and segmentation is key for a successful enterprise sales strategy. Custom presentation features are built into Elastic’s core feature set while not being part of a standard D2C ecommerce experience offered by Shopify.
Improving pre-season sales with purpose-built B2B features
Elastic Suite’s B2B-focused features offer sophisticated solutions required by enterprise brands such as complex pricing structures, tiered discounts, and advanced inventory management capabilities. Purpose-built wholesale solutions allow enterprises to tailor their B2B experience according to their user’s unique requirements, rather than mirroring standard (albeit simpler) D2C commerce.
The greatest difference between Elastic’s true B2B experience and Shopify’s more elementary commerce tool is the sales rep’s ability to curate and tailor their sales presentations, especially for preseason orders. Elastic’s Custom Catalog Builder, Assortment Planner, and Whiteboards were developed for reps to elevate their sales presentations beyond printed workbooks and digital product detail pages. Sellers can customize their entire (meaning before, during, and after) in-person or virtual line showings. This improves order sizes by increasing both the breadth and depth of the preseason buy.
Below are some key differentiators between Shopify’s blended (D2C + B2B) tool and Elastic’s purpose-built wholesale solution.
Enterprise growth is built on optimized and integrated back-end systems
Integration of front-end commerce and backend ERPs is necessary for B2B commerce because of the complicated nature of wholesale sales (pricing, shipping, future vs. available inventory and so many more data points). Elastic’s expertise lies in data and systems integration, with best-in-class solutions for creating streamlined efficiencies. While Shopify does have API integrations with popular ERPs, Elastic’s two-way data syncs create backend automations, rather than just populating product or customer data. And since each enterprise operates their ERP differently, a deep understanding of the custom data requirements is required to prevent siloed and disparate data.
Shopify Plus for B2B is an efficient self-service tool for dealers. The blended tool does have features and capabilities for an omnichannel manufacturer with a growing wholesale strategy. But Elastic Suite’s true B2B experience is designed for a robust wholesale strategy that includes bolstering relationships with retailers, and curation and personalization for elevated sales.
If you’re using Shopify’s wholesale solutions and looking for a scalable and enterprise-focused experience, explore Elastic Suite.
