Nomad eCommerce is a robust platform designed specifically for B2B commerce. Catering primarily to manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors, it seamlessly integrates a eCommerce site, marketing assets, a content management system (CMS), and your ERP (and CRM for that matter) into a single, fully synchronized solution that simplifies and shortens the B2B sales cycle.

The key to Nomad’s effectiveness is the tight ERP integration. Nomad is able to use your inventory, items, availability, complex pricing data, along with all your customer data to streamline operations. We then (and again, automatically) enrich this data with descriptions, images, content, videos, and filters, making it readily available to your customers. As a result, your website, punchout catalogs, custom catalogs, and any data sent directly to customers are accurate, up-to-date, and personalized for each customer.

So essentially, Nomad offers an automated B2B eCommerce solution that streamlines data delivery to your customers, making it easier for them to make purchases while saving your sales and back office team significant time.

B2B eCommerce vs. B2C eCommerce: What’s the Difference?

When people ask why choose Nomad for B2B eCommerce, it’s important to understand the unique complexities of B2B eCommerce compared to B2C. B2B sales involve complex pre-sales, sales, and post-sales cycles (involving many different processes), unlike the more straightforward click-buy-checkout process of B2C.

In the pre-sales cycle, purchasing agents typically reorder large quantities from different suppliers or research new ones. They evaluate availability, lead times, and pricing, confirm shipping estimates for landed cost calculations, and create a purchase order for the chosen supplier.

The sales cycle is also completely different for B2B, involving payment terms, shipping estimate calculations, complex discounts (including possible shipping discounts), partial shipments to and from multiple locations, and sales tax exemptions. And this is just a partial list.

In the post-sale cycle, constant notifications are needed to meet deadlines. Payment terms usually differ from B2C, typically involving ACH or net terms rather than credit cards. And this is just a partial list of all the differences that highlight the complexity and uniqueness of B2B.

The good news is that Nomad eCommerce has been designed from the start to automate these complex processes, addressing common issues such as siloed data that is not flexible enough to work with the B2B constructs. And every B2B company has unique processes, whether in manufacturing, distribution, or wholesale, and our platform is built to adapt and automate these varied needs.

Why Nomad eCommerce Is the Best B2B eCommerce Platform

Nomad is designed to handle all B2B needs with a fully integrated solution, outperforming retrofitted B2C platforms. Here are six ways Nomad excels in supporting B2B eCommerce.

1. Direct ERP Integration

   Nomad is able to handle complex B2B processes by directly connecting to your ERP unlike many eCommerce platforms that rely on third-party connectors, which can result in a lack of easy access to needed data and complex modifications.

   By mirroring your ERP’s structure, we eliminate manual data transfers, ensure a smooth bidirectional flow of data, and eliminate silos, resulting in efficient and accurate data management tailored to your operations.

   This automatic data flow allows B2B buyers to self-serve at the level they desire. This includes everything from complex pricing support, a broad spectrum of product configuration capabilities, and simplified account reconciliation and accounts receivable management. To delve into the direct connection, it eliminates manual data transfers.

>>>>Explore the ERPs we direct connect to>>>

2. Complex Pricing Made Easy

   Automatically manage all your diverse pricing strategies with data pulled directly from your ERP pricing and discounting engine. This includes individual customer and item prices, as well as quantity-based, cost-based, and value-based pricing. Our ability to cache these prices ensures web pages load in milliseconds, much faster than the 1-2 seconds Google recommends This quick loading ensures a seamless user experience and high conversion rates.

3. Product Configuration and Variation Support

   Effective product configuration support helps buyers find specific products quickly, even among items with only slight variations, like color or size, or that are sold as part of a kit or bundle.

   In B2B, products often need to be customized or built to order. Nomad’s configuration capabilities set up rules to customize base items and can build bills of materials and automatically send it to the ERP's configurator.

   Other platforms rely on filters to manage product options, which quickly hits ceilings and limits due to the thousands (and tens of thousands) of possible configurations and variations. The result is frustration, delays, cancellations, and scope overruns. Nomad avoids these issues by providing a smooth and efficient configuration process.

4. ERP Integrated Checkout and Shipping

   Shipping and freight are often the most complex parts of the checkout process and require careful handling.

