Customer Types: B2B vs B2C

Sana Commerce Cloud is available for any type of webstore, both B2B (business-to-business) sales portals for business customers and sales agents, and B2C (business-to-consumer) online retail shops for consumers. Sana also supports a mixed B2X scenario which implies the combination of both customer types, B2B and B2C. This hybrid scenario serves all customer roles simultaneously.

B2B deals were traditionally built around tight business relationships, but they also moved online to keep customers happy, automate sales processes and increase revenue.

What's the Difference?

Below you can see the main differences between B2B and B2C scenarios, but there are others.

B2B (Business-to-Business)

B2C (Business-to-Consumer)

B2X (B2B + B2C)

  • A pure B2B scenario is a private (closed) webstore where business customers must first log in to browse the catalog and continue shopping.

  • New B2B customers can register in the Sana webstore online on their own. Customer accounts are automatically created in ERP after registration based on the customer template.

  • If B2B customers already exist in the ERP system, a webstore administrator must create shop accounts for them in Sana Admin.

  • B2B customers log in to a webstore with their shop accounts.

  • B2B customers can have different customer-specific prices and discounts.

  • B2B customers can have several shipping addresses and a different billing address.

  • Sales agents can represent B2B customers and place orders on behalf of them.

  • Sales agents can create prospective customers and place orders on behalf of them.

  • A pure B2C scenario is an open webstore where customers can browse the catalog without logging in.

  • Customers can log in to the webstore with their accounts to make purchases or as guests without registration.

  • B2C customers always register in the webstore online.

  • Customer accounts are automatically created in ERP after registration based on the customer template.

  • When a B2C customer registers in the Sana webstore, the shop account is automatically created, activated, and approved in Sana Admin. After registration, the shop accounts are used by customers to log in to the webstore.

  • The address that is entered during registration is used as a billing address and as a shipping address.

Everything about B2B and B2C scenarios.