   Our platform offers a personalized and configurable B2B checkout experience. For instance, we can split orders to and from different warehouses in different locations, precisely calculate sales tax and discounts, sync shipping dates with current or expected product availability, and provide available-to-promise dates prior to ordering along with uniform and accurate shipping calculations.

   We pull item weights from the ERP to perform the density calculations needed to quickly provide accurate shipping estimates. But we don’t just send those item weights to the carriers. Carriers need actual box dimensions to provide accurate estimates.. Therefore, our density calculations utilize box sizes to determine how many items can fit into different boxes, based on the items’ weight and dimensions.

5. Simplified Account Receivable Management and Account Reconciliation

   Managing your accounts receivable is crucial for B2B environments, but it can also be complicated requiring a lot of manual data entry and several different systems. Nomad simplifies everything by integrating accounts receivable management into the same platform.

   Unlike separate payment portals,Nomad provides a unified site where customers can not only handle all pre-sales and sales activities and view invoices and payment history and pay outstanding and historical invoices via credit card or ACH. Even better, those payments are automatically applied to the correct invoices, streamlining the account reconciliation process.

6. Self-Service Experiences

   B2B buyers want the same self-service experience they enjoy in their personal lives. Here is a partial list of some of the unique Nomad B2B features that cater to this need:

   • One-Click Reorders: Buyers can quickly reorder from their order history with a single click. The Nomad system checks item availability, updates prices, and adds items to the cart, notifying them of any unavailable items.
   • User Impersonation: This feature allows support staff, with the right permissions, to log in as a customer and see what they see, including prices and order history. Sales reps can also use this to manage orders for a group of customers on their behalf or place orders on behalf of their customers.
   • Advanced Guided Search and Parts Compatibility: Our platform offers advanced search features, including filtering by parts compatibility, to help buyers find exactly what they need.
   • PO-Based Orders: Customers can upload a CSV or Excel file containing a purchase order from their ERP. This feature adds all the items from the list to the cart, saving time and effort.
   • Private Labeling: This feature ensures that specific items are visible and purchasable only by certain customers, with permissions that can be automated.

What Happens If You Pick the Wrong eCommerce Solution for Your B2B Business

Attempting to use a B2C platform for B2B eCommerce projects often leads to surprises, change orders, high implementation costs, scope overruns, and missed deadlines.

When Demand Products began their revamp of their previous eCommerce website, they initially chose B2C powerhouse BigCommerce due to its promised seamless integration with their ERP. But the level of needed integration never materialized. Instead, they faced slow progress, missed deadlines, and backend technical issues.

Significant issues arose around Demand Products’ need to:

1. Integrate with Demand Products’s 3rd party freight processing software.
2. Offer shipping discounts as a way to increase order size.
3. Support location-based pricing
4. Provide an inexpensive solution for sales tax exemptions that is unified with the ERP.
5. Enhance their site search to accommodate a unique product catalog.
6. Allow multiple users the ability to log in under one customer ID.

"In just one month, we accomplished more than what was achieved in eight months with the BigCommerce project. It's incredible because the BigCommerce project never even went live. So, to think, we got more done in four weeks than in those eight months is quite something." —Ginny Brajdic, President, Demand Products, Inc.

Demand Products faced data management issues, particularly with inconsistent synchronization between their ERP and BigCommerce. This problem left them unable to access, transform, and utilize necessary data during the ordering process.

Nomad's B2B eCommerce solution addressed these challenges by providing efficient data management and seamless ERP synchronization. Unlike retrofitted B2C solutions, which often rely on third-party connectors and struggle with data inaccuracies, Nomad offers direct access to essential data, ensuring customization and accuracy throughout the B2B sales cycle.

In Conclusion...

If your current eCommerce platform feels disjointed, unsynchronized, or lacks the integration you need for efficient operations, it might be time for a change. Nomad eCommerce offers a fully integrated solution designed specifically for B2B needs, ensuring seamless data management and ERP synchronization.

Don't let outdated systems hold you back. Schedule a quick 30-minute discovery call to see how Nomad can transform your B2B eCommerce experience. Let's explore how our platform can streamline your operations and drive success for your business.